We also shared this knowledge , so the rescue services are aware that we ’ re no lost tourists but that we try to avoid incidents in the first place . And if we get ourselves involved in an incident , we know how to act . We get a lot of positive reactions about our way of working together within the NORTHSEAKAYAK team . From time to time , we have had people stating that we are exaggerating with all those drills . We have never heard of too well-trained sea kayakers getting into trouble , and we believe there is always a way to improve yourself and the team you are paddling with . This is always for the better of our safety . We don ’ t have a lot of rules , but the ones we have are simple , clear and logical , and always in the best interest of the people we are paddling with .
Top tip : Let me summarize the four most important rules we use every time we go out : l Always wear your PFD ! l Dress for immersion ! l Field test your equipment on a regular base , so you know how to use it in a real distress situation ! l Imagine the worst that can happen … and prepare for this !
As for the rest , have fun ! Smile ! It ’ s not rocket science , don ’ t be afraid of making mistakes . It is all part of the sport and the learning process .
I wish to thank the Coast Guard , MRCC Ostend , the R6 ORKA lifeboat crew , the Coastal Rescue Services De Panne ( IKWV ), the NH90 Caiman crew and the dredger RIO crew for their willingness to help us conduct rescue training together . A big thanks for that , and for your enthusiasm , much appreciated ! It is very nice to see that we are all helping each other out on the water when it comes to that .
I ’ m not rewriting the bible here ; I ’ m just sharing our experience and how we work with our NORTHSEAKAYAK team . We know that all this works for us , also in a distress situation , but we are sure there are other solutions or insights . We love the practical way ; we love field testing things ; we learn from our mistakes and those of others . All of this makes us better paddlers , and most important , safer paddlers ! We hope that the Rescue Training series brought you some extra knowledge , but our highest hope would be to see you train on this and do things yourself to become a safer kayaker .
Have fun and take care of each other on the water !