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IS CHOOSING WHO YOU PADDLE WITH AN INTEGRAL PART OF OUR SAFETY PLANNING ? Oh , massively . If I use myself as an example - I choose to paddle with people who have a similar mindset , are open , honest , neutral and have the same attitude . This means that if someone in our group needs support , we support them . If someone needs to walk around a feature or needs to walk off the river , we support them . None of this is looked down upon . Finding the right people for you , who you can trust and have an openness with , is key to enjoying a good and safe day on the river . Water is never a place for egos .
as a group ? If we have any doubts , we can then decide ( again ) as a group to walk around the feature .
What is great about this approach is that when something doesn ’ t happen , you think , “ Oh , nothing happened on that rapid , but I thought something was going to happen .” This is a positive headspace and a great way to manage ourselves as a group on the water .
I found it invaluable to spend time working on how we manage portaging . Why was this considered important to include on the new course ? When we look at the accident logs detailing when and why people hurt themselves – not major incidents which might be lifethreatening but including , say , broken ankles , sprains , dislocated shoulders , the stuff that is happening every day . The majority occur bankside when we are portaging ( moving gear around features we do not want to paddle ), and that ’ s because we ’ re in a wet , difficult , and slippery environment .
We cover this in detail during the course because it can be as dangerous as running the rapids . So , we must consider carefully how we support , monitor , and manage the individual ( s ) walking and moving their gear . As paddlers , we have tended to adopt a false sense of security once one or more team members moving on the bank and leave them to get on with it . But this situation must be managed as carefully as a group on the water .
After recently commissioned research into the safety of using quickrelease leashes , Paddle UK immediately banned leashes from being used by Paddle UK WW SUP coaches and students on their courses . This has caused much discussion and debate within our community . I am really interested to know your own take on this . My take is that the leash ban makes us better paddlers . I know many people would disagree with this statement , but let me explain why in the context of my paddling . It has :
• Forced me to improve my height monitoring , which is sometimes known as height management . Instead of falling off and away from my board , I focus on getting a knee to it . This is key because we are paddling in and need to respond to the dynamic environment .
• Made me adopt a strategy I call falling friction . By this , I mean keeping as much physical contact as possible with my board when falling into the water . I can do this using my arm , leg ( s ), hand , paddle , and torso . The more that I can increase this contact , the more I can prevent a massive physical distance from being created between me and my SUP . The result is that I can get back on my board quickly and take responsibility for my own safety .
• Developed my dynamic swimming . If I am a greater distance than two strokes ( a maximum of four ) from getting back on my board , then I make a proactive decision and get to an eddie instead .
Until you ’ ve paddled for a couple of months without a leash and committed and practised , you will have difficulty agreeing with me , but I do firmly believe that you will develop as a better WW SUP paddler when you give up the leash .