With paddles raised skyward as a gesture of peace honoring a long standing Native American custom, paddlers gather at Paddles Up Niagara 2010, Beaver Island State Park, Grand Island, New York. It is the event that inspired the naming of the Ninth Coast Guard “Great Lakes Paddles Up” safety campaign.

A regional safety campaign becomes the catalyst for paddlesports safety education.

Grand Island, NY - Several young adults pile into their new canoe and decide to paddle to a nearby island. No one told them they needed life jackets. They reach the island successfully but on the return trip waves swamp their boat, forcing everyone into the water. All three lose their lives just 50 yards from shore.

In the early spring an inexperienced kayaker wearing a life jacket decided to paddle the white water of a rain swollen stream. In front of a crowd of onlookers his boat capsizes and he became entangled in the roots of a fallen tree. First responders were unable to revive him.

Arriving home after a hard day at work an experienced paddler sets out in her touring kayak for some exercise. She does not file a float plan but has all of the necessary safety equipment. Her body washed ashore several days later.

Each of these paddlers overlooked critical safety elements that led to tragedy.

Ron Baker, Dana Kirk, Flotilla 76, Fairport, Ohio, Douglas Hamernik, Flotilla 32, Hamburg, New York and Roger Kish, Flotilla 76, Fairport, Ohio discuss kayak performance characteristics and check out safety equipment used for self-rescue.

Public demand for green recreation opportunities has intensified over the past few years. In the last year alone, more than 340,000 kayaks and canoes were sold in the United States. With an investment of as little as a few hundred dollars people are able to get out on the water. Most are doing so without the benefit of proper safety equipment and training. The result is a steady increase in the number of fatalities and injuries.

The Coast Guard Boating Safety Division reported that canoe and kayak fatalities increased by nearly 70 percent between 2005 and 2009. Recognizing the need to reverse this alarming trend, the Coast Guard Auxiliary recently expanded its role to bring boating safety education to the paddlesports community.

During the 2010 Labor Day holiday the Ninth Coast Guard District kicked off a week long educational outreach campaign. It was aimed at raising safe boating awareness amongst the region’s paddlesports community. The campaign slogan “Paddles Up Great Lakes” was borrowed from a similar event established by Auxiliary member Paul Leuchner, Flotilla 35, while serving as a Commissioner on the Niagara River Greenway Commission.

Over the past five years this event has promoted paddlesports safety through longstanding partnerships with law enforcement organizations, the Coast Guard Auxiliary and special interest groups devoted to paddlesports.

Auxiliarists Paul Leuchner and Dave Celani, Flotilla 35, Grand Island, New York decided to take up the challenge. During the week long “Paddles Up Great Lakes” campaign they camped out at local canoe and kayak launch sites providing safety literature and distributing waterproof owner identification labels for paddlecraft.

These labels are affixed to the inside of the hull and are intended to provide critical information to first responders that could shorten the time needed for search and rescue. They emphasized the importance of wearing life jackets while underway, completing and filing a float plans and carrying and preparing for cold water immersion.

Both Auxiliarists participated in several paddlesports events where they educated paddlers on the importance of being safe on the water. In each instance, students were successfully recruited for the new “Paddlesports America” course.

A list of contacts was also developed for future paddlecraft vessel safety checks. Between launch ramps and related public affairs activities the Auxiliary interacted with nearly 300 paddlers. Without exception, the paddlers were elated that the Auxiliary had taken the initiative to promote kayak and canoe safety.

Elsewhere in the Great Lakes basin, Coast Guard units actively promoted the “Paddles Up Great Lakes” safety campaign. Several boating safety partners, including the Army Corps of Engineers; the Lake County (Ohio) Metroparks and private outfitters throughout the region joined the effort, as well.

“The program was a resounding success reaching a large segment of the paddling public in just a couple of weeks. The importance of the Coast Guard Auxiliary in spreading the word about paddlesports safety cannot be understated. Working as a team has made a difference” said Frank Jennings, Jr., Recreational Boating Safety Program Manager, at the Coast Guard Ninth District.

At the conclusion of this campaign District Commodore Nancy Rudiger, Ninth Eastern Region, decided to add “Paddlesports Safety” to the fall 2010 training conference agenda. Auxiliarists Paul Leuchner and Dana Kirk, Flotilla 76, Fairport Harbor, Ohio, both experienced kayakers, used that opportunity to present the new “Paddlesports America” course to their instructor and vessel examiner colleagues.

After the course, members were treated to an on-water demonstration of safety techniques and self-rescue measures. They were then invited to test their own skills using several paddlecraft on loan from a local outfitter. The member response was quite positive. They agreed that the subject matter was not difficult to master. Armed with a new sense of enthusiasm these members departed ready to promote the Auxiliary’s new paddlesports safety initiative.

Paddlers are eager for safety training, but often unaware that the Coast Guard Auxiliary can help in this area. Reaching out to the paddlesports community is a challenge made much easier by the recently signed Memorandum of Agreement between the American Canoe Association and the Coast Guard Auxiliary. This new partnership will unite both organizations in a common goal that supports recreational boating safety.

The Coast Guard Auxiliary has long served the nation as a leader in recreational boating safety by adapting to meet the needs of the boating public. To be sure, the face of boating has changed considerably during these tough economic times. Yet, every boater should know that the Coast Guard Auxiliary stands ready to continue providing outstanding educational and safety services across all segments of recreational boating, whether power boater, sailor or paddler. After all, a boater is a boater.

Dana Kirk, Flotilla 76, Fairport Harbor, Ohio demonstrates the proper adjustment of kayak foot pegs to Jacquilin Delker, Flotilla 61, Akron, OH.	Dave Celani, Flotilla 35, Grand Island, New York discusses paddlesports safety issues with local kayakers.

 

 

 

 

 

~efl 07/15/11