BRT Insights - WW Kayaking & Hiking

While talking with a kayaking friend recently he described a large kayaking group that spread out while going down the river. At some point he realized that none of the nearby boaters were paying any attention to his safety, so if he had a swim or an entrapment it would have been a very long time, if ever, before anybody would have come to help.

Safety skills & teamwork for small kayaking, innertubing & canoeing groups.

In a small paddleboating group everybody should be everybody else's buddy. Every buddy is responsible for watching out for everybody else's safety - every minute, all day, no exceptions. Even boaters who don't have the skill or strength to be primary rescuers should at least be watchful and raise the alarm as soon as they see somebody needing help. Everybody is responsible to stick together with the group, to watch out for the safety of others and to enable others to watch out for you. Solo boaters who drift apart from the group and don't participate in this teamwork for safety are simply not welcome in my boating group.

Safety skills & teamwork for large kayaking, innertubing & canoeing groups.

Big groups of paddle boaters inevitably spread out so it is not possible for everybody to watch out for the safety of everybody all day on the river. If the safety awareness of a big group or many individuals in the group is not so good, then it may not be easy for an individual to change that. Individuals on a group trip can nevertheless improve their own safety on the river by teaming up with a buddy or a small group of safety-minded individuals. If your small group sticks closely together while boating, then you can improve your own safety despite the other paddleboaters in your big group who may not be so safety conscious.

More about: Safety Skills & Techniques for Whitewater River Paddleboating.

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Labels: technique