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Basic Safety
BASIC SAFETY TIPS
If a vessel is bigger or faster than you are, keep out of its way! Your chance of being hit increases if you’re not seen. Do what you can to be noticed.
BE VISIBLE. Avoid being a target for larger or faster crafts.
BE PREPARED. Avoid being a statistic.
Wear Brightly-colored Life Jacket. International Orange and bright lemon yellow are probably best in most conditions.
Use a Paddle with high-visibility blades.
Wear a whistle. Be sure it works when it’s wet.
Carry a waterproof flashlight and signal flares. Even if you plan to be in before dark. Wind-up flashlights don’t require batteries.
Bring Sunblock, Hat, Nylon Jacket and Pants – to protect from weather / temperature extremes.
Bring Water and Food. Be able to hydrate and nourish yourself. Include extra for unexpected delays.
Bring your daily prescription meds, and other personal emergency medications in your waterproof bag – Enough for the trip plus 3 days extra. If possible bring a copy of original prescription provided by your doctor.
Have on your person: Waterproof Personal Picture ID.
Every canoe should have a fully stocked FIRST AID KIT with complete emergency cards for each person on the canoe. Make sure the Ground Crew leader has a copy of these cards.
Every canoe should have a crew with CPR and Cold Water Training experience.
Every canoe should have a Ship-to-Shore radio. The Canoe Nation frequency is
Safety Standards
Canoe Society Safety Standards
This is a tribute to our beloved Kla-okwa-gee-la (Jerry Jack) that our children and our children’s children will know they are safe on the annual Canoe Journey.
Below is a list of suggestions concerning safety issues and ideas to help ensure safer conditions for our canoe families. At this time these are all ideas, that as a committee we can discuss and implement by consensus. I would like to thank all those who took the time and care enough to share your concerns, ideas and suggestions.
1) Trainings:
CPR training for each canoe family. See if the Red Cross or other agencies can come to central communities to provide training.
Mandatory water-safety training (that is more realistic) for each canoe family. Practice water safety training earlier in the year. See if the Coast Guard can help in water safety training.
Skipper training: how to use maps, compass, know about regional waters and tides, how to switch pullers, know what supplies are needed, and responsibilities –e.g. Feed pullers first, make sure everyone knows what to do in the event of an emergency, making sure someone is in charge of water, food, life vests, first-aid kit, safety first – know when to trailer, leave or not to leave, communicate with support boat and ground crew. Have skippers sign a form stating safety is met. Know health concerns of crew such as diabetics or those with other health concerns.
2) Our own inter-tribal safety check point at each stop that will be responsible to make sure each canoe and their support boat has a first-aid kit, VHS, GPS, compass, water, food, life vests, bailer, proper clothing, etc. This is to avoid outside regulations, we will be responsible to monitoring ourselves.
3) Life vests:
Life vest contest have a contest to have canoe families paint Coastal designs (or other designs) on their vest. Provide prizes and posting on websites of winners. Hopefully this will appeal to the youth and give an incentive for them to wear their life vests.
Provide larger life vests.
Provide higher quality vests. To receive a vest pullers must complete water-safety training and CPR training. Skippers perhaps will be required to do Skipper training. Charge a small fee for higher quality vests so people may have more ownership and take care of them.
Vest will be kept with the canoe and not individually so they are not lost.
4) Provide more seat pads or materials for canoe families to attach a pad to seats so pullers will wear their life vests instead of sitting on them.
5) Support boats:
Each canoe will have a support boat to travel with. If a canoe does not have one, then they must travel with another canoe family that does.
Boat should be sea worthy, safe and large enough to hold extra pullers, food, and supplies.
Have one central support boat that is equipped to deal with any problem and emergency situations. Equipped with VHF, GPS, wet suits, diver, person(s) trained in CPR or EMC, maps, crew emergency cards, etc.
6) Recognition of safety group at the final destination protocol. Honor them and present them with gifts. E.g. – Best over-all safety that has a safe ground crew, support boat, and canoe; Safest Canoe; Safest ground crew; and Safest support boat. Have a point system in which to measure how safe each category is.
7) Picture in guidebook of what safety equipment should look like in a clear bag.
8) Regional representatives from each location that participates in the Canoe Journey. They may have supplies to sell if needed, be a check point to check each canoe family at arrival to ensure everyone is ok and prior to departure, make sure every boat, ground crew, and canoe have everything they need, provide a video of water-safety training. Develop safety rules for the Canoe Journey everyone is agreement of following.
9) Make sure every participant signs registration form and agrees to follow Canoe Journey rules and safety rules developed by the Inter-tribal Canoe Society, otherwise be forbidden to leave.
10) Hosts need to consider weather and other conditions to determine arrival of canoes. Don’t rush them if weather is not agreeing or make demands of on time arrivals.
11) Better communication of nearby tribes that will be traveling the same route, to leave and arrive at destinations together. Have one local plan.
12) Stress on-time departure and arrival times according to weather, tides and other pertinent conditions. Travel as one, if there are difficulties agree to disagree, but once on the water leave problems on the shore. Have talking circles to resolve any differences.
13) Provide children’s books and/or coloring books about water-safety to teach young children about water safety.
ONCE IN THE CANOE....
Once you have all your gear, there are some important tips for your time on the water:
1. Load and unload the canoe while it’s in the water. This will be easier on you and the canoe. Make sure the load is balanced.
2. Safely secure all of your equipment to the canoe. The exact way in which you do this may depend on the type of water you’ll be paddling, and with what level of ease you want to be able to free your items from the canoe if you capsize. Be deliberate in your placement of items. Keep frequently used items handy and easily accessed.
3. As a rule, the person in the back should be the more experienced, skilled canoeist. In the group of canoes, the most experienced pullers should be in the first and last canoes with the first aid equipment. Canoeing alone is not advised, and it is everyone else’s responsibility to remain between the first and last canoes.
4. Stay low and steady in the canoe. Avoid making sudden movements and do not stand up. In rough waters, you can get down onto your knees for even greater stability.
5. Canoe close to shore. Not only is this safer, it’s where you’ll find the most interesting scenery.
6. Make sure to leave some space around your feet. If you capsize, you don’t want your feet to become trapped, holding you underwater.
7. If you capsize in a current, don’t try to stand or put your feet down. If your foot gets caught in something, or between two rocks, the current can hold you down and drown you.
8. If you capsize, stay with the canoe where it is safe to do so. In swiftly moving waters, you want to remain upstream of the canoe. A canoe full of water can weigh as much as a car — you don’t want to find yourself between a rock and that much weight.
9. Always wear your life jacket, and always paddle sober.
Of course, during the on-land portion of your trip you’ll want to be low-impact campers. Pack out all of your garbage, do all of your washing (even with biodegradable soap) at least 100 metres away from the lake or river, and consider using a white gas stove or environmental stove instead of a traditional fire for cooking.
The work involved in preparing for a canoe trip can feel overwhelming and even intimidating. However, with adequate research, proper planning, and workable equipment, you can create a highly enjoyable and memorable experience for yourself and your traveling companions.
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