2010 Kayaking Safety Reminder

This is my ninth kayaking safety post since joining the Kayak Forum. This year I was reminded of one of the major causes of kayaker deaths when I started the final leg of my cross-Canada kayaking tour: poor decision making, not to be confused with being complacent. I will relate two stories about this trip to demonstrate how one situation can cause a paddler to take unwarranted risks and another that demonstrates that there is a time to let go of dreams that can lead to ones death.

I wanted to paddle from Grand Rapids, Manitoba, located near the northwest end of Lake Winnipeg, to Hudson Bay, Manitoba. This would be the final leg of what had been 2200-kms of paddling along the Saskatchewan watershed region, the same route that fur traders used hundreds of years ago to transport their supplies into what would later become Canada, and bring their furry riches back to England. Hudson Bay is a huge body of water carved out the north end of Manitoba, Canada, and serves as a catch-all for the waters of many western Canadian Rivers, including everything thrown at it from the good old Saskatchewan and Red River watersheds via Lake Winnipeg. Hudson Bay connects the Arctic Ocean to the Atlantic and has many dangers in its own right. Over the last 400-years, many explorers, tourists and locals have died upon and near its waters, either by foul weather, wave or polar bear. I made two decisions before and during my kayaking journey that caused me to risk my life and probably saved it. Read on:

Lake Winnipeg is a shallow lake. This condition can generate some pretty large waves when the wind is blowing: even when the wind is not blowing the wave action can cause problems. Waves generated along one section of the lake can find their way to other sections. That was my problem while I was paddling the north end of the lake during July, 2010. I did not have to face large waves last summer but I was pummeled by 1-2 foot short-period waves which socked it to me from the side. You can imagine the ride I faced during the roughly 10-km crossing I opted to make from Eagle Island to the point at the north end of the big lake. For the entire length of that paddle, I was tense without rest and paddling hard to keep the kayak stable against the waves. Sometimes the waves broke over the decks and spun the kayak around but for the most part, I pressed myself firmly onto the kayak and held her steady. I did not need to do that crossing but making the inadvertent crossing to Eagle Island caused me to think less safely than normal. I should have turned back to the mainland when I realized that I was not at the point but circling Eagle Island…following the mainland shoreline was a safer bet than running across the open waters of a known dangerous lake. I wasn’t complacent during this time; I was just frustrated at my error of paddling to Eagle Island instead of the point, and wanted to take the shortest possible route to where I needed to be.

Lake Winnipeg’s north-south length is roughly 243-kms. Winds generally trend from the north so you can imagine how the wave action can gather energy until the waves reach as high as 8-feet: pretty risky paddling conditions. While I was making that crossing, I knew the risks and I knew that a storm can brew in 20-minutes to change the character of the lake. Conditions were already annoying to me but I plowed ahead despite my better senses. I was fortunate this time. The crossing took over two hours to complete and I sustained what I would call minor injuries: pinched sciatic nerves in my legs caused by pressure under my legs from the edge of the seat, and pinched nerves in my right arm that caused my two small fingers to go numb for a time. This was a small price to pay for my impatience to get to where I wanted to be. Had a storm kick up the wave size, I would have had a serious problem. The weight of my gear in the kayak would have made a self-rescue difficult. My legs and fingers still bother me from time to time.

The second decision I made probably saved my life. Historically, I have always started my paddling trips on June 01 but this year I was to begin later than usual. I spoke with a friend in Winnipeg prior to embarking on the kayak trip. He related to me a stern warning about the polar bear risk on the shores of Hudson Bay during the month of July. Apparently, the shores that I would have paddled along and camped on were rather heavily populated by polar bears during 2010 due to the decrease of ice within the Bay. The more he spoke, the more the hairs on the back of my neck raised themselves to arouse my sense of self-preservation. I have dreamed of paddling Hudson Bay for 9 years and wanted to arrive at Churchill, Manitoba, my final destination badly: but not THAT badly. My friend showed me an online warning provided by the Wapusk National Park staff. It stated that solo paddlers were strongly warned not to paddle in the area and that groups of paddlers needed someone to stand guard with a gun any time they are ashore, day and night. I was unarmed for the final leg of my trip and to risk paddling the entire 245-kms from the mouth of the Nelson River to Churchill would be foolhardy. Storms sweep in over the Bay suddenly and once they happen, it is difficult to get to shore and then on shore, I would have to worry about the bear situation. This was enough of a warning for me to immediately start talking about an alternative ending for my trip. I did not paddle 2200-kms just to be gobbled up by some hungry polar bear and I knew that some day I could go back and paddle the Bay under safer conditions. I made the right choice even if it left a sense of dissatisfaction within my heart. I live to write this and I know I will return another day. After all, isn’t that why we paddle: to experience the water and nearby shore and all they have to offer, to photograph the experience, write about it if that’s what we choose to do, then RETURN to those places we enjoyed the most? Hell ya!

This year, I have read at least two news stories about paddlers who did not return to live another day because they took on more than they could manage. For those of you who read this posting: keep in mind that when things go bad, they go bad fast enough that you might not be able to recover to save your own life. Approach the water with proper training, experience and safety gear, and then use your head. Our senses are remarkable survival tools: they understand inherent danger even when our brains and conscious thoughts are thinking that everything is gonna be ok. Pay attention to that gut feeling and you will probably make the right choices. If you have to think about too many variables when considering togo paddling, perhaps that is the time to save it for another day.

Robert N Pruden