The biggest dangers in canoeing and kayaking are capsizing and the possibility of drifting away from the shore. If the water is cold, however, the risk is significantly greater, because drowning due to the cold can become a real risk. Therefore, canoeing and kayaking should, as a rule, only take place during the summer months. It is important for your own safety that you become proficient before paddling.

 

All vessels on the water must comply with the "International Maritime Rules". Canoes and kayaks are rowing vessels, and these are not specifically mentioned in the maritime rules. However, the main principle of the yield rules is that the stronger gives way to the weaker. However, in their own interest, vessels under rowing should, as far as possible, stay out of sailing routes and races where other ships are sailing.

 

Be particularly careful of stern waves from larger and faster vessels, and remember to paddle directly against the waves to achieve the best stability and balance.

Always be aware and keep an eye out to see if other vessels have spotted you. Stop rowing or change course to see if you have been seen by the other vessel.

 

Equipment

Before you get on the water, check your equipment and make sure you have what you need - adapted to the planned trip. As a starting point, both canoes and kayaks must be in good condition and - as a legal requirement - be provided with a CE approved lifejacket or swimming jacket in the appropriate size for each rower. Remember that the lifejacket is only safe if you are wearing it and it is properly closed.

 

 

Recommended equipment is

• Emergency rocket

• Mobile phone (packaged waterproof)

• Liquid

• Spare paddle/spare paddle

• Scoop/pump

• Paddle float (kayak)

• First aid kit

• Flashlight

• Compass & possibly chart

• Towing line

• Knife

• A roll of duct tape

 

Depending on the space, you can supplement with

• Extra dry clothes

• Carbohydrates

• Possibly. warm drinks

• Stirrup for climbing into the canoe (applies only to canoe)

In an open canoe or a kayak without waterproof bulkheads, you must pack clothes and the like in strong, waterproof plastic bags, which you fasten amidships in the canoe or distribute 35% forward and 65% aft in a kayak. In this way, the packing contributes to increasing the vessel's buoyancy, and the packing does not disappear in the event of a capsize.

 

Wind and current

For beginners, canoes and kayaks are not suitable for wind speeds above 5-6 meters per hour. SEC. Be especially careful of offshore winds in open water. Not only can the wind easily push light vessels further out, but a short distance from land, larger waves begin to come in offshore winds.

The current is very important for small light vessels. In narrow and healthy belts, it can reach a speed equivalent to 8-10 km per hour! The current can run very differently close to the beach and slightly further out.

Learn to judge the speed and direction of the current by e.g. to see the slopes of the buoys, current eddies at bridge pillars or bottom net piles. The current comes from the side opposite the vortices.

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Emergency situations

Alert 112 if something goes wrong along the way - state immediately that you are at sea and state your approximate position. It is a good idea to always be aware of your position so that help can arrive quickly. Signal to other vessels. If necessary, fire the emergency rocket or attention flare depending on the seriousness of the situation. Stay with your kayak or canoe. There is nothing more close to keeping you out of the water and thus warm. A search also begins from the position of your capsized vessel.

Life jackets

In everyday speech, the word "lifejacket" is used for all types of vests, but this is wrong. You have to distinguish between life jackets and life jackets.

A lifejacket has a collar and is designed to keep a person lying on their back in the water with free breathing organs, even if they cannot help themselves. A life jacket has no collar and has buoyancy distributed all around. If you cannot help yourself due to cold or unconsciousness, you will end up with a life jacket lying on your stomach with your face in the water, so that you drown.

Lifejackets should only be used for coastal rowing, where you can save yourself ashore. In terms of experience, you can save yourself and equipment approximately 150 meters before you get tired. Vests used for kayak rowing are typically life vests and rowing in a kayak should therefore only take place near the coast. Sea kayaks challenge this thinking because, with their greater seaworthiness, they are often used longer at sea. In that case, it is necessary for safety reasons to use a lifejacket that is suitable for use in

kayak. It can, for example, be an inflatable lifejacket without self-release.

 

Necessary skills

The Danish Canoe and Kayak Association has defined the following minimum skills for each canoeist and kayaker. This is not a complete list, but a minimum that everyone should be able to live up to in their own interest.

For canoeists

• You must be able to maneuver your canoe around obstacles and away from hazards.

• You should be able to perform a mate rescue of an overturned canoe.

• You must be able to get people who have fallen overboard into the canoe - possibly using a stirrup.

• You should be able to perform a self-rescue. This is difficult. Alternatively, you don't paddle alone or always so close to the bank/shore that you can empty the canoe in shallow water.

 

For kayakers

• You must be able to steer the kayak around obstacles and away from dangers.

• You must be able to get out and free of the kayak you are rowing.

• You must be able to perform self-rescue - i.e. could get back into the kayak on open water.

• You must be able to carry out a partner rescue - i.e. on open water could help your partner up in his kayak.

• All these maneuvers should be practiced in shallow and safe water so that you can always just get out of the kayak and go ashore. Feel free to practice with a friend, it will also be more fun

 

Technique for beginners

Before trying different canoes and kayaks, you should know how to sit in the boat and master some basic rowing techniques.

 

Paddle and pagaj

The most important thing is that you use a paddle/pagaj that is the right length for you. The length of a paddle is determined by whether you are paddling a touring or kayak canoe and by your own height. In a tur cano, the front paddler's paddle should reach no higher than the distance from the ground to the rower's chest, while the back paddler's paddle should reach no further than the chin. The length of the paddle is determined by the length of your arms and body. The paddle should correspond to 4 hand widths + 2 paddle blades + the distance between your elbows when you raise your arms, so that the upper arms form a straight line from the elbow over the shoulders to the elbow - through the neck.

 

Descent and ascent

The first thing you need to learn is to get into the boat. It is most difficult in a kayak. Always remember to have the center of gravity just above the centerline of the kayak. Ask a helper to hold the boat if you feel unsafe. Descent and ascent is easiest at a low boat bridge. Remember to have paddles and other equipment within easy reach. The kayak is placed in the water right up to the bridge. Hold with the "bridge hand" firmly in the bridge and with the "water hand" firmly in the cockpit tip. While holding on, the "water leg" is lowered into the kayak just in front of the seat, after which the weight is placed on this leg.

 

It must be done so that the weight goes vertically down towards the bottom of the kayak, so that you avoid going into a split. Otherwise you will fall into the water because the kayak will be pushed away from the bridge.

When you are standing well, you put the "bridge leg" down into the kayak. Only then do you sit on the seat. This method is used for kayaks with a large cockpit opening.

 

You can also get on and off at the beach or in the water. Just avoid pulling the kayak or canoe all the way up onto the sand or rocks of the beach. Most boats can't hold it; they wear heavily at the bottom with the risk of a hole. At the beach, you put the kayak parallel to the shore - with the rudder slightly outwards - in a place where you stand in water up to your knees. Here you can sit in the kayak while holding the cockpit tip and the paddle, without the rudder being damaged or broken. Step over the kayak just above the cockpit at the point where you will put the end straight down on the seat when you "dump" into the cockpit. For a number of kayak types, you can get tilting oars, which can be tilted out of the water when you get on and off in shallow water.

To keep the balance

In cape/touring kayaks, you must sit with your legs slightly bent. You must sit well, with a straight back, and you must not lean against the edge of the cockpit. In sea kayaks, you can sit with your legs outstretched in some models. The kayak/canoe is not as unstable as it looks, thanks to the paddle/paddle, which provides support and enables it to handle currents and waves. However, the kayak can handle bigger waves than the canoe because it is more closed and it is easy to use a cover.

If you become unsteady while rowing, balance can be restored by supporting the paddle blade horizontally on the surface of the water. Be careful that the blade does not go under the water. Below the water surface, the effect is the exact opposite! You can also keep the balance in the kayak with the help of

the hip. The more you relax, the better balance you have. The more you tense your body, the higher you set the balance point, and the more difficult it is for you to keep your balance. During rowing, you must under no circumstances let go of the paddle and e.g. use one hand to grab the deck or bottom of the kayak; it's simply a free ticket for a swim!

 

Wet Exit

Wet exit – i.e. getting out of the sea kayak while it is upside down – is an absolutely essential skill for achieving safety when rowing in a sea kayak. If you know that you have mastered that skill, you can keep calm if you capsize, or when, for example, you are sitting in the kayak with your head down during a Greenland flip. The first few times you train, it is wise to have a helper standing in the water next to you. Exercise slowly and controlled as follows:

Tip around and hang upside down for a moment. With one or two hands follow the cockpit edge up to the strap on the spray deck. Grab hold of the strap on the spray deck and pull forward and up - i.e. down to the seabed – to get it off

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Place your hands on the cockpit edge approx. beyond the hips. Lean forward and push the kayak up and forward / down towards the seabed and backwards. Keep your legs stretched and relaxed. Hold onto the kayak with one hand and the paddle with the other.

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Overturning and entry

Regardless of whether you row a canoe or kayak, it is crucially important that you have practiced under controlled conditions getting back up after a capsize. The difficult thing after a capsize is to get the kayak or canoe on the right keel and then get back up yourself. It can be quite challenging and require knowledge of some techniques that depend on the type of canoe or kayak you have.

It is highly recommended to follow a course where exactly this is practiced. The clubs of the Danish Canoe and Kayak Association offer courses for new rowers, which end with a series of tests that must be passed before the course participants are allowed to row out on their own. One of the tests is precisely to capsize a kayak in deep water, get out of the kayak, catch the kayak and paddle (always in that order) and then turn the kayak around and climb back on board. There are different techniques depending on the type of kayak.

For canoes – due to their generally greater stability – a completely different method is used. Common is that you always, if the coast is max. 150 meters away, must consider the possibility of reaching land before exposing yourself to attempts to board

 

Turning

To turn the canoe/kayak, use a sweep tag. Put the paddle in the water far ahead. Only start taking when the blade is completely in the water. Move the paddle/paddle in a circular motion. The pulling arm must be extended under the entire roof. The other arm is held close to the body. Take advantage of the body rotation and press with your legs and knees on the same side as the pull. In canoeing, the front and back rowers can perform the take opposite; it causes the canoe to turn "on a fiver".

 

There are certain points of similarity between the canoe and kayak techniques; the big difference lies in the directional stability. Canoes paddled by one and two oarsmen tend to swing a lot. This can be avoided by using the so-called J-tag. In larger waves and wind, you can use storm rowing, where the upper hand never comes above chest height - the paddle is placed in the water further from the kayak, and you only take small, short strokes, depending on the strength and size of the wind and waves. That way, you won't be knocked over so easily

 

 

Kayak

The most widespread type of kayak is the sea kayak. To get into a sea kayak on open water, a so-called "paddle float" is often recommended as an aid. It is popularly said to be a "swimming vest" to put on one paddle blade. With the paddle perpendicular to the water from the cockpit, you can use the paddle blade with the "paddle float" as a stabilizing element when changing the kayak. As mentioned, there are several methods of getting into a kayak – depending on the type of kayak and whether you are alone or with at least one other person who can help. Instruction is highly recommended and then practice. Over and over until it has almost become a reflex

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Basic rowing technique

Progress

The roof in the sea kayak style is a form of minimum roof and can be varied through the angle of the paddle, varying rotation in the upper body and through the use of footrests. When you work with the row roof as a beginner, it is important to give yourself plenty of time to experiment and practice the roof as a routine. A paddling consists of an insertion phase, a pull phase and a settlement phase.

Insertion

The hip and shoulder girdle are rotated at the same time as the pull arm is extended forward. The paddle is brought forward at a low height and takes hold of the water approx. 15 cm from the kayak. Pull The arm is brought forward at the height of the solar plexus and push the arm is at the height of or below the shoulder. The angle of the paddle in relation to the water is less than 45°.

 

Drag phase

The leaf is completely covered in water. The drawbar pulls the paddle parallel to the kayak. At the same time push against the footrest on the same side as the pull arm. Push The arm pushes forward towards the tip of the kayak at approximately chest height. Shoulders and hips rotate slightly in the direction of movement. The entire roof takes place at a low height. It is important that the paddle moves parallel to the kayak under most of the roof. The angle of the paddle in relation to the water is now approx. 45°.

 

Settlement

The roof ends approximately at the hips. The slight rotation and the beginning of the insertion on the opposite side leads the paddle blade out of the water. The more the rower rotates at the hips/shoulders, the easier the blade comes out of the water.

 

Typical mistakes

• The paddle is rotated/twisted using the wrist. It can cause serious damage.

• Poor attachment to the kayak – including lack of use of the feet – results in a reduced transfer of power from the paddle to the kayak.

• Lack of rotation in the upper body means that only the arms are rowed.

• There is no pushing and pulling at the same time.

• Push The hand is above eye level and/or pull the hand is dipped in the water.

• The paddle is held tightly. Alternately relax the thumb and other fingers by pulling and pushing respectively.

• Too short to take through the water.

• Too long roof through the water. Such a typically ends far behind the cockpit.

• Too narrow or too wide socket on the paddle. Between your thumbs there should be a distance equal to approximately your shoulder width.

• The paddle is placed too steeply in the water. It is especially inappropriate in crosswinds.

 

 

TECHNIQUE AND PRACTICE:

In teaching situations, techniques must be able to be performed and mastered convincingly in turbulent water corresponding to winds of 8 m/sec. in a packed kayak (20-30 kg) and with instructor and tour guide equipment.

 

Swimming skills.

• The rower must be able to swim and be comfortable staying in the water. It is recommended that the rower tries to swim min. 150m in open sea wearing rowing clothing, vest and skirt, so that a realistic impression can be formed of what it is like to stay in the water over a period of time.

Getting out and getting in a kayak at. coast and bridge.

• Technique for safe entry and exit with the paddle extended to the side behind the cockpit as support.

Effective injury prevention rowing technique.

• Ergonomic and energy-saving rowing technique, high and low paddle guidance and sliced and unsliced paddle, correct sitting position, hand position, use of arms, wrists, large muscle groups, body rotation and use of legs, forward rowing, backward rowing, and emergency stop on a maximum of three rows.

Turning rowing

• A turn (round) is performed with a large 180 degree circle with body rotation. Pivoting rowing with support, as well as turning the kayak on the spot with alternating forward and backward pivoting rowing, which are performed on top of the waves and extended with alternating edging from side to side.

Low supportive rowing

• Review of techniques behind low support rowing, hip twist with head and body like C, as well as introduction and work with low support roof and steering techniques when landing in the surf or surf in Medsø.

High supportive rowing.

• Review of techniques behind a high support rowing hip twist with head and body as C. The importance of the "paddler's box" is reviewed and the student is introduced / trained in the technique of rolling up from a horizontal position. We also work with a high support roof when the kayak is lying across in breaking waves, so that you can save yourself in the surf even if the kayak is lying across.

Sculling.

• Prevent the kayak from capsizing using continuous low and high sweeping outriggers. Focus on calm movements and control.

Telemark swing.

• A low "Telemark turn" is shown, where the kayak is edged into the turn and how to steer the roof can be used for surfing in the Medsø and surf.

Rear rudder.

• Must be shown with the paddle relatively parallel to the kayak, where you make the kayak turn to both sides by turning and angling the blade. Can be presented / extended with edging (focus on front leaf lifted).

For the rudder

• Turning the kayak is demonstrated by putting the paddle out to the side as far forward as possible. The blade is inserted parallel and turned outwards, so that a swing effect is achieved. Must be presented with the kayak edged away from the direction of turn

 

Canoe

When the canoe is turned – and as much as possible the water faces east – the slightly more athletic paddlers on some canoes with a series of flips can press one end of the canoe so far into the water that they can jump up with their upper body. Otherwise, you can use "a stirrup" to get back on board. In its simplest form, the stirrup is just a rope with a few loops that go so far into the water that you can step on them to help you get out of the water and on board the canoe.

The rope is attached furthest out at one end of the canoe to use the longitudinal direction of the canoe for stabilization. Please drain as much water as possible before trying to climb up. The canoe loses stability the more water there is in it, because when it capsizes the water will flow to the side where you climb up

 

Heavily loaded canoes must be lifted correctly. Avoid overloading the back - good lifting/carrying technique

If there are many waves or current, you can tie the canoes together in rafts

 

Preparation

• Check that everyone can swim.

• Do a swimming test with the students before you go on a canoe trip. This can take place, for example, by you taking a trip to the swimming pool, where you:

  • See if the students can swim 200 meters

  • Do exercises in pairs, where the students rescue each other and save each other from the water.

  • Review the rules for safety on canoe and kayak trips

If you are going on a canoe or kayak trip for a longer period of time, it is important that you either start the trip with or before the trip, on safe water without luggage, to practice:

• Paddle roof

• Capsize and how to get back into the canoe

 

Checklist before departure: You must check this before jumping into the canoes:

• All participants are wearing functional life jackets (life jackets = vest with collar).

• The canoe is equipped with a scoop, 5 meter mooring line, at least 2 paddles, one of which must be attached.

• The canoe is in seaworthy condition and properly loaded.

• There are a minimum of 2 in each canoe and a maximum of 3. 

Guidelines for canoe trip safety:

• As a rule, sail only in the summer. If the water is cold, the risk of drowning in connection with capsizing is significantly greater.

 

• Before the trip, let the school know which route you want to sail and where you will camp, which days, and when you expect to be back. This gives rescuers the opportunity to trace your path. Remember to include lintel days in your planning. Delays can quickly occur.

 

•  Sail along the shore. If you have to cross a lake, do it at the narrowest part of the lake, in calm weather. Do not stay en route.

 

• Show respect for the weather and the forecast. The weather can change quickly. Regardless of the weather forecast, you must be prepared for weather changes. When you see the storm approaching, search for land and strike if necessary. camp for the night. Turn around in time - there is no shame in sailing back.

 

• Be prepared for accidents - even on short trips. You must always bring necessary safety equipment: wear a life jacket, bring chocolate/energy bar, wind and waterproof clothing, warm clothing, map and compass, plaster/bandage, knife, whistle, emergency telephone.

• Pack waterproof, e.g. in drybags or canoe barrels. Use a waterproof map folder so the map doesn't get wet or fly away from you.

 

• Make sure that there are at least two adults (preferably four) with you on the trip and preferably each in a separate canoe. So you can have a canoe with an adult at the front who makes sure that the students don't sail too far away and an adult at the back who ensures that everyone is involved.

 

• If you are going out and home the same way, start by sailing against the current. In this way, you do not get farther than you have the strength to sail back.

 

• Be sure to eat and drink. If you get too little, you become weak and may lose your courage. During physical exertion, you need more fluid than you think.

 

• Save your energy and seek shelter in time. Do not push students to the limit. You can quickly need profits if the accident is out. Take breaks at fixed intervals. Agree, for example, that you take a break every 30 minutes, after which the front canoes stop and wait for the rear group. By agreeing a time interval rather than a place, it is ensured that there are regular breaks and the group is kept reasonably together. When you set off after the break, you can advantageously let the canoes that arrived last set sail first. It gives profit to be at the front.