Mass Kayak Rescue in the Bay

[Haynsie]

http://www.theage.com.au/national/mass- ... mf89n.html

[Franko]

Hhhhmmmm

[Smish]

Glad those kids all managed to make it back to shore.

I'd just like to make a point that the kayak fatality statistics are a bit of a distortion and not always safety related. Keep in mind kayaking is a physical sport so quite different to boating, a lot of kayakers are middle aged and the statistics don't take into account things like heart attack and stroke. I think one of the recent deaths was a 73 year old man. More people drop dead jogging than from kayaking, you can't legislate against being physically active.

[laneends]

Glad those kids all managed to make it back to shore.

I'd just like to make a point that the kayak fatality statistics are a bit of a distortion and not always safety related. Keep in mind kayaking is a physical sport so quite different to boating, a lot of kayakers are middle aged and the statistics don't take into account things like heart attack and stroke. I think one of the recent deaths was a 73 year old man. More people drop dead jogging than from kayaking, you can't legislate against being physically active.

True but historical data over the last 10 years is out of date with the sheer number of kayaks on the water now and in the future. Especially those cheapies. 3 years ago when I got my first cheapy there were virtually hardly any listed on ebay etc.

[4liters]

2 deaths between approx. 150,000 people and countless trips is pretty good going.

[Ghurkin]

At Rosebud over xmas, I saw allot of new kayaks with kids in them, they don't know how to paddle, no PFDS on them while parents drink around the camp site or beach.
The water looks calm and is even though a good 20 plus knot offshore wind is blowing, these basically unsupervised kids paddle with the wind out deeper, they cant really feel it because its behind them, all there feeling is look at how fast i can paddle!! then reality hits when they turn to come back in, some of the cant even swing the bow around against the wind.

I saw this time and time again this year, and saw adults swimming out to tow them back in, its basically a matter of time before some poor kid that doesn't know better and is unsupervised is going to get drowned.

I've also seen adults doing this in the same conditions this year.

[laneends]

At Rosebud over xmas, I saw allot of new kayaks with kids in them, they don't know how to paddle, no PFDS on them while parents drink around the camp site or beach.
The water looks calm and is even though a good 20 plus knot offshore wind is blowing, these basically unsupervised kids paddle with the wind out deeper, they cant really feel it because its behind them, all there feeling is look at how fast i can paddle!! then reality hits when they turn to come back in, some of the cant even swing the bow around against the wind.

I saw this time and time again this year, and saw adults swimming out to tow them back in, its basically a matter of time before some poor kid that doesn't know better and is unsupervised is going to get drowned.

I've also seen adults doing this in the same conditions this year.

I worry about the adults with little toddlers between their knees. Risk of instability is enormous and ability to right a capsized yak save the toddler, stop it drifting away and get back on, having never even practiced it..can't see it happening

[Ghurkin]

I worry about the adults with little toddlers between their knees. Risk of instability is enormous and ability to right a capsized yak save the toddler, stop it drifting away and get back on, having never even practiced it..can't see it happening

Legally its one person per cockpit or seating area so allot of them are breaking the law.

[chunk9000]

Legally its one person per cockpit or seating area so allot of them are breaking the law.

Yeah that's an interesting one. My Malibu kayak has a "gator" hatch at the front that is designed and marketed to be used as a kids seat. The hatch is useful but the seat is the dumbest idea I've seen in a kayak.

[laneends]

I worry about the adults with little toddlers between their knees. Risk of instability is enormous and ability to right a capsized yak save the toddler, stop it drifting away and get back on, having never even practiced it..can't see it happening

Legally its one person per cockpit or seating area so allot of them are breaking the law.

How many of them even know they are breaking the law? How many of them are even aware they are over deep water, with strong tides and wind drifting? How many have even consider what loosing the paddle will mean, or how easy they are to tip when they reach out to grab a dropped paddle? Do they even know how much wake a jetski can throw up?

it may be a small % that get in trouble buts fast becoming a % of a much big number