Canoe Tours - General Safety  

  A few thoughts:

  (a) This is probably a good time to remind members that BWCC does NOT offer guided trips. It is expected that those who register for a particular trip will would have developed the appropriate moving water skills, so as to not be a hazard to themselves nor to the rest of the group.

  At some point in the past participants should have successfully completed the appropriate river canoe or river kayak lesson programs/river safety courses.

  And it is expected that they would have acquired the “river reading” skills that would enable them to be the “front boat” on whatever river reach they are paddling.   (Flat-water experience only, no matter how extensive, is NOT adequate for a Class I river trip).

  (b) Make sure that our safety protocols are being followed - everything from the pre-trip safety talk to the various guidelines we use when floating down the river. Government regulations make it mandatory to have PFDs, whistles, bailing pail and 15 meters of floating line. Having a throw bag in your boat qualifies.  Throw bags attached to either end of the boat are a risk to yourself and other paddlers as they can self deploy creating a hazard on the water (see more on ropes and paddling).

(c) Have a look at the "River Rating Guide" found here (It's also in our Member Handbook). Go to the middle column entitled 'Bow Waters Paddlers Classification'. This outlines the skills that are required to safely paddle the various classes of rivers. They are listed as 'Novice', 'Intermediate', 'Advanced' and 'Extreme'. Ensure that your skills are commensurate with the Class of the river reach you want to paddle.

(d) If you are involved in any type of “incident or near-miss” on a club trip, please fill out the Incident Report that is part of each Tour Coordinator's package, and turn it over to our Safety Committee. Only in this way can we ensure that we do everything possible to promote safe paddling. We can't learn from mistakes we don't know about! This is especially true of any incident that involves "wood" - i.e. sweepers, strainers, log jams and log piles.

Safety – a bare bones beginner level

River Talk – Given by the coordinator or other club member regarding how the group and individuals in the group should conduct themselves on the river during the trip.  Ask the coordinator what the river features are and who know the reach of river.

Topics included in brief:

Boat conduct on the river – you are responsible for choosing your own route on the river.  The analogy is if you are on a highway driving a car, you are responsible for where it goes and the outcome of a particular decision.  You are personally responsible for reading river features.

Front boat and sweep boat(s) – stay between the two, or eddy out and wait if you get ahead of the group, every member should know how many boats are on the water on any given trip. Doing boat counts regularly ensures no members go missing. Bow Water trips need a minimum of 3 three boats for a trip to go.

Swimming-the basic river swimming position is the “Whitewater float position” involving lying on back with feet downstream (in a defensive position, to kick off objects in the river if necessary). Stay on the upstream side of your canoe, (canoes filled with water that run over you hurt.) On smaller rivers consider self rescue of your equipment, on larger rivers you own safety is the priority get yourself to shore. To swim to shore , use your arms and kick with your feet , by pointing you head upstream towards the shore you want to go to.  A paddle may help with propulsion hooked under your upstream armpit effectively making that arm a flipper.  The general rule is to stand in the river only when your buttocks hit the bottom. Standing in a river (moving water) can cause foot entrapment which can be the cause of drowning, even in a couple of feet of water.  Never stand up in a river, always keep your feet up until you are in a foot or less of water.

On the Water

  Obstructions on the water , Sweepers , Strainers , Rock (large) , bridge abutments

Be aware of obstructions on the water , sweeper , strainers , bridge abutments , midstream rocks.  Look in the direction you want to go to paddle away from them , not at the obstruction itself.  The general rule if you broach or hit one of these is to abandon the canoe to climb onto the obstruction (so you stay out of the water where you could get trapped).

Equipment on the water, mandatory:

• Personal Floatation Device  (PFD)
• Whistle
• 15M for floating rope 
• a throw bag for shore based rescue.
• Bailer

Allow plenty of space between you and the next boat when going through rapids and constricted places.  Ask the front boat to adjust pace if the spacing isn’t working.

Always it is your responsibility,” if in doubt, you scout it out”.  For unfamiliar rapids or dangerous spots.

Rescue and recovery

Rule #1

Never get involved in any rescue maneuver that you are not 100% comfortable with.  There are lots of documented cases of rescuers being compromised because they didn’t know what they were doing.

Recovering people in the water methods:

• Swimmer self rescues themselves to shore – most common and preferred
• Throw bag rescue,  shore based method only
• Boat tow where the swimmer holds bow or stern grab loop.
• Strong swimmer rescue, - specialized with expert training only

Recovering swamped boat methods:

• bumping, generally two boats maximum involved, no attachment to swamped boat.
• swimmer boat self rescue,   best scenario, thank the swimmer saving your efforts
• boat over boat rescue,   Learned skill
• PFD tow line rescue.       Speciality learned skill

Individuals may also assist in the recovery of equipment recovery from the water.  Individuals must have spare clothing and know what to wear on the water.

Ropes and Canoeing and Kayaking

 Never attach yourself to a rope while in the water under any circumstances!

Resources:

I'd recommend that every BWCC member read the "Safety Code of American Whitewater". Go to http://www.americanwhitewater.org/  then click on 'Safety' and then 'Safety Code', or go directly to http://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/Wiki/safety:start . It's a thirteen-page read, but very much worth your time.

River Reading - ACA Instuctors Handbook