As you push your kayak or canoe off the shore into a Missouri lake or river, it’s likely a fun day is ahead.
Too often, however, fun on Missouri waterways can become deadly. In light of this year’s drownings total already surpassing last year’s, the Missouri Highway Patrol is encouraging swimmers and canoers to make safety a priority.
If a life jacket is somewhere in your kayak, it’s true that you have taken a first and unquestionably essential step in waterway safety.
But, according to Kelsey Bracewell with the American Canoe Association Safety Department, that is not the only necessary safety precaution.
Choosing the Right Life Jacket
Modern fit jackets, she adds, are preferable to the older, neon orange collar life jackets.
“The ones that you put on your neck and then tighten them-- those tend to not be buoyant enough to float the average sized person. They don’t provide any floatation in the back, they’re just on your chest.”
Secondly, Bracewell says to zip, tighten, and buckle the jacket.
“Actually wearing it, rather than just bringing it with you, or stowing it in a hatch, or affixing it to the front of your kayak.”
But waterway safety doesn’t end with strapping that vest, says Bracewell.
Informing Others of Your Plans
One major hazard, she says, is paddling alone.
“When they don’t necessarily have a plan where they are going, or if they do, they don’t tell anyone where they’re going, or when they expect to be back. Or who to contact if they are not heard from.”
Being Aware of Water Conditions
“Being familiar with the area you are going. But that also includes: what is a normal flow for the river? How much water is too much? How cold is too cold? If I flip, do I have the right clothes? Do I have dry clothes in my car? Do I have food to eat? Am I dressed to be wet for an extended period of time?”
To check conditions, Bracewell suggests checking local media, government websites,and asking experts at river clubs and organizations.
“Asking, ‘I plan on going to a trip here, what should I expect?”
Bracewell says this safety step is essential for everyone, regardless of previous swimming or kayaking experience.
“There’s lots of people who go paddling on a river that they live next to for years. They might have paddled it a whole bunch of times, but they never considered, sometimes when it rains, sometimes when the weather’s bad, that the environment changes.”
Staying Alert
So you have a life jacket on and you’ve checked the conditions. What next? Bracewell says to “keep your wits about you.”
In other words, don’t be under the influence of alcohol or drugs, pay attention to what is around you, and keep your balance in order to stay in your boat.
“If there happens to be inclement weather, or if the water in the river is high or cold or anything else, they might get stuck outside of their craft for an extended period of time,” says Bracewell.
If You Fall Out of Your Boat
It’s time to act. First, Bracewell says, try to swim to a shore, a sandbar, or another kayak.
“Just floating there-you’re at the river’s mercy. So get out!”
If you cannot escape or swim away from an object, however, Bracewell says, don’t give up.
“Instead of just drifting into it, turn over on your stomach, and actively and aggressively swim towards the thing and up and over.”
Underneath a hazard, she says, is where the debris collects that is easy to get caught in.
“There’s usually no easy way out on the bottom or the underneath side of an obstacle.”
Steps for Water Rescue
Now, shifting perspectives—you’re not the person who is in the water and fighting the current. You’re still in your boat and watching the person struggle. What should you do?
“Of course your first instinct is to help. But if that person is being re-circulated by a hydraulic at the bottom of a dam, or at a dangerous rapid, or in a channel of water where they are other moving boats and other traffic, you need to think twice before you jump in.”
Bracewell says there is a priority system to rescuing someone. First, she says to reach.
“Either reach them with your voice, yell at them, and tell them what to do, so they might help themselves without you having to get involved.”
If you can’t reach them with your voice, reach them with your paddle.
“Extend that paddle to them so they have something to grab on to, other than yourself.”
Or, if you have a life jacket or something buoyant, throw that to them.
“If you can’t reach them with your voice or your paddle or something that floats, then go after them.”
But, she advises, stay in your boat. It is easier to navigate the water that way, and you can reach for the drowning person and pull them onto your canoe or kayak.
Children and Kayaking
Bracewell says to be mindful if you are taking children with you kayaking. Make sure they are wearing a life jacket and are being supervised. But the most important question to ask, she says, is:
“What is the skill or knowledge of the parent?”
Often times, Bracewell explains, a child can be self-aware, wearing a life jacket, and talented at maneuvering in the water, but--
“The parents that freak out, or who are not wearing a life jacket, or think that because they are an adult that they don’t need one, and end up causing more of an issue.”
Bracewell concludes that wearing a life jacket, paying attention, and keeping calm are important steps to stay safe on Missouri waterways.
Click here for additional safety tips from the Missouri Highway Water Patrol, andhere for information on taking a boater safety education class.