Safety

Using Tech for Paddling Alone Safely A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, I wrote a post on handy apps to help you stay safer on water - especially if you paddle alone.  Let’s face it, despite the admonishions of well-meaning friends...

How to Get Back To Paddling Safely It’s that time of year -many of us are returning to our favorite paddle spots, so it’s time for a refresher on how to get back to paddling safely.  Last year during the onset of the pandemic, lots...

Ah spring! That wonderful time of year when nature explodes after the dark, dank grey of winter and re-ignites our paddling souls!  The air temperature warms up, and we dream of barefoot paddles, board shorts and bathing suits and refreshing dips in our local...

It’s time to talk about leashes. Why we need them. What kind to use. What kind not to use and how to take care of them. Again.  Lots of new folks are joining us on the water during the pandemic so here's a primer. Why...

Falling the Right Way After our recent discussion on falling and not being afraid to, several folks suggested we follow up by talking about how to fall. Awesome idea! Knowing how to fall off a sup is a lot like knowing how to fall off a...

Save-A-Session Kits If you’ve ever arrived at your paddle destination all excited for a workout or a surf with you buddies, only to realize someone doesn’t have a fin screw, then this is for you. It happens - we forget things. Things break. But keeping...

The U.S. Coast Guard has released its accident, injury and death statistics for 2019 and as always the results are interesting. Here are the top takeaways overall: Number of Accidents: 4,168 Number of Deaths: 613 Number of Injuries: 2,559 Now keep in mind this involves all...

It's with incredible sadness that another friend in our paddle community, Josh Hensley, has passed. After another paddle death, the community world-wide mourns. We just can’t believe that it happened. Regardless if you knew Josh or not, you mourn. You wonder if it could...

Costco Magazine Features Leashes and PFDs Giving a hat tip to Costco - the warehouse retailer that often is the gateway for new SUP and kayak paddlers attracted to low-cost boards and boats - for emphasizing safety in the latest issue of its membership mailer,...

How to have a Great Graveyard Course at the Carolina Cup When it comes to safety at Wrightsville Beach, Dave Baker is the man. If he says it, and it's about water safety, you know it is true. And he is an accomplished paddler and...

Safety Gear for Paddle Racing First time doing the Carolina Cup, or any race this year? Not sure what to bring? Here's our checklist for safety gear essentials. All Races/All Craft: Leash - coiled so that it will stay out of your way and out of...

Quick References for Key SUP Safety Gear The American Canoe and Kayak Association has come up with some handy infographics to quickly and clearly communicate how and why and which leashes and PFDs should be used for stand up paddling.  Take a look, and pass...

A Safety Tale of Three Paddlers This summer, we wrote quite a bit about accidents involving paddlers who did not wear PFDs or leashes - but almost all of those stories involved people on standup boards.  Many of them were new to the sport.  But...

Assisted Surf Ski Rescues Helping a fellow paddler is something we all will likely have to do at one point or another.  Knowing how to use your craft to rescue someone in the water is essential knowledge.  Here's a great video from  Alex Matthews and...

USCG v ISO Personal Flotation Devices We recently reviewed two very popular low-volume/profile PFDs that have international safety certifications and are considered safe for use in countries like Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Both have been popular in the surf ski community and are...

Low-Profile PFD Does Not Restrict Motion First of all right out of the gate I have to say that this PFD is NOT US Coast Guard approved.  It does, however carry a number of international certifications. Use at your own discretion. After this summer’s discussion...

Taking SUP Safety Seriously As our regular readers know, we've focused a lot on safety this summer, in light of what seems like a high number of SUP-related drownings.  And we've had good conversations on our social media about how to improve use of pdfs...

Long Island Man Drowns in Upstate NY Lake Last weekend on Lake George, New York, another paddler drowned.  According to the local news, the Post Star, Michael Butler was wearing a PFD - a waist belt inflatable which he did not activate.  As the report...

Safe Hot Weather Paddling A summer time heat wave is hitting many parts of the paddling world, and as training ramps up for some of the big races and events like Sea Paddle NYC and Chattajack, it's a good time for a heat safety refresher. Even...

SoCal Paddleboarder Death With No PFD More details on the 26-year old man who died in Southern California earlier this week when he fell off his paddleboard. He was in the Huntington Beach Harbor. He did not know how to swim. He was not wearing...

Dissecting the USCG SUP Accident numbers Good news and bad news this week on the safety front. The bad news Another paddler, a doctor from Toronto, died on Lake Huron over the weekend.  According to news reports, witnesses said 39-year-old Dennis Bowman fell into the water at...

Cape to Cape in Cape May, NJ, Sea Paddle NYC, OABI Detroit, Safety Concerns, KeyVault from Kanulock and an ama rack. See more at Distressedmullet.com

Paddle Safety Reminder It’s been a sad holiday weekend, dare I say holiday week, or even summer.  It seems, anecdotally at least, that there has been one report after another about paddlers drowning in any number of circumstances - from tourists renting boards for the...

Deciphering the Wind Forecast Wind. It can either make a great paddle, like when it's ripping toward the West Maui Mountains and the Maliko Downwind run is firing, or it can break us, like the 2016 version of Chattajack, when 25 mile per hour plus...

A Note on the Cover Photo: Current US Coast Guard regulations only require a PFD be on the board, as shown in the photo above. But it is extremely difficult to put a PFD on in an emergency situation, or if the board gets...