Phil Salvador, the HASK (Houston Area Sea Kayakers) Safety Director, gave a presentation at the June HCC meeting where he presented important information about safety issues in our favorite paddle sport.
He approached his safety issues in a much more philosophical and thematic frame than I do in my Waterline “Safety Minutes.” He organized his approach to safety in four general categories: Mindset, Behavior, Training and Equipment.
He emphasized preparedness and approaching all areas of paddling with an attitude of safety consciousness and preparedness.
He mentioned that he has often seen even seasoned paddlers begin their trips with little thought toward safety, or even if they do think about safety, think about it as an after-thought or add-on.
He gave an example of a person who thought to bring a paddle float, but put it inside a locked hatch, for instance. If his boat overturned, and he needed to get to the float, he would have needed to open the hatch, which would have been underwater, in order to retrieve the float. Thereby defeating the use of the float.
Paddlers should think about getting safety training, such as ACA canoeing classes, and Wilderness First Responder classes, and examine their gear with an emphasis on whether it is the right gear for the situation, and whether it is in good shape and not worn out or broken.
Finally, while on a trip, a paddler should be aware of how they fit in with the group, and how they support the safety of the group, in helping to keep the group together and other paddlers in sight along the way and not going away from the group, and support other paddlers who might need help. He talked about knowing how to use towing equipment if it was necessary to help tow a disabled boat or paddler that needed help.
Afterwards, he took questions from the floor about specific issues that some participants brought up. This was a welcome reminder, that as summer is inviting us to spend more time on the water, we need to continue to emphasize that we need to do it SAFELY.
See you On The Water!
Harmon