As boating season around Western New York kicks into full gear, the U.S. Coast Guard is offering safety tips to boaters on the Great Lakes and beyond.
According to the national 2015 Recreational Boating Statistics, there were 139 deaths in 2015 of people using either kayaks or canoes with capsizing and drowning accounting for two-third of those deaths.
For this reason the Coast Guard urges paddlers to wear their life jackets at all times. Paddlecraft are prone to capsizing more easily than other vessels, and their operators should be prepared to unexpectedly enter the water at any time.
Cold water temperatures in the Great Lakes makes paddling in those bodies of water especially dangerous for people who are not appropriately dressed. Water temperature of 60 degrees or lower is considered cold. Paddlers should dress for the water temperature to avoid drowning as a result of cold-water-shock response.
Additionally, paddlers are encouraged to practice in controlled environments re-entering their vessels from the water. Many inexperienced paddlers underestimate how difficult re-entry is and find they are unable to do so after capsizing, necessitating rescues and increasing their odds of hypothermia or drowning.
Paddlers who capsize and are unable to re-enter their vessels should remain with the vessel to increase their visibility to rescuers.
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