Coast Guard Issues Warning to Kayakers

So, you woke up Christmas morning and there was a shiny kayak sitting under the tree.

You're a lucky duck.

But you better also think twice before launching your new boat on its maiden voyage, especially with water temperatures being what they are this time of year.

That's the message from the U.S. Coast Guard, which issued a warning to would-be boaters out of its New England office just after Christmas, as fairer weather came to the area.

"As unseasonably warm temperatures are forecasted for the weekend, and with several Northeast sporting-goods retailers describing kayaks and paddle sport accessories as high on holiday gift lists, the Coast Guard is advising any paddlers who found kayaks under their Christmas tree to be cautious and fully aware of the danger of sudden cold-water immersion if they opt for a weekend launch," the Coast Guard said on its Web site.


Al Johnson, the recreational boating safety specialist for New England's First Coast Guard District, wasn't afraid to play Scrooge to excited paddlers. With water temps in the 40s this time of year, he didn't warm up to the mild air temps over the weekend.

"My goal is to intentionally dampen the excitement of launching any new boat unless the launcher is properly attired and prepared for sudden cold water immersion and, better yet, has friends standing by with throw bags and safety lines," Johnson said. "It might sound excessive but, if it saves a life, it isn't."

I couldn't agree more. As I've said here before, having a dry suit for winter-time paddling isn't just a luxury. It's a necessary piece of safety gear. Consider this: hypothermia can begin within minutes of immersion into 40 degree water. But more than that is the shock of hitting the water itself.

If this has never happened to you, it's hard to describe just how startling it is to suddenly be immersed in cold water. With your body fully enveloped, it's like every sense you have has suddenly been switched on, but in a violent, overloady kind of way. Your body -- and mind's -- natural reaction, often, is to simply go into a kind of temporary shock-like state, and not know what to do.

As a raft guide, I was constantly amazed by how people reacted when they fell out of the boat. No matter how much I would try to impress upon them that if they fell into the water, it would be a shocking, unpleasant and unsettling experience, they never realized how intense an unintended dunk is until it actually happened to them.

Then, because they were wearing their PFDs -- i.e., life jackets -- they'd bob to the surface, full deer-in-headlights expression on their faces. But before we could get a rope or paddle grip to them to bring them back into the boat, we'd have to snap them out of their stupor by yelling and hollering at them, so that they could react and help us rescue them.

With a dry suit, the whole immersion experience -- and the shock it puts into your system -- is greatly muted. Wearing a dry suit in cold water at least gives you a better chance to react, and certainly prolongs the bleeding of body heat from your core.

In other words, if you're going to paddle during this time of year, wear one.

That advice wasn't heeded by a kayaker on the other side of the country from where Johnson issued his warning. In Eureka, Calif., on the day after Christmas, a kayaker got in trouble in 48 degree water just off shore. Luckily for him, he was within 500 yards of the Coast Guard station, which dispatched a launch to rescue him.

"He didn't have any of the right training to be out there," Coast Guard Petty Officer Jared Barnes told the Eureka, Calif., Times Standard. Like Johnson, he recommended that kayakers be prepared by wearing a wet or dry suit to protect from hypothermia, and carry a radio or signaling device in case things go wrong.

Definitely words of wisdom this time of year.