[Dawn Lessoway]

My heart sank when I heard about this on the radio this morning.  I have never doubted the power of the wind and see and our lives are so safe (generally) that we’ve forgotten to respect mother nature.

I was wondering if they were wearing pfd’s  – and yes, proper immersion clothing! I had a great cousin that died at the early age of 20 in the ’50s after a full day of farming in hot weather and jumped into a lake. The temperature difference caused such a shock to their system that they had (suspected) heart attack.

Doubles might be more stable but they are unweildy.  I can’t imagine trying to flip one.

And what about all those stand-up paddlers with no .pfds on? Drives me crazy how dangerous that could be.

[Yekaterina Yushmanova]

Wow, I definitely thought of our double as a very stable tank and have not practiced rescues in it. We typically go out in a “bomber and a fighter jet” formation with my husband paddling the 18’ double with our son in the front seat and I go in a single as support. I am really not sure if I would be able to flip over the loaded double alone while my husband hangs on to our son and kayak in rough seas. Obviously, we are very conservative when paddling with our kid. Need to practice this!

[Quirine Schuyff]

And wear the appropriate immersion gear too. I don’t know what the paddlers were wearing in these scenarios but I’d guess it wasn’t with water temps in mind.

[Peter Kearney]

Would there be interest in a doubke kayak strokes and rescues course?

Peter

[Henry Grayman]

Thank you for your insights into practicing safety regularly, especially in a 2 person boat. Up until now I have always taken 2 person kayak’s stability for granted.

My own experience in a two person kayak in a big wind, was in a klepper. The latter has built in sponsons; so very stable. In fact, we helped rescue one of our party who had overturned in their single.

Henry Grayman

[Former Member]

After 4 painful deaths at sea in one week, time for a reminder about double-kayak caution: They’re certainly great for introducing beginners to the sport, as they give great feeling of stability in calm seas. But, there’s a big but’ here: they may not always be the safest in rough conditions of chop, wind, current, etc. Much less manoeuvrability, requirement of double-specific rescue techniques (ever tried emptying a swamped overturned giant double?) etc, compared to single kayaks. Good news however: Things can be made to work just fine (there’s a catch): The summery of requisites for safety in double kayaks is, you guessed it, training and practice that are specific to double kayaks. (Oh no, more work? More sport!) One of the interesting differences compared to single kayaks is that the two paddlers of the heroic crew must keep their strokes and manoeuvres *tightly coordinated* especially when negotiating a wave or a wind gust, otherwise the whole double show can go unstable and actually become less safe than the humble lonely single yak.

[Roberto Dominguez]

Sad news with two incidents in BC involving fatalities with 2 person kayaks just in the last few days :'(

Time to reflect on the safety on 2 person kayaks. They usually very wide and stable, but at the same time they give you a false sense of security.

I often go paddling with my son on a double Delta 17.5T, and we have practiced self rescue a couple of times. It’s doable, but requires coordination. I can’t imagine turning a Seward G3, those are huge and heavy.

Also, in rough waters, they can be hard to maneuver.

I don’t know the circumstances of the accidents, Just sharing some thoughts. Again, a reminder for making the right decisions and to practice, practice, practice.

 

[Bob Maher]

Andrew,

What is the price? I didn’t see it on your post.

 

Bob Maher

[Andrew Mylly]

Sorry, forgot to indicate price – asking $2,400.  Cheers!

[Andrew Mylly]

SOLD – Necky Chatham 18 composite sea kayak. Carbon fibre epoxy vacuum infused construction. Excellent condition, ready to go. Includes deck compass and Northwater under deck storage bag. Beautiful boat!  $2,400 o.bo. – SOLD

[Kevin Amos]

2024 DEMO DAYS!
April 28, 2024 / Main Beach – Cultus Lake / 10am – 3pm
May 11, 2024 / Deer Lake Park – Burnaby / 9am – 11am
June 1, 2024 / Mill Lake Park – Abbotsford / 9am – 11am
June 22, 2024 / Mill Lake Park – Abbotsford / 9am – 11am
July 13, 2024 / Deer Lake Park – Burnaby / 9am – 11am
July 27, 2024 / Mill Lake Park – Abbotsford / 9am – 11am
August 10, 2024 / Mill Lake Park – Abbotsford / 9am – 11am
WCK Demo Days
Join us for our kayak and canoe demonstration days! Struggling to choose between a few boats? This is your chance to test them out. Unsure about which boat might suit you best? We encourage you to visit our store and seek advice from our knowledgeable sales team to guide your choice.

RESERVE YOUR SPOT

https://westerncanoekayak.com/canoe-kayak-demo/

[Admin S. Jensen]

On April 17, Nathan Slater who gave a great presentation at the recent BC Marine Trails meeting, will be presenting in our area. He reached out to SKABC :

…if any of your members are near North Vancouver, I’ll be giving a presentation about my 140-day sea kayak expedition from Victoria BC to Yakutat Alaska on April 17th at the North Vancouver VPO store. I’ve attached the event link below:

https://www.alittlepaddle.ca/event-details/stories-from-a-140-day-sea-kayak-expedition-to-alaska-1

[Quirine Schuyff]

The Pitt Lake trip has not yet had any sign ups and has 4 spaces available. If you are interested please see the info about the event on the SKABC website and feel free to email with any questions.

Quirine

[Nick Heath]

Please all members – fill out the survey! It is very short and painless.

(Oddly, they  seem keenly interested in ones identification with minority communities, which seem to expand weekly! But you don’t have to answer in detail…).

[Admin S. Jensen]

Sounds great Don and Lynda!

[Author]

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