i always wear PFD. Somethings can be controlled other not - I believe in taking care of what I can. I want to be able to continue enjoying this sport as long I can.
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Happy National Garlic Day! 🧄🚫🧛🏼♂️
Always...same thinking as Bob!
People who always wear PFD's should NOT watch these videos.
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I voted sometimes, but always would probably have been closer to what I do. There was no almost always option. I will virtually always have a PFD on when I get in a canoe or kayak. The one exception would be one or two times I went to a local pond to test paddle a boat and forgot my PFD. On those occasions, I stayed close to shore and the water was warm.
On rare occasions I will take off my PFD on the water. My practice is the same as Glenn's, Mike's, Kim's, and others. On these occasions the air is calm, water is warm, there is no significant chance of encounter with a power boat, and I am either close to shore on a lake, on a river with gentle current relatively close to the bank, or a shallow stream with gentle current. In other words, conditions under which I would have no reluctance whatsoever to jump in the water and swim to shore, or get out of the canoe and stand. I have been on river trips in low water conditions in the summer heat in which it became necessary frequently and repeatedly to get out of the canoe and pull or float it through shallows and have taken my PFD off then to avoid overheating. Under conditions like this I consider the danger of being in the water no more than swimming in a lake or pond near shore, a deep swimming pool, or in the ocean close to the beach in calm conditions which I have also done without a PFD.
On rare occasions I will take off my PFD on the water. My practice is the same as Glenn's, Mike's, Kim's, and others. On these occasions the air is calm, water is warm, there is no significant chance of encounter with a power boat, and I am either close to shore on a lake, on a river with gentle current relatively close to the bank, or a shallow stream with gentle current. In other words, conditions under which I would have no reluctance whatsoever to jump in the water and swim to shore, or get out of the canoe and stand. I have been on river trips in low water conditions in the summer heat in which it became necessary frequently and repeatedly to get out of the canoe and pull or float it through shallows and have taken my PFD off then to avoid overheating. Under conditions like this I consider the danger of being in the water no more than swimming in a lake or pond near shore, a deep swimming pool, or in the ocean close to the beach in calm conditions which I have also done without a PFD.
The 70-mile General Clinton is on a shallow river that has a number of faster sections with rocks and strainers. The first half mile begins out and back on an open lake, with much jostling for position and the usual very rough confused water typical at a mass start. Even though it is Memorial Day, the water is still cold. Last year the air was frosty in the morning, with actual finger numbing cold on the race course. But as you see from the video, few paddlers wear their PFDs. The GC is not my favorite race.
An observation from many years of participating in the Adirondack 90-miler, held the weekend after Labor Day... the air and water are usually quite warm and the weather is good. There are 275 race boats and many frequent safety boats on the course that watch over each other. With good weather, I'd say that in the large non-comptetiive open touring class, which has the majority of lesser experienced paddlers, more than half will wear PFDs. In the other competitive classes, well under half of the paddlers will wear them. On the large lakes with increasing wind more will don PFDs. And the race director does require all to wear them if the the conditions do get rough.
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No backsliding or apologias allowed. Always means always.
I also have videos of kayak fishing and kayak snorkeling/scuba diving where almost no one wears PFD's.
Pblanc brings up the swimming analogy. When I paddle in warm climes such as Florida, the significant majority of paddlers in rec kayaks and SOTs don't wear life jackets. (Canoes are rarely seen.) SOTs are particularly popular, and many paddlers enjoy jumping off them to swim or snorkel. They can be climbed back upon fairly easily and self-drain.
The outrigger is the canoe of the entire Pacific basin, and I dare say there are a lot more outrigger canoes in the world than CanAm canoes. Very rarely does one see PFD's on an outrigger paddler. When I attended outrigger races in California, I was the only paddler among hundreds wearing one. But my resolve never flinched, despite their speedos and bikinis. Going bare is partly cultural among outrigger paddlers, but it's also significantly because the craft itself is considered to be the flotation device. If you "go huli" with an outrigger, you can easily flip it upright climb back on, like a SOT. Outrigger paddlers will often wear ankle leashes to tether themselves to the boat when paddling big bumps.
Did I backslide or apologize? I'll admit to not always wearing a PFD, including the 90-miler - never claimed otherwise. But I thought I implied the conditions on the GC sufficiently dictate, as far as I was concerned, that I and my crew wear our PFDs. The same is true for the earlier season Saranac Round the Mountain race and others.
I paddled the GC in a C4 last year. There is no voyageur class in the GC. Most often I am racing in a voyageur canoe, and most local races in voyageur or C4 we treat as training for the Yukon. Whenever in the voyageur or C4, PFDs are worn 100% of the time by all, every time, as part of our training. Everyone needs to know that their gear is comfortable for 18+ hours/day of continuous paddling for a week.
I cannot imagine anyone not wearing their PFD when on the Yukon River. Big, fast with chaotic currents, 40 degrees, and thick with silt. Local residents tell stories of people falling in and clothing instantly becoming so heavy with silt that swimming is impossible so they simply sink, never to be seen again. I don't believe most locals outside of Whitehorse, especially remote location First Nation people, have any opportunity to learn how to swim. Yet we pass many in small boats tending fish wheels with no PFDs being worn.
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I always wear mine, feel naked without it. I can swim well enough too.
I think of it like this, would I want somebody I loved like my children to NOT wear theirs?
I also find that the pockets on the PFD are functionally indispensable.
Get a good PFD, comfortable, functional and most importantly sized correctly and embrace it. I can dump a hundred times with one on and not need but I can only dump once without one and need it.
I think of it like this, would I want somebody I loved like my children to NOT wear theirs?
I also find that the pockets on the PFD are functionally indispensable.
Get a good PFD, comfortable, functional and most importantly sized correctly and embrace it. I can dump a hundred times with one on and not need but I can only dump once without one and need it.
I didn't make my comment clear. I wasn't speaking to or about you. I was speaking the the Principle of Always. The POA is sacramental; it can admit of no exceptions for shallow rivers, warm water, hot temperatures, swimming ability, physical condition, or the joy of feeling free. The POA is almost a religious commandment in it's universal and unyielding application. Sort of like Always Use bow and stern tie-down lines. Or . . . the most fundamental principle of all . . . NEVER PADDLE ALONE.
Well, I wouldn't do it, but I can imagine it.
If I recall properly, that was George Simpson's select crew of Mohawk paddlers, who were renowned for their ability o paddle at high speeds, non-stop for days at a time. I wish we had a time machine and could pit them against today's modern long distance racers and see how they stack up.
I'd like to learn more about that. Did he have Indian crews in addition to French crews?
The French Voyageurs not only ran everything without PFD's, they rarely dumped. In fact, their lost mystery skills produced quite the opposite hull dynamics:
Here are native Indian war canoe paddlers with no PFD's from a film in 1914. It was a fictionalized account of the the Kwakwaka'wakw (Kwakiutl) peoples of the Queen Charlotte Strait region of the Central Coast of British Columbia, Canada, but it featured a cast composed entirely of actual Indians.
Well, our little inter web exchange is gonna cost me a lot of money this morning. I've always loved that Francis Hopkins painting, so I searched on line, found a place that does a glicee on canvas reproduction, 30" x 50", so a good size print……..425 bucks. I gotta have it though.
Simpson was fond of his Mohawk crew, but I think he had French crews occasionally. However, I believe it was his Mohawk crews who set all kinds of distance records, I'll have to look them up.
Simpson was fond of his Mohawk crew, but I think he had French crews occasionally. However, I believe it was his Mohawk crews who set all kinds of distance records, I'll have to look them up.
Here are some modern war canoe racers violating the POA rule for PFD's. They could probably beat the Voyageurs or the Indians but only for a sprint distance. (Notice their paddling technique -- a different topic.) However, I'd bet on the ancient guys over a 1000 or 2000 mile course.
That's it for This Sunday at the Movies. Time for women's college basketball.
That's it for This Sunday at the Movies. Time for women's college basketball.
G
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Always now, but until last year my pfd usually was behind me, buckled to the seat.
One day last summer I watched the New River a bit before launch. It was big after rains, flat but boiling and very fast. It scared me just to look at it, and I put the thing on. I haven't taken it off since.
A month later and on far less flow a neighbor and his girlfriend fell out of their canoe, no pfds, and had to be rescued. They were newbies. I think that that they have quit canoeing for good.
Looks like the argument is about the same as for seat belts. If you roll your truck at 80mph out on the interstate, you have lots to contend with. Maybe a seat belt will help. Maybe it won't matter. Probably better to have one on.
But around home, where most accidents occur, usually at low speeds, but often for little cheesey reasons and at completely unexpected moments, the relative usefulness of seat belts goes way up.
I think it's close to that with boats. More often than not we get done in 50' feet from shore and in some moment of distraction.
That's the story from another neighbor, who is swift water rescue with the US Park Service. The WW kayakers, rafters and canoeists on the mighty Gauley and the lower New are not much of a problem. The anglers on the New are the problem. All of the bodies he recovers are without pfds.
Getting accustomed to my pfd was not nearly as tough as I thought it would be. The pockets are handy. It's not too hot after all. Nor does it limit my moves.
The newer type popular with kayakers seems to keep the face and head up during immersion. Don't have that yet.
One day last summer I watched the New River a bit before launch. It was big after rains, flat but boiling and very fast. It scared me just to look at it, and I put the thing on. I haven't taken it off since.
A month later and on far less flow a neighbor and his girlfriend fell out of their canoe, no pfds, and had to be rescued. They were newbies. I think that that they have quit canoeing for good.
Looks like the argument is about the same as for seat belts. If you roll your truck at 80mph out on the interstate, you have lots to contend with. Maybe a seat belt will help. Maybe it won't matter. Probably better to have one on.
But around home, where most accidents occur, usually at low speeds, but often for little cheesey reasons and at completely unexpected moments, the relative usefulness of seat belts goes way up.
I think it's close to that with boats. More often than not we get done in 50' feet from shore and in some moment of distraction.
That's the story from another neighbor, who is swift water rescue with the US Park Service. The WW kayakers, rafters and canoeists on the mighty Gauley and the lower New are not much of a problem. The anglers on the New are the problem. All of the bodies he recovers are without pfds.
Getting accustomed to my pfd was not nearly as tough as I thought it would be. The pockets are handy. It's not too hot after all. Nor does it limit my moves.
The newer type popular with kayakers seems to keep the face and head up during immersion. Don't have that yet.
I've had that Hopkins print of the voyageurs and two others, framed in oak, on my office and now home office wall for 30 years. I think I got the prints from Ralph Frese's Chicagoland Canoe Base, and I doubt I paid more than $25 each. But time and money flies, and I don't have much left of either.
You said it acer, they only recover bodies without pfd's.
I also have that same Hopkins print, "Shooting the Rapids", nicely framed, plus several others including "Passing a Waterfall" and "Canoes in a Fog", all hanging in my office. 
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