Page 20 - kayaksession54_flipbook

STAND UP PADDLING
wITh LIfe
JAckeTS.The DILemmA coNTINUeS Words: Corran Addison / Photography: Coran Addison
Simply leashing yourself to your board is hands down the safest way to enjoy your paddling experience. This is not, however, the opinion of our governments and so, like it or not, we are faced with the reality of having to wear life jackets. Two basic styles exist: A foam filled jacket like that worn by kayakers and sailors, and single deployment inflatable ones. So how to decide which is best for you?
Your safest option is always to combine the wearing of a leash, with a foam filled life jacket. Being attached to your board is the safest thing you can do, and backing that up with a jacket that will keep your head above water ensures your safety while on the water.
To wear, or not to wear: that is the question: Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous regulation, Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them?
These are the unforgettable words of Shakespeare. Or at least if he had been a paddleboarder, those would have been his words. For paddleboarding is afflicted with an onslaught of regulation from government functionaries who haven’t the faintest clue what is, or is not, safe in this sport.
Despite the increasing prevalence of regulation, independent consideration of safety in different situations on the water is still a worthwhile exercise, and an important part of paddling.
It doesn’t take a genius to see that the largest floating device in close proximity is the giant block of foam you’re standing on. Leash yourself to it, and you have the world’s safest, most buoyant device imaginable. Anyone who’s watched David Hasselhoff in
Babe Watch sprinting down the beach with his red rubber rescue aid leashed to him,can plainly see that this is in fact the preferred method: having the ability to swim effectively, unencumbered by a life vest, and being safe while still having your lifeline if its needed.
Simply leashing yourself to your board is hands down the safest way to enjoy your paddling experience. It can’t get blown away from you, it has by far the most ability to float you, and getting back on board is easier as there are no belts, buckles and dangling objects to tangle.
This is not, however, the opinion of our governments, and so like it or not, we are faced with the reality of having to wear life jackets, or in some places, simply having a life jacket lashed to the board, which makes even less sense.
To make things even more complicated (read: random), regulations are completely different within the surf zone, and outside the surf zone. A life jacket is not required if you are surfing (you know – playing in massive surf created by submerged rocks and strong currents), but they are required once you leave the surf zone (and go into the comparatively calm waters beyond the break). While I am happy that I’m not forced to wear a jacket while surfing, these contrasting regulations show just how arbitrary and random government imposed regulations are.
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