John, NRS Customer Service, sporting a life jacket and getting ready to paddle.
On Sunday, July 1st, Chicago, IL, got hit by a storm packing 100 mph winds. Two groups of kayakers were out on the Chicago River when wind-driven waves turned the normally placid river into white-capped froth. Some 30 kayaks capsized, sending dozens of novice kayakers, including children, into the water. Local rescue groups pulled 62 people to safety.
Two kayak tour companies got into trouble for putting customers out in their boats when severe thunderstorms were predicted. But one thing they both did right was put a life jacket on every one of these paddlers. Many got a bad scare, but there were no serious injuries and everyone came back alive.
Can you picture what it would have been like with that many inexperienced people of all ages in turbulent water generated by 100 mph winds if they had not been wearing life jackets? There would likely have been tragedy. It would have been a miracle if no one drowned.
U.S. Coast Guard statistics show that 80% or more of drownings could be prevented by wearing a life jacket. Caca occurs; boaters are just people between swims. Wear your life jacket. Live to boat another day.
Boat Often, Boat Safe!
Source: “Crews rescue 62 kayakers swamped in Chicago River during storm”, Chicago Tribute
Your point about wearing life jackets is well taken and I understand this is why you published the story, but you have also further spread an inaccurate account of the incident. The facts as reported in the Chicago Tribune are highly questionable. As a member of a local kayak organization, we have opportunity to work with a kayak tour/rental company with our events. I also spoke with the owner of another one who had two tours on the Chicago River at the time of the incident. These companies are very aware of the risks involved in kayaking and have emergency procedures to get people off the water very quickly. Their guides are ACA Certified Instructors and are well trained in emergency procedures. These companies monitor marine weather and will implement emergency procedures without hesitation. All incidents are well documented. The one company who had two tour groups out that Sunday did pick up the newly formed storm from Marine weather forecasts and implemented their emergency procedures immediately. They also launched their Zodiac rescue boat. They got most their tourist off the water before the storm hit with only three wet and they were quickly retrieved by the rescue boat. My understanding is that no one of this group was pulled from the water by the police. It is unfortunate that the story as printed in the Chicago Tribune is so deceiving. How much better it would have been to acknowledge the kayak touring companies who implemented emergency procedures and had gotten most of the people off the water before the storm hit or the police arrived. Some of the boats capsized in the river were blown into the river by the wind from a boat livery on the bank– no kayakers in them. Truth is always the best tact. Please continue educating about the importance of wearing life jackets– they are live-saving jackets.
the operators made a fundamental error in judgement and procedure putting these inexperienced ppl (incl children) on the water not even an hour after a severe weather alert was issued by the National Weather Service and a Channel 16 alert by the USCG.
Although the ACA instructors are equipped w. marine radios, one of them reports checking Channel 16 for updates at 12:03 pm, a full half hour after the National Weather Service alert was issued.
Why were none of these “experienced” guides monitoring the weather sooner? They can leave Channel 16 on continuously and program their radios for NOAA alerts. Why was no one at the home base of the kayak company monitoring the weather at regular close intervals, given that storm alerts were regular and frequent after 10 am that morning.
One answer may be that Kayak Chicago’s Architectural tour met at 10 am and got on the water approximately between 11:30 am and noon. To cancel the tour for weather would have meant issuing refunds of $65 per person for about 40 people. Look at the money trail for the answer to this.
The operator Dave Olson said that after they(he) got the National Weather Service Alert at 12 noon that they (he) thought they could get the tour over with by 1 pm (when it’s scheduled to end). Obviously they *guessed* wrongly, and put all of these people at risk.
The citation by Chicago PD was for putting ppl at unnecessary risk – both rental companies could have and should have known about the storm.
100 mph winds and whitecapping on the Chicago River. The after spin of the measures taken shows some admirable behavior on the part of the instructors and guides. The bottom line is the customers should never have been put on the water, esp. as the majority were inexperienced people and children in wide, single bulkheaded rec boats that are easily capsized in wave action and much more difficult to do rescues with than the dual bulkheaded seakayaks the instructors (not the customers) were using.
Kayak Chicago is well known for putting groups of 40 or more on the river at one time with an approximate ratio of 8 customers to 1 guide. The normative (and recommended) ratio set by the ACA is 5 or 6 customers to 1.
Wearing a life jacket is fine, and recommended…but there is so much more to the story than that.
CASKA, the local paddlers group, has many members who are friends w. Dave Olson of Kayak Chicago (he is a member).
Unfortunately this has compromised their ability to look at the events factually and unemotionally – instead they are ridiculing and attacking Chicago media just as Dave Olson and his instructors are attacking and ridiculing Chicago police and firemen in their “incident reports” .
Thanks for writing, Gayle. NRS strives to promote boating safety of all types. As you point out, we were using this incident as a means of pointing out the life saving benefits of always wearing a life jacket.
There have been various views of this event posted here and on other forums. We’re not in a position to pass judgment. Our hope is that all have learned lessons and will work to improve safety in every way they can.
Have a great outdoor season!
I too applaud NRS, and others, in promoting the use of PFDs. As a survivor of 35 years of whitewater adventures, guiding, and rescue/wilderness medicine instruction I have seen the benefits first hand…including on the Sauk river at high water just yesterday.
I do have some concerns regarding the increasing popularity of the low-profile/low-flotation vests that have become so common. In the big water conditions around here they do not always provide the flotation necessary to allow a swimmer to catch a breath in a class IV swim. Worse yet, because of their comfortable fit they can be torn off at the wrong moment with disastrous results, especially if not adjusted very tight.
I will continue to use the Extrasport High-Float style PFD, and recommend it to friends and students for big water rafting.
We all need to make our own choices. Thank you NRS for providing this forum for the exchange of ideas.
Thanks Kelly for reinforcing the importance of wearing good life jackets.
On the subject of jacket flotation, the US Coast Guard has set a minimum of 15.5 pounds of buoyancy for Type III jackets, the most common recreational type. They further say that most adults need an extra seven to 12 of flotation to keep their head above water. We’ve set 16.5 pounds as the minimum design flotation for our Type III models.
But there’s a real difference in the way aerated whitewater and calm water support a swimmer. You’re right that in big water extra flotation can make a difference in how high you float or quickly you pop to the surface.
On the fit and security of life jackets, that is really something that boaters need to pay attention to. Folks should always adjust the various straps to get a snug fit and then test to make sure it won’t ride up. Have someone grab the shoulder straps and pull up, or better get in the water with it. Body types vary so much that individual adjustment is important.
One great thing about many of the low profile jackets of today is that they are super all-day comfortable and more likely to be worn all the time. There’s a lot of truth to the saying, “the best life jacket is the one you have on when you need it.”
There are so many great choices in the marketplace today, types, designs and flotation ranging from 15.5 to 29 pounds or greater.
It’s important that everyone finds a jacket that works for them, adjusts it to fit snugly and wears it when on the water. Safety first.
Kelly, I share your concern about buoyancy. The Class III foam PFDs used by most recreational paddlers are designed with comfort in mind and buoyancy appears to have taken a back seat to comfort.
The current push to rename PFDs “Lifejackets” is interesting in that regard, because devices called “Lifejackets” generally have higher buoyancy requirements.
The Coast Guard refers to Type III’s as “Flotation Aids”, with a required minimum buoyancy of 15.5 lbs (70 newtons), whereas Type I foam PFDs are required to have 22 lbs (100 newtons) and are referred to as “Off-Shore Life Jackets”.
In Essentials of Sea Survival, Golden & Tipton note that “To qualify for “life-jacket” classification in the UK, adult life-jackets must have in excess of 34lbs of buoyancy.” Lesser devices are termed “Buoyancy Aids”. On our side of the pond, the Coast Guard doesn’t list a single device with buoyancy in excess of 34lbs. The closest ones are Type 1 Inflatable (33lbs), Type II Inflatable (33lbs), and a Type V – Special Use Device – Inflatable (22lbs to 34lbs).
What’s even more interesting, however, is the intended use guidelines for Type I’s vs Type III’s. Type I: ”Best for all waters, open ocean, rough seas, or remote water, where rescue may be slow coming.” Type III: Good for calm, inland waters, or where there is a good chance for fast rescue.” In other words, not designed for rough water – something that occurs with regularity on flat as well as whitewater when conditions are right – like the Chicago River in a big thunderstorm.
All that said, a Type III sure is a lot more user-friendly and more likely to be worn than the old orange kapok horse-collar jobs, , and that’s much better than no PFD at all. It would certainly be better if users were more aware of the distinctions.
For using Type III’s in whitewater, I recommend the addition of a crotch strap to prevent the jacket from being stripped off. See the guys in marketing about that one: Crotch Straps! Not Just For Kid’s PFD’s! Ad features lots of hotshots wearing them, adjusting them. Then again, maybe not – that sort of thing could get out of hand…
All good points. Like so many things in life, life jacket choice requires compromise. The more flotation the higher you float, but that flotation material has to go somewhere and that extra bulk can get in the way of mobility and comfort.
Having started boating back in the long distant times when the big ol’ kapok-filled Type I Mae West was the only Coast Guard approved high-float jacket, I can attest to their lack of comfort.
We are so fortunate today that there are so many good choices available to us. Most of the Type III and Type III/V jackets provide adequate flotation for most uses and users, they’re all-day wearing comfortable and you can swim in them.
For those who need or want more flotation, NRS and other manufacturers provide more choices. Our Big Water Guide (22 lbs) and Big Water V (25 lbs) are examples. And yes, leg, or crotch straps do provide extra security. These two jackets have webbing loops built into them to accept those straps, which we carry.
Then, on the term Personal Flotation Device (PFD). That’s the Coast Guard’s umbrella term for all these devices. It’s a bureaucratic term and I don’t like to use it. Life jacket or life vest is much more descriptive of what it does – saves lives. Yes, in our copy we do use PFD in places, both for brevity and for web search purposes, but we use the “life” terms as much as possible.
Again, I have to agree with the Coast Guard, that “the best life jacket is the one you have on when you need it.” Find one that works for what you do, that’s all-day comfortable and stays put when you swim. Then wear it when you’re on the water!
Boat Often, Boat Safe