PaddleWise Discussion on Kayaker Visibility On Water
Date: Wed, 2 Aug
From: "Dalberg, Tor"
Subject: [Paddlewise] Visability of kayakers
Hi Paddlers
The recognition of seakayaks depends to a great extent of colours on the boat
and the equipment. If all paddles was red, boats yellow and flotation aid
screaming red this would be as good as possible for normal use. A flag and
flashing light (for evenings) in addition will improve.
Dealer offers sea alike camouflage colours. I myself have a green bluish
floatation aid (not recommendable) and a yellow boat (seakayak type Hasle
Exporer) and blue spray deck. I am still alive but the visibility could have
been better.
The dealers have a great responsibility to recommend products with adequate
visibility.
I wander if there are possible to spray on colours for better visibility on
paddles?
Regards / Med hilsen
Tor Dalberg
http://www.dnv.no
Date: Wed, 2 Aug 2000 13:42:54 -0000
From: Mark Lane
Subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Visability of kayakers
Hello Tor,
My kayak is beige over beige, and I really like the look. I use a varnished
wooden paddle. I have a yellow PFD that I wear on larger bodies of water
that have motor boat activity, but I like to wear a green PFD on quieter
waters. I also try to use deck gear that is of natural tones. In general,
I very much prefer boats and gear that are of soft, subtle natural colors --
I don't much like the bright colors. I do fear that the over-emphasis on
color as related to safety may cause some lawmakers to consider legislating
the color of boats and gear, and that concerns me. I think it should remain
a personal choice. As for painting on colors, I would think it would be an
easy matter on composite or wood boats, but I'm not sure about painting poly
boats.
In trying to figure out where you are (what waters you paddle), I visited
the web site listed in your message. What a fascinating operation! It
seems your foundation is very much involved in issues of maritime safety,
particularly with respect to shipping and oil exploration and drilling,
correct? Have you or DNV done any studies of safety as it relates to color
of vessels or equipment? Just wondering . . . .
Mark
Date: Wed, 2 Aug 2000 13:00:27 -0500
From: (Tim) NEWTOT
Subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Visibility of kayakers
Short Story re visibility:
I didn't think visibility was a major issue paddling lakes here in the Ozarks,
where the most common craft is a 2 man bass boat. That all changed on Pomme de
Terre Lake when a storm arrived with brute force while only 500 yards from
shore, near a boat ramp. I was in a friend's tippy Beluga, which immediately
blew over and I was unable to roll back up. There I was in the water waving my
paddle frantically as bass boats zoomed by at full speed to escape the storm -
the wind and rain reduced visibility more than I could ever imagine, as many
boats came within 20 feet (no joke!!) of me. I thought for sure I was going to
be hit, even with my paddle waving high. This went on for 15 minutes! Finally
a boater spotted me before running me over and pulled me out. My wife was about
20 yards away, overturned as well in a blue CD squall - we could hardly see her.
We proceed to pull her aboard too. This was a learning experience! I thought
we could make it back to our launch site before the storm became severe - I
expected a gradual build up, not dead calm to hurricane! The world was a
classroom that day!
The beluga was yellow but partially submerged, my PFD was red and black. I
think blue was a bad color choice for the Squall. I think your PFD color is
every bit as important as your boat.
Just a note expressing that visibility is not only an ocean freighter issue!
Date: Wed, 2 Aug 2000 11:11:05 -0700
From: "Jack Fu"
Subject: RE: [Paddlewise] Visability of kayakers
Hi,
My Romany is bright yellow, top and bottom. Why did I get
the boat with this color? Because the Coast Guard told me
that is the most visible color on the sea, and therefore
the color they like best in searches. White, which I had thought
would be good, is not good because a white kayak can be confused
with cresting foam and whitecaps.
Jack Fu
Date: Wed, 02 Aug 2000 14:33:12 -0700
From: ralph diaz
Subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Visability of kayakers
> a personal choice. As for painting on colors, I would think it would be an
> easy matter on composite or wood boats, but I'm not sure about painting poly
> boats.
You _can_ spray paint polyethylene boats. Perhaps the spray paint won't
stay on forever. But it will stick.
I know of one fellow here in NYC Harbor with a sit-on-top boat who did
spray paint with some day glo neon color. I was out on a trip in the
harbor and I looked up the Hudson about a mile and half and could see
his boat even though it was a hazy day.
The boat looked like s--t but it was certainly visible at incredible
distances.
ralph
- --
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------
Ralph Diaz . . . Folding Kayaker newsletter
PO Box 0754, New York, NY 10024
Tel: 212-724-5069; E-mail: rdiaz@ix.netcom.com
"Where's your sea kayak?"----"It's in the bag."
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Wed, 2 Aug 2000 13:26:54 -0600
From: Jim Meldrum
Subject: RE: [Paddlewise] Visability of kayakers
I was lead to believe that a light blue was the most visible color at sea.
I was recently involved with a rescue on a large inland lake in northern
Alberta. The helicopter, police boat and plane spotted the light blue 18
foot CLC WR 180 before it spotted the bright yellow 21 foot double Tred
Avon. The conditions were cloudy, 5 - 6 foot whitecapping waves, 40 knot
winds and light rain.
:)
Jim Meldrum
Slave Lake, Alberta.
Canada
Date: Wed, 2 Aug 2000 11:29:43 -0800
Subject: RE: [Paddlewise] Visability of kayakers
From: "Seng, Dave"
We have a former SAR pilot on the list - how 'bout it Jack - any opinions?
Dave Seng
Juneau, Alaska
Date: Wed, 2 Aug 2000 15:40:52 EDT
From: RBHoltKayak
Subject: [Paddlewise] Red is not good. (was: Visability of kayakers)
I just read somewhere (sorry, don't remember which manufaturer's web
site) that red is not a good color because 20% of males have red
color-vision deficiency. For the same reason, greens and some blues should
be avoided. While I doubt any SAR pilots/spotters have color-blindness,
that powerboater speeding toward you may very well be color-blind.
Graphics that have large repeating patterns are helpful (as in the Coast
Guard red bow-slash), but varied patterns can act as camouflage: as the
British effectively used to their advantage during the Battle of the North
Atlantic with their "dazzle" paint schemes.
Robb
(still trying to decide on yum-yum yellow or omigod orange)
Date: Wed, 02 Aug 2000 15:56:54 -0700
From: ralph diaz
Subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Red is not good. (was: Visability of kayakers)
Dazzle paint schemes, or broken plane and jaggered silohuette, date back
to WWI. I believe they were discovered by Picasso. :-)
ralph diaz
- --
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------
Ralph Diaz . . . Folding Kayaker newsletter
PO Box 0754, New York, NY 10024
Tel: 212-724-5069; E-mail: rdiaz@ix.netcom.com
"Where's your sea kayak?"----"It's in the bag."
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Wed, 02 Aug 2000 13:58:41 -0600
From: "Shawn W. Baker"
Subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Visability of kayakers
If you can convince the owner of said boat to cover that brightwork!
Mark wrote:
>As for painting on colors, I would think it would be an
>easy matter on....wood boats
Date: Wed, 02 Aug 2000 15:58:48 -0400
From: John Fereira
Subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Red is not good. (was: Visability of kayakers)
I've also heard that red is not a good color because in low light it looks
black which ends up looking like the rest of the water surface as it gets dark.
Date: Wed, 2 Aug 2000 12:01:58 -0800
From: "Seng, Dave"
Subject: RE: [Paddlewise] Visibility of kayakers)
I find that both when paddling a kayak or "driving" my skiff that the first
thing I usually notice about distant kayaker(s) is the motion of the paddle.
Because of this I requested bright yellow blades, rather than the standard
(white?) on my Lightning Ultralight (so far the theory works and I haven't
been run over). Prismatic reflective tape might help also, but I think
would be of marginal utility here where sunny days are the exception rather
than the norm.
I've always thought that hull color might be important in a rescue/lost at
sea scenario re:visibility, but that during normal paddling it would play
the secondary role in visibility - the primary being played the paddle.....
Dave Seng
Juneau, Alaska
Date: Wed, 2 Aug 2000 12:18:13 -0700
From: Melissa
Subject: RE: [Paddlewise] Visability of kayakers
Jack Fu wrote:
My Caribou has a yellow deck, red trim, and a white hull (red PFD).
When I first got it, a friend remarked that it looked like a floating
warning sign. Precisely. As for the white hull... I suppose if that
were the exposed side (inverted), I too would be a part of the
cresting foam and whitecaps confusion. Been there done that and will
do it again. ;-)
Melissa
Date: Wed, 02 Aug 2000 16:33:17 -0400
From: Bill Leonhardt
Subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Red is not good. (was: Visability of
kayakers)
I thought the Coast Guard bow slash was orange. I guess I fall into the 20%.
Bill Leonhardt
Date: Wed, 02 Aug 2000 16:45:22 EDT
From: JCMARTIN
Subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Red is not good. (was: Visability of kayakers)
Bill thought the slash was orange --- so did I. Checked. Here's the gouge.
"The design consists of a wide red bar to the right of a narrow blue bar, both
canted at 64 degrees with the Coast Guard emblem superimposed. It was originally
recommended in 1964 by the industrial design firm of Raymond Loewy/William
Snaith, Incorporated and was adopted service-wide on 6 April 1967."
JCM
Date: Wed, 2 Aug 2000 18:02:43 -0300
From: "Ulli Hoeger"
Subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Visibility of kayakers
Hi,
I was out on a evening paddle yesterday evening, and at one point I
had a group of kayakers ahead who rented boats from a local
outfitter. I could see them from a distance of >1 km, mainly
because they had white paddle blades (rhythmic white flashes). At
that point I counted 4 paddlers. A bit later while catching up I
could still count 4 paddlers, wearing red pfd's. At that point I still
couldn't see their boats. Some time later there were suddenly 5
paddlers on the water. The previoulsy invisible guy was using a
paddle with dark blue or black blades and wore a dark blue pdf. At
that point I could also tell the color of their boats. I guess I was
~500m away.
Conclusions: As long as you are in your boat the color/contrast of
your pfd and your paddle blades is the most important part -at least
from the viewpoint of small vessels (these are the ones most likely
to run you over). One kayaker I know has one of these bicycle flag
poles mounted on his rear deck. This thing is ~2m long, with a
little orange flag attached. He, or better his pole/flag is visible form
quite a distance, and the moving little flag catches the attention
first.
Speculation: If you are in the water the color of your pfd becomes
less important, since your upper body is mostly submerged. A
strobelight and/or a contrasting paddle for signalling is than more
important.
For the boat color the contrast to the water is more important than
color. Light bright color usually provide more contrast to the
mostly dark water. In moving water with whitecaps etc. is
becomes harder to spot a small boat anyway. Visual distress
signals like strobe light, flash light, or flares/smoke signals are
probably the only measures in this situation to make yourself more
visible!
I use right now a yellow pfd. I choose it because red becomes
gray if the guy in the other boat is colorblind and all other colors
(green, black, blue) were even worse for the purpose of visibility.
I don't have a strobe light yet, but it is one of the items on my
"soon to order list".
My boat is painted with a red/yellow deck and a white hull. If I am
going to refresh the paint job on the hull this winter (wooden boat
and the paint gets worn off the bottom when you ride up the
beaches) I will add a neon dayglow stripe (yellow or red) along the
keel line to increase to aerial visibility of my upside down floating
boat.
My primary paddle is a Grey Owl wooden paddle. I hesitate a bit
to give the blades a paintjob, but I think since the paddle is made
from light colored wood it should be fairly visible anyway. My spare
is a wooden Greenlander and I think I will give it a paintjob soon
(black loom, bright yellow blades).
The Atlantic up here looks pretty dark, almost black. In other parts
of the world with light blue green waters (picture the tropical island)
the whole color/contrast story might be different. If you paddle in
the Arctic white color might be not a good idea at all, unless you
are on a seal hunt.
My two cents
Ulli
Dr. Ulli Hoeger
Dept. Physiology and Biophysics
Dalhousie University
Halifax, B3H4H7, Nova Scotia
Canada
http://is.dal.ca/~uhoeger
Date: Wed, 02 Aug 2000 17:08:30 EDT
From: JCMARTIN
Subject: RE: [Paddlewise] Visability of kayakers
Well, gee, Dave, I'm kind of a lurker here, slow to rise to bait, as you know,
but, well --- yes, I suppose I could muster an opinion or two.
Addressing several posts further down the list, I agree that paddles are a big
factor. My Euro padldes --- on the rare occasion that I use Euro over Greenland
--- have really obnoxious flourescent yellow blades. 'Cause I spray painted
them that way. But they're bright! Dan Winters did a highly unscientific
study once down in Hampton Roads, and painted various paddle blades various
flourescent colors --- yellow, orange, green, and pink, may have been others
--- sent a bunch of them in several boats on a hazy morning, and had an
observer try to pull the kayak out by the color of the paddle. The paddle
blades were always seen well before the kayak or the kayaker, and, as I recall,
orange was the best. But yellow was right up there, and the observability of
each color was very close to one another --- and always beat out the yellow or
orange hull or deck by a lot. So I use flourescent yellow.
Seems like the BCU or some other Anglo-authority sites orange and yellow as
the colors of preference --- and may or may have mandated those colors for
some level of participation --- can't remember specifics, but I do remember
the colors. Which is why my Pintail is claret over dove grey. Oh, well
--- it's pretty.
Retroreflective tape is great --- if you're paddling at night and there is a
light source close behind or in front of the observer of said tape. Get about
ten degrees away from a light source, and the stuff disappears. But it's
still, by far, the best thing to have on your boat and PFD at night. (During
the day, it has virtually no value whatsoever.) There's an old Navy A-4
driver who owes his life to that stuff --- my first rescue in North Viet Nam
--- 'cause he was also incredibly stupid, and had gotten rid of all his other
survival gear. But we got a visual on a glint from our belly search light
from the token reflective tape design on his hardhat, and were able to save
his stupid derriere.
Personal observation, and I think this will show up on most of the "expert
opinion" data, too: international orange is the most visible conventional
color, per se, on any conventional color list. But flourescent anything
beats it. And now 3M has a flourescent yellow material they sell for
crossing signs (Maryland has adopted it) that is also retroreflective!
Cool stuff!
That enough, Dave? Back to sleep.
Jack
Date: Wed, 2 Aug 2000 16:44:16 -0400
From: Rick Sylvia
Subject: [Paddlewise] Kayak colors for visibility
I recently talked to a Coastie about this topic. He said that there are
differences in the visibility of certain colors, but as a general rule -
FORGET IT. The real impact is the color of your PFD or your paddle blades.
The kayak has too low a profile, but the PFD is higher on the water, and the
paddle blades provide movement to key off of. Makes sense to me - I always
see fellow kayakers by their paddle movement long before I spot their kayak.
Rick
Date: Wed, 2 Aug 2000 14:22:02 -0700
From: "KEVIN M KENNEY"
Subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Visibility of kayakers & SAR
As a current SAR pilot, I'll add my own two cents. The biggest thing that
will get you noticed is the old "one of these things is not like the other"
factor. Things that seem out of place get noticed. In other words, light
blue would probably work well over a darker gray-green sea, but is very
difficult to see in shallower waters such as off the coast of Pensacola (I
speak from experience on this one). I recommend a couple of things- Mostly
common sense-
First, don't rely on just one signalling device. If you do it will be
ineffective or broken when you need it most. Figure out what kind of
paddling you'll be doing, then gear up accordingly. A light blue or green
boat in the Bahamas will be much less likely to be seen than on Lake
Superior. Strobes are of NO value during the day.
Second, know how to use your gear! Practice when safe so you can do it when
you need to. Lighting off flares, tuning VHF radios, etc. can be challenging
when you are shocky, cold, wet, etc.
Third, keep it simple. VHF radios are great, flares are good, etc, but in
reality one of the best signalling devices (during the day) is a simple $3
plastic mirror available at lots of places. I've seen the flash from these
as far as 15 miles on a decent day. I'll take a breath powered whistle over
a compressed air horn any day. At night a strobe can be seen for over 10
miles if the SAR pilots are using NVG's (which we all do), but even a
flashlight waved vigorously is very easy to see at night.
Color wise I still don't think you can beat International Orange. Almost
nothing on the water is naturally that color. I have the blades of my paddle
spray painted this color for just this reason
Lastly, don't lose hope if a SAR platform passes you by and doesn't see you.
Most of our patterns have us revisiting an area numerous times to increase
the Pd (probability of detection). If we miss you on the first pass, think
about what you can do next time to make yourself more visible. It could be
something as simple as splashing vigorously when we get nearer. In calm seas
this is actually a pretty good technique.
Regards,
Kevin
Date: Wed, 02 Aug 2000 15:34:18 PDT
From: "Kevin Stevens"
Subject: RE: [Paddlewise] Visability of kayakers
If there's a question about the top colors or you want white for
evening/night and orange/neon green for day, there's nothing to stop you
from painting the blades different colors...
KeS
Date: Wed, 02 Aug 2000 21:12:36 -0400
From: Michael Daly
Subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Red is not good. (was: Visability of kayakers)
As one of the color-blind males, let me add my two cents.
Actually it's only 10% of men (and 1% of women) who are color blind. The most
common form (6%) is red-green color blindness. This means that there is
difficulty in distinguishing red from green. In my case, it means not being
able to distinguish certain shades of red and green, with pastel colors
being the most difficult. Lighting conditions affect the ability to distinguish
as well. Sunlight is the only source that is reliable for me; artificial light
means I can't rely on my color perception. Traffic lights are not a problem for
me. Hence a red kayak on a green background (like water) would not stand out.
I assume that the colors of the leaves in the autumn are less pronounced for
me than for most folks.
At the Georgian Bay SK Symposium, the White Squall staff mark the locations
of on-water exercises by anchoring different colored canoes at different points
around the bay. The furthest one was a red canoe. In the background was a
marshy area with tall green grasses. Guess which canoe was the one for all
the sessions I signed up for? From the dock, I couldn't see the red canoe at
all. But neither could the instructor! He was also RG colorblind.
The only time I was tested for color blindness for work was when I was
hired by an airline. All critical staff (pilots, flight attendants, ground
workers etc) cannot be color blind. I would expect various rules prevent an
SAR pilot from being accepted if color blind.
Those who are color blind and aware of it can make up for the deficiency in
some respects. If judging color is critical, for example, I take something into
sunlight. In general, I know when to be cautious about color. I like paddling
with Amie, because she's not color blind and has razor sharp vision. Not bad
for an old gal. I often ask her to confirm sightings of things.
My own take on color, based on observing kayakers with visibility in mind, is
that international orange is the best (as mentioned by Jack and Kevin). I have
an orange PFD and recently bought a yellow one (that brand didn't come in
international orange). Yellow is second best. Putting orange Scotchlite tape
on the back of your paddle blades is probably a good idea.
Mike
PS The other dichromats are blue-green and red-blue deficiency. The monochromats
see only one color and have even greater problems. It is a misconception that
color blind people see black and white.
PPS I dream in color - most men don't.
Date: Wed, 2 Aug 2000 21:41:19 -0400
From: volinjo
Subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Visibility of kayakers
I've been trying to find red reflective tape for a long time, but I
haven't been able to find it. I've seen some boats with red and white
striped reflective tape, but I don't know where to get it. What I'd like
to do is cover the black tape along the gunwales with red reflective
tape.
Joan
Date: Wed, 2 Aug 2000 19:11:26 -0700
From: "Matt Broze"
Subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Visibility of kayakers
NEWTOT wrote:
(SNIP)
> There I was in the water waving my paddle frantically as bass boats zoomed
> by at full speed to escape the storm - the wind and rain reduced visibility
> more than I could ever imagine, as many boats came within 20 feet (no joke!!)
> of me. I thought for sure I was going to be hit, even with my paddle waving
> high. This went on for 15 minutes!
(SNIP)
> The beluga was yellow but partially submerged, my PFD was red and black. I
> think blue was a bad color choice for the Squall. I think your PFD color is
> every bit as important as your boat.<<
(SNIP)
The question I want to know is what color were your paddle blades. For
visibility while paddling bright paddle blades waving around in the air
attract attention way better than a bright boat or PFD. In your case you
were even lower in the water and the PFD would also be mostly submerged.
Next to your paddle blades a big bright hat would have probably been your
best chance at being seen (especially if you took it off and waved it
around).
The Coast Guard says if you want to be spotted make yourself "bigger,
brighter or different". Another way to make yourself bigger, brighter and
different while in the water is to do a lot of splashing.
I read something from the Coast Guard recently that said they like yellow
first and a light bright blue next best. Different colors work better at
different times. I'd choose Day-glo orange for fog but if it was getting
dark I'd go for the light blue (it almost glows at night while red looks
black). Of course Day-glo colors fade rather quickly and I'd also hate to
have to look at it all day on my foredeck (at least until it fades).
It should be easy to spray the paddle blades with bright colors if they
aren't already bright. I wouldn't worry as much about the rest of your
equipment. When searching rough seas from the air the coastguard does not
like white, too much like whitecaps. Of course, by having an all yellow
kayak, unless you notified the CG by radio or EPIRB you would probably only
be helping them recover your body by the time a search got started. If you
have the radio or EPIRB to get the search started they can also be used to
help them find you.
Matt Broze
http://www.marinerkayaks.com
Date: Wed, 02 Aug 2000 21:58:16 -0400
From: Gabriel L Romeu
Subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Red is not good. (was: Visability of kayakers)
I believe that this camouflage did not actually 'mask' the vessel but
actually made it difficult to determine where the sensitive or weaker
parts of the ships were located to deter an accurate aim.
> but varied patterns can act as camouflage: as the
> British effectively used to their advantage during the Battle of the North
> Atlantic with their "dazzle" paint schemes.
>
> Robb
Gabriel L Romeu
http://studiofurniture.com furniture from the workshop
http://members.xoom.com/gabrielR life as a tourist, daily
journal
http://users.aol.com/romeugp paintings, photographs, etchings, objects
Date: Wed, 02 Aug 2000 21:52:17 -0400
From: Clark Bowlen
Subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Visibility of Kayakers
Heard somewhere that the Canadian Coast Guard did a study on boat color
visibility Can anybody confirm that? know the results?
Clark Bowlen
Date: Wed, 2 Aug 2000 23:44:44 EDT
From: RBHolt
Subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Red is not good. (was: Visability of kayakers)
In a message dated 8/2/2000 10:23:28 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
romeug writes:
> believe that this camouflage did not actually 'mask' the vessel but
> actually made it difficult to determine where the sensitive or weaker
> parts of the ships were located to deter an accurate aim.
Haven't heard that one, but I really doubt it. Remember, this was not the
Gulf War with computer guidance imagery (and even there the miss ratio was
much higher than the public was originally lead to believe). The submariners
of WWI and II had a hard enough time manuevering to get into position. They
were lucky to get a decent shot off, much less try to "aim" for a vulnerable
area of the ship.
The dazzle paint scheme was developed in WWI, but put to very good use
in WWII as just about the only defense against U-boats (until long range
escort planes came into service later in the war, after which, the U-boat
threat was virtually neutralized).
Because there was no way to "mask" the ships like with traditional
camouflage techniques, dazzle paint was developed as a way of fooling the
visual sensory processes through breaking up solid images and playing with
depth perception. From a distance the solid image of the ship would blend
into the background of the sea. Here is a link with examples:
http://www.cco.caltech.edu/~drmiles/camouflage.html
The starboard view at the bottom of the page is a good example of how
dazzle paint plays with our perception of depth.
Robb
Date: Thu, 3 Aug 2000 14:08:19 +1000
From: "Whyte, David"
Subject: RE: [Paddlewise] Visibility of kayakers & SAR
A good cheap mirror is a discarded CD. A lot of places have software
on them that is no longer needed and throw them out. They are robust, very
reflective and have a hole in the middle for lining up. My CD burner on my
PC makes useless CDs regularly though not intentionally.
I work for the Australian Maritime Safety Authority which runs all
the rescues in Australian waters. I went and spoke to the SAR people who
have a huge background in search and rescue. The comments they made were.
In Daylight nothing beats a well aimed mirror or heliograph and it
dosn't need to be very big.
At night a good strobe is best
THe best overall colour is bright orange as this can be seen in
nearly all weather conditions.
They showed me a book that they give to observers which has some
good pictures with tiny liftrafts etc in it, and the orange certainly stood
out.
Fluorescent dye put in the water shows up extremly well and lasts
longer than flares. I took some on a recent expediton and found that a film
canister full would make a huge stream
They said that the above is still needed if you are carrying an
EPRIB as they often us it for that final honing in on the subject
David
Australia
Date: Wed, 2 Aug 2000 20:00:58 -0700
From: Melissa
Subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Visibility of kayakers
What I would really like to see are gel coat colors with a reflective
component mixed in as part of the coat itself. Is there anything
like this? If it's possible, can it be done even with the more
subtle colors as well? I'm thinking of this mainly for night
paddling, so that when any light is brought upon the kayak, the
entire boat will light up - yet in sunlight, look pretty normal.
Just wondering.
Melissa
Date: Thu, 3 Aug 2000 03:40:27 -0400
From: "Reeves, Debbie
Subject: RE: [Paddlewise] Visibility of kayakers
My old Sea Lion had the red and white reflective tape. Try contacting
Perception for a lead or perhaps they would even sell you some. And let us
know.
Debs
Date: Thu, 03 Aug 2000 08:10:58 -0400
From: John Fereira
Subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Kayak colors for visibility
At 04:44 PM 8/2/00 -0400, Rick Sylvia wrote:
> I recently talked to a Coastie about this topic. He said that there are
> differences in the visibility of certain colors, but as a general rule -
> FORGET IT. The real impact is the color of your PFD or your paddle blades.
> The kayak has too low a profile, but the PFD is higher on the water, and the
> paddle blades provide movement to key off of. Makes sense to me - I always
> see fellow kayakers by their paddle movement long before I spot their kayak.
I think we're talking about two different visibility issues here. The
first involves wearing a bright PFD and paddle blades so that you're
visible to other boaters and they can avoid you. The other involves being
visible by other boaters as well as aircraft so that you can be found.
In the later case, a bright kayak would be an advantage as well.
Date: Thu, 03 Aug 2000 08:39:02 -0400
From: John Fereira
Subject: RE: [Paddlewise] Visibility of kayakers & SAR
> A good cheap mirror is a discarded CD.
There is also a seemingly endless supply of AOL CD's. Thanks for the
suggestion.
I went to the "signaling devices" session at the AKT skills symposium last
weekend and there was a lot of good information shared. Since PFD, paddle,
and kayak colors were covered during the talk I thought it would be worth
summarizing some of the topics.
One of the most important points stressed was if signals are going to be
used between paddlers communication of what those signals mean beforehand
is very important. A anecdote was shared where on paddler could see a
group of boats off a bit with they're paddles waving back and forth. The
paddler sprinted towards them and when he finally caught up he discovered
that they had a sheet of clear plastic between a their paddles and were
trying to make a sail. They were unaware that the waving of the paddles
back and forth was a common signal for "emergency".
The mirror was one of the first things mentioned as a signaling device as
was a bright white light. The battery operated head lamps were highly
recommend (don't forget to carry extra batteries). Another dual purpose
item that can be used for signaling was one of the bright orange bivy bags.
There was a bit of joking about the instructions printed on the side of
the bag and that it could be used as reading material while waiting for a
rescue.
The VHF radio was also highly recommended and several examples were related
where it actually helped. Chris Duff had sucess with a VHF radio
contacting a cruise ship after he broke his boat on a cobble beach in New
Zealand.
One of the important issues mentioned was just to use your head and be
aware of the environment and conditions around you. There's not point in
randomly shooting off flares if there isn't going to be anyone to see them.
That also extended to carrying a weather radio (a VHF can double here) so
that you're aware of pending weather conditions.
The topic of flares was, uh, enlightening. A box of "skyblazer flares" was
brought out and we were asked what we thought the success rate would be on
the 3 flares in the package. Nigel Dennis responded that his experience
that when the flares were within their expiration date range the sucess
rate was less than 50% and went down signficantly after that. Parachute
flares were highly recommend as were dyes. It was suggested that flares
should be considered a last resort rescue device and should be carried in
lieu of mirrors, lightts, etc.
Date: Thu, 03 Aug 2000 09:48:08 -0700
From: ralph diaz
Subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Visibility of kayakers & SAR
KEVIN M KENNEY wrote:
> Color wise I still don't think you can beat International Orange.
I can't remember if any one called that color by its full name:
International RESCUE Orange.
Early on when Canada was coming up with its current Maple Leaf flag
instead of using the Navy Ensign flag (or whatever it was), I kidded my
wife (she's from Alberta Canada) because the first one we were able to
buy in a store was of a color just shy of Int'l Rescue Orange. I
thought at the time "what a wonderful way to combine patriot's pride
with safety savvy."
ralph diaz
- --
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------
Ralph Diaz . . . Folding Kayaker newsletter
PO Box 0754, New York, NY 10024
Tel: 212-724-5069; E-mail: rdiaz@ix.netcom.com
"Where's your sea kayak?"----"It's in the bag."
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Thu, 03 Aug 2000 09:52:42 -0700
From: ralph diaz
Subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Red is not good. (was: Visability of kayakers)
Gabriel L Romeu wrote:
>
> I believe that this camouflage did not actually 'mask' the vessel but
> actually made it difficult to determine where the sensitive or weaker
> parts of the ships were located to deter an accurate aim.
>
> but varied patterns can act as camouflage: as the
> > British effectively used to their advantage during the Battle of the North
> > Atlantic with their "dazzle" paint schemes.
> >
> > Robb
> >
It broke up their silohuette and made it hard to determine the ship's
size which meant the submarine lost perspective and would not know
whether the target was 1,000 yards away or 3,000 yards away,
complicating aiming and arming of the torpedo.
- --
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------
Ralph Diaz . . . Folding Kayaker newsletter
PO Box 0754, New York, NY 10024
Tel: 212-724-5069; E-mail: rdiaz@ix.netcom.com
"Where's your sea kayak?"----"It's in the bag."
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Thu, 3 Aug 2000 10:36:07 -0400 (EDT)
From: Kirk Olsen
Subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Visibility of kayakers
> I've been trying to find red reflective tape for a long time]
Try http://www.gemplers.com under safety products then reflective tape
They have reflective tape in red, orange blue, green, yellow, silver(uses
reflective prisms), white, and alternating white/red (as
required by the US department of transportation for tractor trailers).
kirk
Date: Thu, 03 Aug 2000 08:11:52 -0700
From: Rob MacDonald
Subject: [Paddlewise] Visiblility
I recall watching a couple of canoes come into a beach on the Sechelt Inlet,
decades before this became a well-known paddling area. We could see the
flash of the paddles at least a mile away, maybe more. It was a moist, grey
day, with just a bit of sun beginning to peek through, the boats were
heading south towards us. I can't recall the colour of the boats, but the
occupants were in rain gear, green ponchos as I recall. We couldn't figure
out what was coming until they were about 200 yards away, but we could see
the paddles flashing forever. Looked really strange.
Same with bicycles. The best reflectors are the ones on the pedals, because
they move.
I think I will paint my paddle blades yellow - and glossy!
Rob.
Date: Thu, 3 Aug 2000 08:28:30 -0500
From: NEWTOT
Subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Visibility of kayakers
Matt Broze wrote:
"The question I want to know is what color were your paddle blades. For
visibility while paddling bright paddle blades waving around in the air
attract attention way better than a bright boat or PFD. "
My paddle has very large white blades (Tradewind model I believe) - I still
can't believe how close the boats came by. I might also add that this borrowed
boat had no bulkheads or flotation, and my friend STILL paddles it that way
(stupid stupid!) - hence making a self rescue impossible. Florescent blades or
a strobe light would have helped. Visability wasn't on my mind on a warm sunny
spring day.
Stranger still, our situation was noticed from the top of the dam and the Lake
Patrol was called. Conditions were so bad due to the large open area in front
of the dam - big waves! The 20 foot bass boat that brought us in almost rolled
over as well. The fishermen had been visiting that lake for 30 years and never
saw anything like it. (neither had I!)
Tim
Date: Thu, 03 Aug 2000 11:36:44 -0400
From: Michael R Noyes
Subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Visibility of kayakers
Melissa wrote:
>
> What I would really like to see are gel coat colors with a reflective
> component mixed in as part of the coat itself. Is there anything
> like this? If it's possible, can it be done even with the more
> subtle colors as well? I'm thinking of this mainly for night
> paddling, so that when any light is brought upon the kayak, the
> entire boat will light up - yet in sunlight, look pretty normal.
>
> Just wondering.
>
> Melissa
I have been wondering the same thing for a while now. Not just for kayaks but
also for motorcycle helmets and such. I know that they can do "metal flake"
finishes, why not reflective? Perhaps Matt can answer this one.
As for the reflective tape, I have seen it in many auto parts stores, and all
truck dealerships have it. I think I still have a roll or two from a project I
did a bit back, reflective graphics on my snowmobile helmet.
Mike (aghast at realizing that he just admitted to the group that he owns a
"land based Jet Ski")
Date: Thu, 03 Aug 2000 12:13:50 -0400
From: John Fereira
Subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Visibility of kayakers
Last weekend one of the assistants to the BCU coaches (Fiona Fairity) at
the AKT symposium was paddling a Anas Acuta that had an orange hull and a
metal flake green deck. At first it looked pretty gaudy (if not festive)
but it grew on me after awhile.
I also overheard Gabriel's lovely wife, Rita, talking with Nigel Dennis
about available colors for his NDK boats and Nigel mentioned that he could
pretty much make one in any color she wished by supplying a sample and that
it could be made using a couple of different metal flake add-ins. Waterski
boats have been using metal flake in their gelcoat for many years.
Date: Thu, 03 Aug 2000 15:10:28 -0400
From: Jeff Bingham
Subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Red is not good. (was: Visability of kayakers)
In the past I have wrapped reflective tape around the paddle shaft near the
base of the blade. At night, light is reflected in an double arc as the blades
move through the air. Pretty cool thing to watch actually.
You can also tape different patterns of tape-no tape-double tape (etc..) so
that you can I.D. a particular paddle/paddler at night.
Jeff.
Date: Thu, 03 Aug 2000 17:01:09 -0400
From: Kenneth Cooperstein
Subject: [Paddlewise] Reflective tape, flags
A good source for colored retroreflective tape is http://www.galls.com/ ( Galls )
The black is really nifty on a black surface (good for black motorcycle
helmets).
Those with a patriotic bent can try:
http://www.flashback.ca/products.html
Ken Cooperstein
Date: Thu, 03 Aug 2000 22:50:01 -0500
From: "Robert J. Matter"
Subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Visibility of kayakers
I was at my local home improvement store this afternoon (Menard's) and noticed
they had solid red reflective tape for about $1.89/roll. It was in the paint
section near the duct tape.
- -Bob Matter
Hammond, Indiana
Date: Thu, 03 Aug 2000 23:57:34 -0700
From: Doug Lloyd
Subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Kayak colors for visibility
John Fereira said:
> I think we're talking about two different visibility issues here. The
> first involves wearing a bright PFD and paddle blades so that you're
> visible to other boaters and they can avoid you. The other involves
> being visible by other boaters as well as aircraft so that you can be
> found. In the later case, a bright kayak would be an advantage as well.
Thank you John for pointing out two sides of the coin. I use a custom
made yellow flag that rocks back and forth as one paddles, giving a
visual clue to my presence on the water. Bright colored gear and boat
help.
As I paint my boat every few years, I've had a chance to play with
various colors. I've found bright gloss yellow to be the most visible.
(Paint stays much brighter than fading gelcoat). There are three yellows
available from most kayak dealers: High Visibility Yellow, Canary
Yellow, and Gold Yellow. These are not official names, but they give you
an idea. The ubiquitous Gold Yellow shows up a lot on VCP and CD kayaks,
and shows up nicely during the day. Canary Yellow is a good compromise,
but one does not see it around much. Plastic yellow kayaks use this
color. I chose the High Visibility Yellow, which is a light, bright
yellow, and is readily visible at twilight - typical time for rescues -
including my own incidents.
I also like to have a strip of reflective tape that runs both sides of
the kayak, so as to show the outline of the entire kayak and identify it
as such. My wife took some shots of me in the late evening surf, using a
flash at full. You can barely see the kayak itself, but the outline is
clearly reflected and yields an amazing presence that draws the eyes to
the reality of the vessel in the water.
As far as flares, yeah, take some with you - the more the better, and
the higher and the longer burning the better. But, on our Storm Island
rescue, a hand held flare would have been nice for pinpoint location in
rough seas. Paddlers seem to be under the false assumption the if you
shoot of a flare, a rescue vessel will just race up to you at the exact
spot where you fired from.
And if you want to go on the cheap, one can substitute a large orange
garden refuse bag, rather that a commercial one. They work well for a
variety of uses during an emergency on land or in the water. They may
make a good body bag, but I have not had the opportunity to test that
peripheral use yet.
BC'in Ya
Doug Lloyd
Date: Fri, 4 Aug 2000 11:57:52 -0500
From: Patrick Maun
Subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Kayak colors for visibility
Here is a tip for carrying emergency gear. I installed a knee-tube
into my boat (PVC pipe simply siliconed in, with another smaller
diameter tube next to it for a handhelp bilge pump). In addition to
keeping my paddlefloat, and often a light paddle jacket, I have my
"emergency canister". This is simple a Naglene bottle with some
closed-cell foam siliconed around it to provide a snug fit in the
tube. I have a cord running from the bottle to the front of the tube
so it can be easily yanked out. I keep several flares, a smoke
grenade, a signal mirror, some marine repair tape and a Cliff energy
bar in the waterproof bottle.
On a longer trip or crossing, I would also carry some of these items
in my PFD, but this way, I always have this items in the boat and
don't need to worry about remembering yet another thing from the ever
growing list of junk to pack for trips.
- -Patrick
From: "Peter Osman"
Subject: [Paddlewise] Visibility
Date: Mon, 07 Aug 2000 09:41:44 GMT
G'day,
I've followed the correspondence on visibility and most certainly don't want
to decry the emphasis on selecting colours that can be easily seen.
However, its my contention that no matter what their colour kayaks should be
paddled as though they were invisible. They almost certainly are invisible
to most other boat owners, even the responsible ones.
With this in mind I should think one could generate quite a few rules of
thumb for planning a safer paddle in crowded waters. I am concerned that the
poor visibility kayakers present might give them a bad name in crowded
waters.
All the best, PeterO