Safety Signals on the River
by Ken Anderson (HCC Purser)

I was talking with a WW canoeist from Pennsylvania who told me about an incident. He said the folks with whom he normally canoes use whistles when they flip over and in need of help (not that I know anything about flipping over...so at this point the entire discussion became something of a hypothetical to me).

He went paddling with a WW paddling group he wasn't familiar with. He flipped over and was going down the river "wildly"out of control but when he blew his whistle his new buddies simply waived at him. He blew his whistle several times and they waived that many times if not more. He told me it's really hard to blow a whistle when your mouth is full of water.

He eventually self-rescued and lived to tell me the tale...unless he's dead and that means if he was talking to me in person I'm writing this from someplace I'd rather not think about.

When he asked his soon-to-be x-good-buddies about their lack of help it seems they thought he was enjoying himself floating down that river. As a group they didn't have any pre-arranged help and rescue signals.

The point is there should be a pre-arranged understanding of safety signals among the group before setting off. For example, if you flip but in control of yourself and your boat you can pat the top of your head to let everyone know you're OK and in control; if you don't send that signal there's a presumption you're in trouble and in need of help.

And that arrangement should not be limited to the use of a whistle. My Pennsylvania friend noted how hard it was to blow the whistle with a mouthful of water...it could have been even harder if he'd was knocked out, had a broken arm, and/or the cold water limited his ability muscle coordination (including my favorite: breathing). Clearly, there are limits to the use of a whistle.

I didn't ask him about his choice of a paddling group...we'll save that tip for another day.

standard signal meaning STOP

Signal meaning to Continue after having stopped

Signal shows which direction to continue. Here hand points to the left....a possible obstruction to the right. The kayak paddle is pointing to the right, so those following would paddle to the right.

The signal that asks the question "Are you OK?" A return pat on the head says Yes, I'm OK