Kayak safety and kayak techniques and their importance for kayaking

With my interest for kayaking came also an interest for safety questions and kayak techniques. As in so many other cases, it is important to relax and enjoy, but it is also important to know what to care about, and what to be relaxed about.

Many people can paddle kayak a life time and never fall into the water. But some very highly experienced kayakers get struck by accidents, some of them deadly. So you might never have to know a thing about safety. And you might know a lot abouit safety, and still not be helped by it. The question then is, what is a reasonable level of interest to aim for?

There is no single true answer. The answer differs by the nature of the person, and it differs with when and how you paddle. For example:

• If you live in an area where water is always warm or reasonably warm, you will have less need for thinking about how to dress to be safe against cold water
• If you never paddle anywhere where you can not stand in the water and climb up onto the shore from the water, you will have less need for thinking about how to get back into a capsized kayak
• If you always paddle in groups with experienced and trusted guides where the group never spreads over the water and wind never reaches gale levels, you will have less need for thinking about how safe it is paddling in a kayak group
• If you do not need to maneuver around stones in the water or get into place to form a kayak group on the water, you have less need for thinking about how to develop good techniques beyond paddling forward

I have become interested in safety measures around kayaking (mainly due to a scare I had in the beginning). This led me to invest in a kayak drysuit instead of my original wetsuit. I have then combined that with rash guards as well as some 0.5 mm thin neoprene apparel. It has led me to work on some kayak techniques and paddling skills, like for example what I call useful bracing and the kayak eskimo roll as well as understanding how and when to use the kayak skeg. I have also attended a course by Nigel Foster in basic kayak control.

Due to my size, selecting kayak was harder than it would be for a smaller person. Since we were lucky to start kayaking through a two day course, which I think is an ideal way, we have had the chance to try a lot of kayaks before choosing a kayak. I have summarised the issues to consider when choosing a kyak, and special issues to consider if you are tall and are to choose a kayak.

There are some more pages I have written, found through the navigation pane to the left.