Author Topic: Make sure you have a life jacket with you.  (Read 34245 times)

ZombieOTTR

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Make sure you have a life jacket with you.
« on: August 01, 2016, 05:07:25 AM »
http://m.wmur.com/news/drowning-investigated-in-weare/40965196

2 paddleboarders drowned over the weekend in Weare, NH. Both did not have a life jacket.

Ichabod Spoonbill

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Re: Make sure you have a life jacket with you.
« Reply #1 on: August 01, 2016, 05:15:54 AM »
Really sad. Beginners need to be wearing those PFDs!
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Night Wing

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Re: Make sure you have a life jacket with you.
« Reply #2 on: August 01, 2016, 06:19:29 AM »
Besides not wearing life jackets, probably didn't have leashes attached to their legs either. At least with a leash, the woman (and man) once in the water could have swam to their boards which float. Unless of course, they couldn't swim or panic set in and panic overrides everything (judgement).

Where I live in Texas, a sup is considered a "vessel" by both the US Coast Guard and our own Texas Parks & Wildlife Department (TPWD) so there are rules. If one is on a sup paddling on a private lake and/or pond, a life jacket (PFD) is NOT required to be onboard or worn. But on any body of public water, a life jacket has to be on board or worn by the paddler.

A sup surfer (in Texas) is NOT required to have a life jacket on board or worn by the sup surfer as long as the sup surfer "is in the surf zone". But paddling out beyond the surf zone, then a life jacket is required to be onboard or worn. The sticky part of the rules is not thought out well since there is no mention what constitutes where the surf zone begins and ends. I've always gone by the surf zone is where the water begins to make a building wave coming towards the shore (beach).
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OUTSIDEWAVE

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Re: Make sure you have a life jacket with you.
« Reply #3 on: August 01, 2016, 09:04:12 AM »
it is very sad and I am am shocked at how many people die in lakes that at first glance seem pretty calm. Or does the wind come up and play a part?
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Badger

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Re: Make sure you have a life jacket with you.
« Reply #4 on: August 01, 2016, 10:50:26 AM »
Obviously the person wasn't wearing a leash or they wouldn't have had to look for the body.

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lucabrasi

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Re: Make sure you have a life jacket with you.
« Reply #5 on: August 01, 2016, 11:19:49 AM »
it is very sad and I am am shocked at how many people die in lakes that at first glance seem pretty calm. Or does the wind come up and play a part?
yes, very sad. I am not sure about with them or where they were but around here it can come up and out of nowhere very quickly. Usually you have a clue with thunderstorms if you keep an eye on the sky but they also can sneak up on you very suddenly before you know it. You learn pretty quick to keep an eye on the sky with whatever you doing outside.

Easy Rider

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Re: Make sure you have a life jacket with you.
« Reply #6 on: August 01, 2016, 12:01:36 PM »
Easy Rider is the name of my store in Edmonton, AB, Canada.
My name is Warren Currie . . . and we SUP Surf indoors . . . in a shopping mall!

addapost

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Re: Make sure you have a life jacket with you.
« Reply #7 on: August 01, 2016, 12:06:57 PM »
Horrible story. This is at least 6 deaths that I know of in the U.S. since summer started. I have no direct knowledge of what happened here but I will say it's not just about leashes, you would not believe how many people cannot pull themselves onto the board when they are in deep water. I teach lots of beginner lessons and when folks fall off the board they simply cannot get back on. There are multiple factors for this: overweight, lack of strength, lack of coordination, tired, cold, or combinations etc. If they are alone, no PFD, in deep water? Forget about it.
« Last Edit: August 01, 2016, 12:26:07 PM by addapost »
Bunch of old shit

2Rivers

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Re: Make sure you have a life jacket with you.
« Reply #8 on: August 01, 2016, 12:16:39 PM »

This would be an AWESOME sticker! Any available?
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robon

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Re: Make sure you have a life jacket with you.
« Reply #9 on: August 01, 2016, 12:37:16 PM »
Horrible story. This is at least 6 deaths that I know of in the U.S. since summer started. I have no direct knowledge of what happened here but I will say- you would not believe how many people cannot pull themselves onto the board when they are in deep water. I teach lots of beginner lessons and when folks fall off the board they simply cannot get back on. There are multiple factors for this: overweight, lack of strength, lack of coordination, tired, cold, or combinations etc. If they are alone, no PFD, in deep water? Forget about it.

I think it's pushing around 10 deaths in the US since May now. You bring up very valid points about people struggling to get back on their boards. I'm visiting relatives on the prairies in Alberta right now and was on a lake just outside of Calgary, and watched multiple people struggle greatly to get back on their boards in calm water. Some of these paddlers were young, fit males who were beginners and it would sometimes take them two, three times to get back on and stay on. So, imagine a situation with lots of wind, waves, and other variables you mention such as fitness, weight, cold water etc. Not good and it has happened this year on a mountain lake already.

I mentioned in another thread about leashes increasing survivability. Combine leashes and PFDs and your survivability goes up exponentially, and while leashes are very important, PFDs WILL save lives in many circumstances and buy time for rescue. So can leashes, but if you can't get back on your board, then you're in serious trouble. Especially in cold water when you lose muscle coordination quickly. A couple days ago on the lake I mentioned above, out of at least 20 paddlers on rental boards, I only remember one with a PFD, and I don't think a single paddler was wearing a leash. Insane that rental outfitters are allowing this to still happen. Sure, part of the responsibility should be on the paddler, but out on a body of water with high potential for strong wind and constant boat wakes, and almost no one is wearing PFDs or leashes?
« Last Edit: August 01, 2016, 12:39:01 PM by robon »

Kaihoe

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Re: Make sure you have a life jacket with you.
« Reply #10 on: August 01, 2016, 02:30:30 PM »
it is very sad and I am am shocked at how many people die in lakes that at first glance seem pretty calm. Or does the wind come up and play a part?

I'm no expect on this but lakes can behave in really weird ways.  I know lake Windermere in England is notorious for having all sorts of crazy currents and undertows. My gran used to live there and we where always told not to swim in the lake it was that dangerous. 

 I suppose its all about appropriate knowledge and experience.  I can remember sitting on a beach in the UK (one of the few with surf) and a a mother telling here kids to swim in the rip because 'its calmer there'. 

 But as to the thread I think overall safety for beginners is a real challenge. They really need to be wearing PFDs and a leash

PonoBill

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Re: Make sure you have a life jacket with you.
« Reply #11 on: August 01, 2016, 02:51:03 PM »
I pulled a kiter into the beach on the columbia this weekend. As I've said before, I don't do that unless I see they are in distress. If they're wearing float or have their gear, then they need to rescue themselves. I won't go into the reasons, but I think it makes sense.

Anyway, she accidentally released her chicken strap. Her boyfriend collected all her gear, including her harness, and kited it to the event center, about a mile away. When I came on her she was swimming weakly in a full wetsuit. When she heard me coming (I whistle all the time) she rolled on her back and waved both hands. So I cut over to check on her. she asked for a lift to the beach. I moved to the front of my Bullet and said "climb on the back and kneel down". She tried about five times and couldn't get on the board. Young, decent shape, a little pudgy, but no physical reason. She just couldn't do it. I can get back on with stuff in the way--a PFD, slippahs shoved into my belt, camelback, whatever. But we don't realize what a practiced move that is until we see someone else flail at it.

I had her just pull part of her body onto the board, hold onto one of my paddle loops, and I towed her in. She claimed I saved her life. That she thought she could swim the 100 or so yards easily, but she couldn't. She was swimming against the current.

I told her "if that happens again, swim with the current for the nearest shore. Even if it's Wells Island, you can walk to the inside point, and then swim across the shallow water."

I might as well have been speaking swahili. I could pretty much tell she thought the right thing to do was stay in the middle and get rescued.
« Last Edit: August 01, 2016, 02:55:20 PM by PonoBill »
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Bean

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Re: Make sure you have a life jacket with you.
« Reply #12 on: August 02, 2016, 11:45:53 AM »
Good save PB, hopefully the message will sink in. 

Hopelessly swimming against the current is an act of desperation that reminds me very much of those who get lost and whose last actions consist of shedding supplies and clothing including boots hats and gloves.  What a shitty feeling that must be.

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Re: Make sure you have a life jacket with you.
« Reply #13 on: August 03, 2016, 12:37:27 AM »
Leashes can be great, PFD could save lives, but without a doubt in my mind, people need to take their own responsibilities - and this starts with the basic needs:
If you can't swim 40 yards, you have no business being more than 40 yards from shore.
Before getting on a board, you must ensure that you know how to get back on your board.

Do we really want to hear a rental company say:
"I thought they could get back on their board".

I know, it sounds stupid, but humans have egos. Perhaps one way to reduce suicide-by-SUP is to enforce couple of things, and sadly LEASH and PFD is better than nothing, but they are not the first things people should learn.

Perhaps all that's needed are couple of tests before purchasing a SUP (or renting one) would suffice in reducing the majority of deaths on SUP.

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Gramps

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Re: Make sure you have a life jacket with you.
« Reply #14 on: August 03, 2016, 07:44:08 AM »
Quote
Leashes can be great, PFD could save lives, but without a doubt in my mind, people need to take their own responsibilities - and this starts with the basic needs:
If you can't swim 40 yards, you have no business being more than 40 yards from shore.
Before getting on a board, you must ensure that you know how to get back on your board.

I've been at this for about 3 years and always wear a leash, carry a PFD, am a good swimmer and can get back on my board, but being 69 and often paddling alone, I always try to stay close to shore.  The water where I paddle is cold and the wind can come up quickly, so when I do cross open water I'm extra careful.  I've tried to convince those beginners that I've met to do the same, with limited success.  I don't want to drown or put a rescuer at risk because I was foolish. 


 


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