By Jim Samples
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| Kayaks near Lovers Key Resort. Photo by Virginia Russell |
Some cynical boaters call them “speed bumps.” But kayaks and other paddle craft are now a
fact of life for boaters in Florida waters, including Flotilla 96’s area of
operations. Compared with powerboats and
sailboats, kayaks and canoes are cheaper to purchase and insure, easier to
maintain and transport, and more eco-friendly.
Plus, here in southwest Florida, their operators can conveniently reach
our shallow back bays and rivers.
The
most immediate impact of these kayaks and canoes is on our flotilla’s Vessel
Safety Check program. Examiners now use
a separate form, 7012A, when inspecting paddle craft, a term that includes
kayaks, canoes, rowboats, and paddleboards.
As directed by
According to Neil Arnal, our Flotilla Staff
Officer for Vessel Examinations, our examiners are seeing more and more paddle
craft each year. So far this year,
paddle craft account for about 60% of the vessel inspections performed by our
members. This trend is especially true in the case of kayaks. Mel Milstein has been instrumental in
inspecting most of the rental kayaks available at the Lovers Key State
Park. And going forward, our examiners
hope to perform inspections at other kayak rental sites and at kayak clubs in
our area.
Paddle craft also affect our
flotilla in the operations area. When on
patrol, we are
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| Neil Arnal inspects a neighbor's kayak |
responsible for maintaining proper
lookouts and situational awareness. Crew
members and coxswains, based on an informal survey, have three problems with
paddle craft. First, they are hard to
see because of their low profile in the water.
Second, they pay less attention to the rules of the road, especially
when crossing marked channels. And
third, some of them take unnecessary risks.
For example, recently one of our boats on patrol observed two sea kayaks
at least a mile and a half off Barefoot Beach in windy conditions.
Recognizing the increasing popularity
of paddle craft, the Coast Guard launched “Operation Paddle Smart” in 2010, in
conjunction with the Auxiliary, the U.S. Power Squadron, and the American Canoe
Association. The emphasis of this
program is on operator safety. The brochure promoting the program says “the
primary goals are to promote the life-saving benefit of wearing a life jacket,
to highlight the immediate danger of sudden cold water immersion, to encourage
boater and paddler education, to ID [each]...canoe, kayak or rowboat, and to
stress the importance of being a responsible and prudent boater.” As part of the program, the sponsors provide
owners of kayaks and canoes with waterproof stickers to use to identify their vessels
in case they are lost or stolen.
This emphasis on safety is very
important. The Coast Guard maintains
statistics on the number of boating deaths that occur in the U.S. by vessel
type. In 2010, kayaks and canoes
taken together accounted for 141 deaths, the second highest category after open
motorboats. Drownings represented over
90% of the deaths in kayaks and canoes.
These statistics alone show how important it is for kayak and canoe
operators to wear life jackets.
