Category: Let's talk
I have a few questions for paddlecraft people, now that I have learned from this place that there are blind boaters.
These are just meant to help me fulfill my obligation to you as a member of the Coast Guard Auxiliary. One of our major mandates is public education, and one area the Leadership is pressing right now is paddlecraft. They have told us the fatalaties are much higher among paddle-powered vessels than other types of craft, and it's our mandate to bring those numbers down through education of the paddle boating public.
And earlier this year, my senior officer asked if I knew anything about blind boaters, or what materials they have access to.
You can take a look at the Operation Paddle Smart program, just as a start.
I'm not officially representing the Coast Guard on this topic, please don't misunderstand, I'm just hoping you can give us information that will help us fulfill our obligation to you.
What type of craft do you use?
Have you gotten any information on safe boating for your craft?
If so, did it come in an accessible way you could use?
What would be your preferred way of getting materials?
My senior officer asked about generating Braille copies but on here you guys say most blind people don't read it. We would just want to get the material out in a way people could actually use it.
Also if you're interested in helping us by either making the material accessible or pointing me to some groups of blind paddlers, this would be greatly appreciated. As would any additional info you think I ought to know.
Again, I'm not speaking for the Coast Guard and anything done I will have to get clearance like everything else we do, but I was asked about a blind boating public, and I had no idea until a recent post where I think it was Time Traveling Bunny said she is on the water along with several others.
Anyone know the approximate population of blind boaters?
I think it would be good also if any of you know how many fatalities per year there are amongst the blind boating public. Not a nice thought, I understand, but any is too many, and it would help us to know how many there are. One major way we measure our effectiveness is in reducing those numbers.
Thanks for any help, anything you can tell me could end up helping a lot of people.
I'm on a dragonboat crew. The coaching staff requires that all paddlers and the steerer wear floatation vests on the boat. I got manual, individual instruction on how to put the vest on and to be sure it is properly adjusted. Before leaving the dock, all paddlers are required to know their bench-mate's names.During races, we have had paddlers fall out of the boat. Thus far, the accidents have not resulted in injury. When I was in a community sculling club, those who passed a swimming test were not required to wear float vests. Those who did not pass were required to wear a vest, and there was a negative stygma attached to this. In both the sculling club and the dragonboat club, members are required to sign waivers before starting the season. These documents were available on line, in braille, or read to me.
HTH,
Dave
Yes, I row. Every year we have to watch a safety video and coaches go over safety guidelines and emergency procedures. We also sign a waiver . The video and waiver are from US Rowing. The video is fairly descriptive so I feel like I get the point even though I can't see the demonstrations. A coach usually reads the waiver to us. We all have to pass a swim test before getting in a boat. We do not wear life vests in rowing shells, but the one time I tried Kayaking, I had to wear one. I also know that our blind dragon boaters wear life vests. They're the inflatable kind. When we practice, there is always someone who accompanies us in a safety launch. I have only ended up in the water once. I was in a double and we both caught a crab at the same time. The boat just rolled right over. I ended up right next to the boat and was able to grab on very quickly. Our coach was there with the launch in less than 30 seconds to help flip the boat back over. I haven't had a lot of success with finding other blind rowers and paddlers. I have no clue about numbers, but I suspect it's small. I haven't heard of any deaths of blind people as of yet. I did just see a story about a Kayaker who died over the weekend after flipping on Lake Michigan but he was not blind. If there were an effort to provide accessible safety materials, I'd suggest Braille, large print and audio. I don't think that just because most blind people don't read Braille, that should be used as an excuse to not produce it. A lot of us do read it. It wouldn't hurt to have some Braille copies on hand. I also think it would be helpful to have a video that is either very descriptive or includes DVS narration. I actually do watch videos to learn things just to pick up whatever I can from the narration. Coincidentally, the day before I had my flipping incident, I had watched a video about how to get back in a racing shell after flipping a boat. It turned out to be very helpful and I used what I had learned from the video to get myself back in the boat. It would have been a bit more difficult had I not listened to it. Hope that helps.
When I sculled in a double, it flipped a couple of times; I once fell into the water while carrying the boat. If you stay with the boat and keep your cool, you're fine, as long as you're not injured. Whenever a pod of scullers is out, it has a safety launch nearby. Most of my sculling was on the Charles River, where you're probably never more than 300 yards from either bank. There is no commercial shipping. In many place, unless you're less than about 5'8, you can stand. The Boston dragonboat crew also practices in the Charles. In a dragonboat race on the Merrymac, we managed to flip a boat. A safety launch was on scene almost immediately.
Thanks to all who have responded.
I am sorry that there is stigma attached to PFD (life jacket) use. The misconception that your ability to swim well negates your need for a jacket costs a lot of lives.
I encourage you to watch the below video. I watched it on my induction into the Coast Guard, it narrates very well, and I too used to bow ride, go without a jacket, etc., imagining my ability to swim would save me.
Cold Water Boot Camp demonstrates how even very fit people such as yourselves and other water sportspeople absolutely need to wear flotation on the water.
To the poster who said stay with the craft, you could not be more correct: craft are easily spotted from the air and people near a craft are much more likely to get rescued.
Also, we've all heard if you're cold move around to stay warm. In the water this actually defeats you because you're washing more water around your internal organs that way. Your best bet is climb on top of a capsized craft (unless you can turn it over), and hang on. Your internal temperature will go down far less quickly in the air than in the water.
If you cannot reboard a craft, stay close to it as the above poster described, and pull those knees up to your chest. Protect your midsection at all costs. Your flotation will ensure your head is still above water but what we want is for you to maintain good temperature for the long haul.
Fatalities can often occur in the first few minutes because of cold water paralysis and a gasp reflex. That means without flotation you could hear water lapping against the shore and not make it, if the conditions are right.
It is absolutely not weak to wear flotation,and it's all about survival.
Encouraging to note you all have good redundancy, plenty of people on the same trip, etc.
I didn't mean earlier about an excuse for lack of Braille materials: for that I apologize. I just want to request and driect resources to where they will get most used.
So my apologies for coming off like making some sort of excuse: that certainly isn't what we are.
We'l have to see what we can do about this. And certainly good they have instructional videos. Since our paddlers' literature is relatively new it will be good to get it all into offline accessible format. Of course it it all accessible online but at an event it would be good to be able to give out this literature in an offline format. Certainly my senior officer and I both had thought Braille would be the best choice.
Anyway thanks for the assistance.
Hey Leo,
I actually didn't think you were using the limited numbers of Braille readers as an excuse to not produce Braille materials. My comment came off kind of bitchy. Sorry about that. It's something I've been hearing a lot lately from different groups and I have to be a hard ass to get them to provide Braille. I didn't mean to imply that's what you were trying to do too. Keep us posted if you guys end up producing materials. We have a lot of blind rowers in Oklahoma City so if the Coast Guard follows up on this, be sure to get the info to the Chesapeake Boathouse in Oklahoma City. They have a program there specifically to encourage blind people to row, so any info will be useful. We have a blind rowing team and a blind dragon boat crew. Between the 2 teams, I'd estimate that we have about 20-25 blind people out on the water. Some of them might only show up once or twice a season, but they all need to know safety procedures even if they only try it once. Thanks for the info about cold water. I'll be rowing in cold weather this season which is new for me, so it's definitely something I need to know about. It was mentioned in our safety meeting back in the Spring, but a refresher now that it's starting to cool off is a good idea.
Thanks a lot. And, I was not offended in the least: it just makes us step up our game.
I now need to find out how to get materials converted into Braille on a large scale, as I have never been involved in this, just a consumer.
That's really good about your immediate area, and I know the Leadership is going to want to have your local units assist you with help from National, because part of our oath is sworn to the communities in which we live. Most people live and work around us without even knowing who we are, until we're at an event educating the public, or involved in an unfortunate situation like an incident. So, it may well be some of your own watercraft friends are guardians also.
So I guess from here, I need to find out just how to do this accessible materials, and in a cost-effective manner.
Then with that understanding, I can write a cohesive proposal to the Leadership and get direction for the next steps. Again, I'm really glad it seems many take this issue seriously and factor redundancy into their watercraft sports. Kudos to you all for doing that: when others see you do it, they are themselves far more likely to do so.
Thanks for your reminder about hypothermia concerns. In Spring, it's even more important to get out of that cold water asap. Also, I hadn't considered the bit about moving in the water drawing internal heat away sooner than being still. All the crew shells I've been in would float, even when capsized; getting the upper body on top of the thing seems a great idea. If this were mentioned in the safety orientation, I don't recall hearing it.
I'n the only blind paddler in Dragonboat Club of Boston; have been with them many years. Their membership materials, like the waiver and application, are on-line; I read them before attending my first practice. Getting a few braille copies run off should be easy enough. The sculling club, Community Rowing, in Boston does lots of outreach to people with disabilities. Their documents are in braille, and the orientation videos are well narrated.