Media Note: Coast Guard spokespersons in your area are available to discuss the importance of paddle sport safety for the duration the 2016 boating season. Please contact us at 216-902-6020 to check on a local point of contact. If there is no answer, wait for a voicemail with instructions to be forwarded to a 24/7 on-call duty public affairs specialist.
CLEVELAND — Coast Guard units around the Great Lakes have responded to 27 paddlecraft cases in the last 30 days, seven of those cases did not end with a rescue.
This weekend marks the halfway point in the 99-day summer boating season from Memorial Day to Labor Day and the Coast Guard is seeing an increase in paddlecraft related cases in the first 45 days.
With eight weekends left in the summer season, Great Lakes Coast Guard units will be raising awareness to help change the course of this trend.
“When you look at the recreational boating case numbers from last year, suddenly entering the water by capsizing or falling out of the craft was the cause of more than two-thirds of the paddlecraft accidents and 86 percent of those accidents resulted in drownings," said Rear Adm. June Ryan, commander of the Coast Guard 9th District. "Even one is too many, which is why we are committed to raising the awareness of steps that all paddlecraft users can take to reduce the risk of a loss of life.”
On June 26, Coast Guard Sector Lake Michigan received notification of a capsized kayak with a 32 year-old-male in the water without a life jacket. He was assisted to shore where CPR was conducted by emergency medical service personnel before being transported to a local medical center where he was pronounced deceased.
During the Fourth of July weekend, Coast Guard Sector Detroit received initial notification of two people in the water. A family of four was kayaking and became swamped. Children onboard had life jackets on but the parents did not. Both children and their mother were recovered safely. A deceased male adult matching the description of the father was later recovered.
Paddle Ready is an app designed for paddlers who want to maximize their fun and safety on the water! The app is free for both Apple and Android operating systems and offers surf forecasting, tide forecasting, river levels, float plans, find instructors near you, safety & gear checklists, accident reporting, course reporting for ACA Instructors, and more.
Although these cases involve kayaks, the safety precautions and hazards for paddlecraft also include canoes and stand-up paddleboards. Paddlecraft are prone to capsizing more easily than other vessels, and their operators should be prepared to unexpectedly enter the water at any time.
Donning a life jacket is much harder once you’re in the water, especially if you’re injured. The law states you must have a life jacket for every person on board, but the Coast Guard recommends you wear your life jacket at all times when boating.“The risk of drowning is greatly reduced when a person is wearing a life jacket before suddenly entering the water,” said Mike Baron, the recreational boating safety specialist for the Coast Guard 9th District. “Much like not wearing a seatbelt while in a moving vehicle, boating with a life jacket aboard, but not wearing it, does a boater little good.”
Awareness of safe practices is the best defense against loss of life. Safe practices include: wearing a life jacket, having a reliable means of communication (sound device, waterproof cell phone or radio), filing a float plan, and take a paddlecraft training/safety course before setting out on the water.
Helpful Resources:
- National Safe Boating Council’s web page: http://www.safeboatingcouncil.org/ - U.S. Coast Guard’s Boating Safety web page: http://www.uscgboating.org/ - Coast Guard mobile app info: http://www.uscg.mil/mobile/ - Safe Boating Course web page: http://uscgboating.org//recreational-boaters/boating-safety-courses.php - Vessel Safety Check web page: http://www.vesselsafetycheck.org/ - U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary web page: http://www.cgaux.org/ - American Canoe Association (ACA): http://www.americancanoe.org/ - ACA Top 10 Safety Tips: http://www.americancanoe.org/?page=Top_10 - ACA “Paddle Ready” App : http://www.americancanoe.org/?page=PaddleReady - Water safety tips from the U.S. National Park Service: https://www.nps.gov/articles/watersafety.htm - River safety tips from the U.S. Bureau of Land Management: http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/fo/folsom/rivers/riversafetips.html - NOAA Rip Current Awareness:http://ripcurrents.noaa.gov