Outdoor Leadership Curriculum Project

Intro to Paddling Safety:

Paddling can be an incredibly fun and exciting experience no matter your skill level, type of paddling or chosen location! However, it also has associated risks (which can be part of the fun) but the ultimate goal is to make it home safe and happily after your trip with good memories. The amount of safety considerations may be overwhelming, but just being aware of most of them can be enough to save a trip. This page outlines environmental, group and personal safety considerations that you should have in mind before and during any paddling trip that you go on and touches on how you can prepare for and manage them with ease.

Safety at a Glance:

The following is a very quick overview of the topics that will be covered throughout this Paddling Safety page. Remember that paddling can be dangerous, and more precautions can always be made. This list may be more than you need, but it also may not cover everything. Take what you need to begin your paddle planning!

• Environmental Considerations
• Group Considerations
• Logistics & Trip Planning
• Non-Participant Human Considerations
• Maine State Laws & Regulations
• Maine State Recommendations

Safety Considerations:

Environmental Considerations:

Beautiful views and vast wilderness is what makes paddling (and general outdoor recreation) so special. To maintain the awe and serenity of nature, we have to ensure we help keep it safe. To ensure that we are able to keep coming back to witness the views, we have to keep ourselves safe in the wild.

• Temperature: If the water temperature is less than 60 degrees Fahrenheit and/or the combined air and water temperature is less than 120 degrees Fahrenheit, participants must wear wetsuits, dry suits or other appropriate clothing.
  • Dress in layers to prevent over or underheating.
  • Wear synthetic layers or wool to wick away moisture, also preventing over/under heating.
  • Bring extra clothes in case you get wet and cold.
  • Weather Conditions: Beyond temperature, ensure that the weather for the entire day will be safe and comfortable to complete the entire trip.
    • Check In: Weather can be unexpected; ensure you check well before your trip and monitor up until and throughout the day of your trip.
    • Fog: If the weather is foggy, especially cloudy, or dark, ensure you wear bright clothing with reflective strips if possible and bring a light source with you.
    • Rain/Storms: If the weather is rainy, ensure that there is no risk of thunder/lighting. If there is, do your best to avoid the water until no lightning or thunder is present for at least 30 minutes.
    • Water Runoff: Keep in mind how conditions such as upstream rain or snowmelt may affect water levels and conditions throughout your trip.
    • Wind: Monitor wind levels and plan your trip accordingly. It is much harder to paddling against the wind, especially if you’re tired. Consider making the initial leg of your trip against the wind so it helps you rather than hinders you on the way back.
• Water Conditions: The temperature of water is not the only consideration when it comes to staying safe. Take into consideration the following factors before you head out:
  • Water level: Research water levels specific to your location. Avoid levels too high or low to travel safely.
  • Current Speed/strength: Paddling upstream takes much more strength than going downstream. Try to start your trip against the stream to ensure enough energy on your return. Turn around before you feel the effects of exhaustion.
  • Waves: Get to know the water through locals before you go. If the body of water is known for being rough, ensure you have the proper knowledge, skills and equipment to make it through safely.
  • Rocks and water features: Local paddlers should be able to warn you of any dangerous features but cannot point them out unless they are with you. Get to know the signs of common water features (i.e. pillows, eddys and strainers) and practice spotting and avoiding them (this can be called “reading the river/water”).
  • Location: Know where you are, where you are going, and local outtakes and towns to find help if something goes wrong.
• Invasive Species: As outlined in Maine’s official recommendations, Maine’s waterways are vulnerable to invasive species. Follow the listed recommendations to ensure prevention of this growing problem.
• Water Hygiene: Along with prevention of invasive species, Maine’s waterways must be protected from litter and contamination. Using your judgement and learning further about what can affect water hygiene is the best way to do this. Below are some guidelines to follow to help keep our water clean:
  • Always ensure the sunscreen and bug protectants that you are wearing are eco-friendly.
  • Pack out all trash and items that you brought with you.
  • Ensure all equipment, materials and devices are in good condition. Frayed ropes and clothes can tear off and litter our waterways.
  • Do not leave any food or crumbs behind. This can litter waterways and affect local wildlife.

Group Considerations:

Knowing your group dynamics is the ultimate safety precaution. This will allow you to easily identify who is best for what task in an emergency, who to give an extra hand, and what you may need to be prepared for. The following are some group considerations and topics to discuss before your trip.

• Skill Level: How long has your group been paddling? Would you trust them to self-rescue if something were to happen? Which members are the strongest paddlers/swimmers?
• Staying Together: Do your group members know where to go if they get lost? Can you trust them to find a rendezvous point? Ensure each member knows where they are, has a map, and is with a trustworthy person if they cannot find their own way.
• Communication: Do your group members know how to nonverbally communicate if they end up separated from the rest of the group or if there is loud running water nearby? Do they know who to contact and have the contact information they need? Consider having your group put emergency contact numbers in their phones prior to the trip.
• Group Dynamics: Do certain group members work well together or refuse to work together or listen when they are together? Are some group members eager and willing to try any skill while others are hesitant? Try forming groups/paddling pairs based on who will work well and bring out the best in each other rather than who usually pairs together.
• Fear and Reactions: Remember that being in water and in new settings in general can spark fear in the most courageous people. Recognizing this fear and working with participants is crucial to helping people through this obstacle. Fear can manifest in a variety of reactions including shutting down, appearing as other emotions, or even irrational decision-making. Keep an eye on your participants and ensure that you check in with them as needed.

Logistics & Trip Planning:

Be prepared for anything that can happen to you or your group by checking the basics and packing necessities.

Trip Logistics:

• Hydration and Hunger: Paddling and swimming are unique because they both expend large amounts of energy before becoming noticeable. Pay extra attention to ensuring your body is fueled and hydrated – even/especially when it’s cold outside!
• Exhaustion: In addition to ensuring your body is fueled and hydrated, ensure that you have enough physical and mental energy to make it to your end point. Check in with yourself and groupmates and rest or turn around/head to your end point if anyone is starting to feel fatigued.
• Equipment State and Function: Equipment is only deemed safe and functional as long as it is in good working condition with no excessive frays, tears, holes, or damage. Check your gear and equipment directly before each use to ensure that it functions properly and meets factory requirements of safety ratings. If something is damaged and cannot be repaired, do not rely on it to work properly. If it is a safety feature or concern, do not continue to use it.
• Safety Devices: Safety devices are created out of necessity, meaning that they are there for a reason. At any time, there is a recommended safety device, you should be using it. Common safety devices include the following:
  • Helmets: Helmets should be worn whenever there is a risk of flipping your boat such as in rapid waters, rocky areas, or unknown areas. They should also be worn if there is a risk of falling objects (such as rocks) or head-level obstacles (such as low-hanging branches) in fast moving water. Ensure a proper fitting helmet in good condition for it to be effective.
  • Noise Making Devices: Follow Maine Law as stated below in regard to noise making devices. When not required, it is still helpful to have a noise making device on your person when on the water. These devices can save energy while creating more noise than a human can easily make. They can be used in situations to gain attention of another craft or person when your presence is unknown or if you are lost and rescuers cannot see you due to location or darkness.
  • Lights and Signals: Follow Maine Law as stated below in regard to navigation lights and visual distress signals. Even when not required, it is helpful to have navigation lights and distress signals with you at all times. These devices are helpful if you end up being lost or out longer than anticipated and it gets dark outside. It is especially hard to find your way on the water when it is dark out, for rescuers to find you, and other watercraft to see you. A light and visual distress signal will help you find your way out and let others be able to see you.
  • Personal Floatation Devices (PFDs): Follow state laws relating to PFDs as outlined below. It is important to always consider wearing a PFD, even when it is not legally required to mitigate any safety risks.
• Self-Rescue Skills: Paddling in new or worsening conditions can quickly lead to dangerous situations. Knowing what to do when these situations occur can be the difference between an inconvenience and a ruined trip. Learning and practicing the following self-rescue techniques/tips can help you ensure your own survival.
  • Kayak Capsizing: How to re-enter your kayak after you have tipped over or fallen out.
  • Canoe Capsizing: How to re-enter your canoe after you have tipped over or fallen out.
  • SUP Capsizing: How to re-mount your SUP after you have tipped over or fallen out.
  • Decision Making and Risk Analysis: Practice the skill of determining what type of rescue you need and what your resources will allow. This can include knowing when the conditions are best to swim to shore, whether or not to retrieve your paddle or boat, when to call for help, or when to enter a friend’s boat.

Trip Planning:

• Float Plan: Creating a float plan will allow everyone in your group to know what to do if something goes wrong. Prevention is ideal but planning and preparation for things to happen is just as crucial. Use the following guidelines (Developed by the ACA) to help you start your float plan: 
  • The 4 W’s:
    • Who: Your name and everyone who will be with you. Contact information recommended.
    • Where: Your planned put-in, take-out, and paddling route including any designated or significant stops along the way. Where your designated meet-up location if separated will be recommended.
    • When: Your estimated launch and return time and when to notify the authorities if you don’t return.
    • What to do: A plan for what to do if you don’t return or check in as scheduled.
  • Make it a Routine:
    • Keep a basic float plan on your computer or phone and make a habit of filling it out and sending it to a reliable person each time you go paddling.
  • Share your Plan:
    • Tell a trusted friend or family member when and where you plan to paddle so they know to get help if you are in trouble.
    • Consider sharing your float plan with local authorities if you don’t know anyone trustworthy in the area. This will allow them to tell if something went wrong, easily find where you should be, where you could be, and know your back-up and meet-up plans. This can be crucial if there is not trustworthy service in your area.
• Getting Help: Look up and save local search and rescue, PD, and game warden or ranger numbers near the area that you will be paddling before your trip. This will allow you to easily call for help if something should go wrong. 

Non-Participant Human Considerations:

Other people and their can be an inherent danger, as we cannot predict what they may do. Follow these guidelines to ensure your presence is known and be aware on how to share the water.

• In-Water: Make sure to share the water with other people, no matter how they may use it. Take into consideration the recreational and commercial uses of the waterways around you, including but not limited to:
  • Other watercrafts, especially motorized boats in the water around you. Ensure that you make eye contact with the operator of all other watercrafts that you see and follow your right-of-way the best you can (described below). If a craft is not following their right-of-way and is not making contact with you, do your best to signal them and move out of their way safely.
  • Navigation and Right-of-Way (Maine.gov):
    • Power-driven watercraft must give way to disabled, anchored, restricted maneuverability crafts, commercial fishing and sailboat crafts. 
    • Sailboats must give way to watercraft not under command, restricted maneuverability crafts, and commercial fishing crafts.
    • As canoe, kayak, and SUPers, you will generally fall under the category of restricted ability to maneuver. This gives you the right-of-way in most situations compared to motorized or sailboats. Despite this, ensure that you do your best to stay in a safe position, out of the way of other boats and vehicles.
    • When you come across another canoe, kayak or SUP, neither craft has the right-of-way. Remain to the right and pass at a safe pace and distance.

• Out of Water: There are many interactions between land and waterways that can influence how and where you can paddle. Ensure you take into consideration the following factors when paddling:
  • Shoreline viewers can be distracting, but can also interact with the water around you. Ensure their distraction does not affect your ability to safely operate your craft. If people on the shoreline are fishing or interacting with the water in another way, watch for possible lines, ropes, hooks or other dangers and avoid them the best you can.

Maine Laws and Recommendations:

Paddling-Related Safety Device Laws and Regulations (Maine.gov):

• Personal Floatation Devices (PDFs): All watercraft – including canoes, kayaks, and stand-up paddle boards (SUPs) – must have at least one USCG – approved wearable personal floatation device (PFD), sometimes known as a life jacket, for each person on board.
• PFD Age: Children 10 years of age or younger must wear a USCG-approved PFD at all times while on board a watercraft unless the watercraft is docked, anchored, or moored.
• Specific Additions:
  • Anyone canoeing/kayaking on the Saco River between Hiram Dam and the Atlantic Ocean from January 1 to June 1 must wear a PFD.
  • Anyone on board a watercraft on the Penobscot River between the gorge and the head of Big Eddy must wear a PFD.
  • Anyone on board a watercraft on the Kennebec River between Harris Station and Turtle Island, at the foot of Black Brook Rapids must wear a PFD.
• Besides being USCG approved, all PFDs must be:
  • In good and serviceable condition.
  • Readily Accessible, which means you are able to put the PFD on quickly in an emergency.
  • Of the proper size for the intended wearer. Sizing for PFDs is based on body weight and size.
  • Used in accordance with the manufacturer’s label.
• Paddling-Related Safety Device Law Exemptions:
  • Licensed canoes owned by a summer camp and used for teaching by a camp counselor at least 18 years old within 500 feet of the camp’s shoreline.
• SUP Specific Laws:
  • SUPs must have:
    • A PFD for each person on board the watercraft.
    • A sound-producing device such as a whistle.
    • Navigation lights when used between sunset and sunrise – this may be a flashlight or a headlamp with a white light.
    • Visual distress signals when used on territorial waters between sunset and sunrise.

Environmental Recommendations (Maine.gov):

Prevention of invasive species is crucial to keeping Maine’s waters safe, clean and healthy. Fines can be up to $2,500 for transporting any aquatic plant. To avoid this, abide by the following recommendations:

• PFD Age: Children 10 years of age or younger must wear a USCG-approved PFD at all times while on board a watercraft unless the watercraft is docked, anchored, or moored.
• Specific Additions:
  • Anyone canoeing/kayaking on the Saco River between Hiram Dam and the Atlantic Ocean from January 1 to June 1 must wear a PFD.
  • Anyone on board a watercraft on the Penobscot River between the gorge and the head of Big Eddy must wear a PFD.
  • Anyone on board a watercraft on the Kennebec River between Harris Station and Turtle Island, at the foot of Black Brook Rapids must wear a PFD.
• Besides being USCG approved, all PFDs must be:
  • In good and serviceable condition.
  • Readily Accessible, which means you are able to put the PFD on quickly in an emergency.
  • Of the proper size for the intended wearer. Sizing for PFDs is based on body weight and size.
  • Used in accordance with the manufacturer’s label.
• Clean off visible aquatic plants, animals, and mud from watercraft, motor, trailer, and equipment before leaving water access.
• Drain bilge water, engine water and any other water sources at a location that will not drain directly into ANY state waters.
• Dry completely before reuse.

Remember:

Mistakes will happen, but prevention is the best solution. Do your best to prepare for the trip that you plan to take, and most importantly, have fun!

Happy Paddling!