Petition to Eliminate the PFD requirement for paddleboards

[coldsup]

Interesting debate you guys have going. The tying a PFD to a board thing is crazy. Do you levels of PFD? PFDs come in all sorts of shapes and sizes.....some will keep your head up if you fall unconscious and others won't....do you have rules and regs for that too?

[SeaMe]

Do you levels of PFD? PFDs come in all sorts of shapes and sizes.....some will keep your head up if you fall unconscious and others won't....do you have rules and regs for that too?

Yes, actually.
http://www.uscg.mil/hq/cg5/cg5214/pfdselection.asp#recreational

[pdxmike]

You just need the regular kind (II) not the ones that keep your head up, and you just need to have it on your "vessel", not worn (except that some types of inflatables are required to be worn). 

[hbsteve]

Now let's look at a different area.  Newport Harbor is one of the largest small boat harbors in the world.  The speed limit in the harbor is 5 and current water temp. is 66-68.  Unless you are near the entrance or the tides are extreme, currents are not a big factor.
The rental places attach pfd's to there boards, so they are legal.  Individual paddlers paddling there own boards mostly seem to wear a leash or have no safety gear. 
So, at least for the first 10 minutes or so, the water temp. won't kill you.  If you can't swim and fall in from a legally pfd-ed rental, you are in trouble.  But, this person should have learned to swim first or worn the pfd. or just stayed on shore.
California requires all motorcyclist to wear an approved helmet.  So, just because I put the helmet on, doesn't mean I can get on a Harley Davidson and ride for an hour.  That is not safe.  And I don't do it.
Requiring pfd's to be on boards for every one without considering other options is not smart.
 

[pdxmike]

hbsteve--that makes me think, the equivalent situation with helmets would be if each motorcyclist was required to have a helmet strapped to his bike.


Oops, that's not quite right--since the motorcyclist has nothing equivalent to a helmet, while a paddler has a direct equivalent to the pfd, because his board is a flotation platform itself.


So the equivalent would be if everyone in a car were required to have a helmet available in the vehicle (since the car itself serves as an equivalent to a helmet). 

[WingSuit]

Over the past few years, here where I live in the Pacific Northwest, I can think of a dozen people lost "at sea", meaning within a half mile of land, or in lakes, just in my county.  These were kayakers, canoeists, and surf skiers, in all seasons. It will eventually happen to an SUP paddler.   Only one had a PFD, and since he had no strobe or radio, he succumbed to the cold water even though he was wearing a dry suit.  The Coast Guard simply couldn't find him in time.  I wear an inflatable PFD and a leash while on my board and surf ski, and a full PFD in my kayak, except the smallest lakes on the warmest days.  Don't find it onerous or unreasonable.  Don't regard it as a government intrusion.

But the pfd requirement still applies to you while you're on the smallest lakes on the warmest days.  If you don't wear a pfd then, do you at least strap one onto your board?  If not, it seems like you do find it at least somewhat onerous and unreasonable, because you are breaking that law.


Or, if you DO lash a pfd onto your board on those smallest lakes on the warmest days, do you do it for safety reasons, or simply to avoid a ticket?

I would wear an inflatable belt type pfd in the various island costal waters here, whether or not it was required by law or regulation.  Same for large cold water lakes with powerboat traffic.  I never attach a pfd to any paddecraft, its of no use not being worn.  That reg was written with boats in mind.  Just because i dont wear one on the smaller warmer lakes doesnt mean i find the regs onerous, its means i can easily swim the one mile to the end and back and feel safe.  If that lake was patrolled, it wouldnt bother me to wear my pfd belt. 

Keep Portland weird.

[SupTrip]

I would guess that the impetus for the pfd law was either the manufacturers of pfds, or somebody in the rule making dept. of USCG justifying their position.

I mean somebody is getting paid to come up with this stuff right? When their boss walks into their office and asks "what have you been doing this week?" They certainly wont say - "I think we're all stocked up on rules so I've just been taking it easy".

Seriously though, rules that keep people from harming or even inconveniencing others I support wholeheartedly. But getting a ticket because i choose not to have a pfd is asinine. I cant stand wearing a pfd of any kind, and i don't want one strapped to my board either, so i never wear one except when required for a race. I paddle at least 30 miles a week, off the beach or in tampa bay, and when its really nasty I wear a leash.

If you think thats stupid, just wait... Sometimes i paddle at night, solo, with a tiny push button led flashlight clipped to my hydration pack to flash boats if they get close, AND I'll wear headphones!! Which is admittedly very dumb, and so i usually leave one earbud out so i can hear the boats coming and head for a docks.

I know that having a pfd on would help me if something happened, and i still choose not wear one. Because to my mind, having a pfd on or with me during my normal daylight paddle is akin to keeping some cobra anti-venom in my glove box "just in case". Or having some bespoke kevlar boxers "because you never know!".

Admittedly there are some scenarios where a pfd might be a prudent move, and i fully acknowledge taking some unnecessary risks because they are mildly uncomfortable (even after having removed the co2 cartridge). But if i want to be an idiot, and its not bothering you, why not let me?

I'd seriously appreciate it if anyone could present any probable incident where a pfd would save, or even just help, an healthy accomplished paddler on a calm day in warm water close to shore? This is a genuine question, maybe there is something I'm not considering that i should be aware of?

Perhaps a telling statistic would be - how many times has a pfd been deployed in a sup race with more than 30 participants?

[southwesterly]

What amazes me here in Santa Cruz is that you can paddle down from the North Coast in 30 knot winds in some of the wildest water on the California coast, and not have to have a PFD.

The crazy part is that as soon as you reach the protected waters of the Santa Cruz Harbor, you can get a ticket if you don't have one.

[TallDude]

What amazes me here in Santa Cruz is that you can paddle down from the North Coast in 30 knot winds in some of the wildest water on the California coast, and not have to have a PFD.

While drunk and wearing a Raiders hat!

[Gramps]

I say we have an opt out for all safety rules that don't endanger anyone but yourself.  You sign a waiver saying that if you can't pay for medical or rescue expenses or if it would endanger the responders and it's tied to your refusal to follow big brother's safety rules, they let you die.  You could paddle without a pfd, ride a bike/motorcycle without a helmet and etc., as long as you're willing to be responsible for your own actions. 

Of course it will never happen, because it's all about control not safety.

[southwesterly]

While drunk and wearing a Raiders hat!

You are SO wrong TallDude.

That would be a 49'er hat.

[pdxmike]

Perhaps a telling statistic would be - how many times has a pfd been deployed in a sup race with more than 30 participants?

Or, how many drownings have happened in any SUP races?  Or how many drownings in crew races (no pfds are required)?  How many drownings when the victim had a leash (other than when wearing the wrong type in whitewater)? 


Conversely...how many drunk boaters passed by patrol boats while paddlers were being warned or ticketed for not having pfds?  Or, how many people drown each year because they don't know how to swim? 


Etc., etc.