The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Group aims to avoid paddler tragedies
Overall participation in paddlesports — kayaking, stand-up paddleboarding, canoeing and the like — has increased dramatically in recent years.
And so have the bad things that happen when inexperienced paddlers take to the lake and the waters around it, experts say.
“It’s interesting. If you start looking into the paddling community, some paddlers are old pros. They’ve been into it for a long time. They know paddling safety. They know paddling etiquette and they know how to react to being in the water next to bigger boats,” said Mike Baron, U.S. Coast Guard 9th District recreational boating safety specialist.
Baron took part in a discussion May 9 at Great Lakes Power Products in Mentor with 27 other representatives from various boating-safety concerns, including the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary and the Spirit of America Foundation.
“The other segment of paddlers is made up largely of folks who go into a sporting goods store and pick a kayak, paddle and life vest off the shelf and go get into the water later that day,” he said.
Baron said the latter class is what the conference May 9 was aimed at reaching.
“We’re looking to come up with a plan to make paddling safer for everyone here in the Great Lakes,” he said.
Baron and his contemporaries from various boating-safety concerns agree that, over the last six to 10 years, incidents involving paddlers — fatalities, accidents with other boats and paddlers not returning home as planned, for example — have been on the rise.
“I think that, as the price of fuel for powerboats has been on the rise in recent years, boaters who once used powerboats have taken to paddling to avoid paying the high price of gas,” said U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary National Staff member Dana Ruque.
Ruque said that, being involved with the Coast Guard in Florida, she’s seen paddling enthusiasts’ numbers grow by leaps and bounds in that region in recent years and it’s her outfit’s job to help them be as safe as they can be out on the water.
“Or goal is to do outreach,” she said. “I’m here because we want to make sure people are safe on the water, especially paddlers.”
She said that includes educating folks about carrying the proper safety equipment like personal floatation devices, flares, the proper marking on their watercraft and means by which to call for help, if need be.
Although the group is in its infancy, it plans to produce various multimedia and print publications to help educate paddlesports enthusiasts about best practices and the safest ways to enjoy the water.