What if your kayak flips

When you are doing any form of kayaking, it is vital that you wear a personal flotation device PFD at all times. It is also best to understand and practice the techniques of exiting and re-entering your kayak in the water. The first thing to do when your sit-on kayak flips over is to stay calm. Panicking makes you unable to concentrate and can put you in danger.

Your sitting position on the kayak will most likely have you falling sideways into the water. If you do find yourself fully inverted, try to swim a few feet to the left or right to avoid banging your head on your kayak as you surface. Try to remember to keep hold of your paddle as it makes a handy flotation aid in a pinch and it is your only means of propulsion when you re-enter your kayak. You can get into a tricky situation if it floats away.

First, secure your paddle then swim toward your inverted kayak. Kicking your legs to provide thrust, push your torso onto the upturned hull of the kayak and use both hands to grab the edge of the hull on the far side. Keeping hold of the hull, bring your knees up and lean backwards. Your body weight will pull the kayak over to the point where the shape of its hull will take over and the kayak will right itself. This time, allow your legs to float up to the surface behind you instead of bringing your knees up and leaning back.

Your leveled body will keep the kayak from flipping over. Once you feel stable, roll your body around until your backside is in the seat and then swing your legs up. All individuals are naturally hardwired to keep their head above water.

Without even being aware of the action taken, people find themselves floating on the surface beside the upturned Kayak. The description above is what typically happens when a kayak flips over. Additionally, as a backup, Kayakers do have a simple procedure to follow that ensures a safe exit.

Walking Rivers guides are happy to practice this backup system before going onto the water if you feel you would like it. Immediately you realize the kayak is upside down and you have not come out of it start your conscious exit.

Do this by leaning forward as far as possible. Next place your forehead on the deck if that helps to get you further forward. The third thing is to practice flipping and re-entering your kayak in calm, shallow water. Sit-on-top kayaks. Sit-inside kayaks. This style of kayak can be a little more challenging, but is still easily doable with practice and the correct accessories.

To achieve a wet exit, start by placing your hands on opposite sides of your cockpit rim and pushing your body out. If you wear a spray skirt, lean forward and pull the grab loop up and back to release it first.

The other option is to swim underneath your kayak, and quickly push the kayak up and over in one smooth motion. This technique requires more strength and can be a little more challenging for certain people. Balance is key. If the wind blows strongly, the wave will be higher and you will more likely flip your kayak in this circumstance.

Just try not to neglect the bad weather, you always have the next time. Before you use your torso to balance the kayak, try to balance it in the first place by distributing your stuff equally. The weight should be distributed from length to length, width to width. Your kayak should be perfectly balanced when you are sitting straight up.

The low brace is the best way to recover your balance easily without getting wet. You can use a Low brace to prevent potential losing balance, because of the stroke is very fast and efficient. You should consider it to be your go-to move, your instinctive reaction when your kayak is about to flip. After reading the instructions you should go on and watch the Youtube video.

And try to practice it in the shallow water over and over. Quick note: Low brace is by simply pressing the paddle or sweeping the blade against the surface of the water to create a resistant enable you to recover. The step by step is provided by www. Keep practicing and repeating these movements until they become your second nature. The high brace is typically the upgraded version of the low brace.