Three of these kids belong together
Three of these kids are kind of the same
But one of these kids is doing his own thing
Now it’s time to play our game
In that 1970’s Sesame Street skit, I remember the jingle but not the point. Was I just to notice that one kid was playing soccer while the other three base ball, or was I supposed to respect the kid who was stepping out of the crowd and doing his own thing?
Under many circumstances, doing your own thing is quite admirable. Paddling without a helmet and PFD, however, isn’t one of them. Or at least that’s more or less the consensus of the paddlers weighing in on a thread on Boatwerks’ Boater Board Internet forum.
A group of high-profile, 20-something hotshots are surfing Bus Eater on the Ottawa River—site of the 2007 World Freestyle kayaking Championships— without helmets and PFDs.
One of them feels this is a real-risk versus perceived-risk issue, arguing that the deep wave (albeit one that can beat you down like the Hart Foundation), warm water, pool below and safety in numbers are enough: “We’ve been boating this wave for a long time, we know what we are doing and we aren’t putting ourselves or others in danger…this isn’t a big deal.”
Based on six pages of debate and 4,000 paddlers following along, this is a big deal to a great number of paddlers. The threads of responses weave in and out of “It’s a free world, man” and “What are you thinking you irresponsible ass.”
With 89 paddlers contributing opinions (and the usual stupid comments) I was surprised that no one asked the most obvious question:
Why wouldn’t you wear a PFD and helmet?
I’m a pretty good driver. Been at it 21 years now, six of which I was a professional truck driver hauling petroleum to gas stations. I still put on over 60k each year travelling to rivers and events. Accident free, knock on wood. I wouldn’t think of jumping in my pickup without putting on my seatbelt. First of all it’s the law everywhere in north America, except new Hampshire, where their license plate also reads “Live Free or Die.” Secondly, I don’t even notice it; a seatbelt doesn’t hinder my driving experience, nor is it cool not to wear it. Most importantly, if I do go into the rhubarb, however unlikely that might be, I know that I’m better off with it on than without. I feel the same way about my helmet and PFD.
In skiing and skateboarding helmets are progressively being accepted as a good idea and becoming part of the uniform worn by kids in the parks and by the pros. Paddling, in this way, is far ahead of other adventure sports.
Show me one whitewater kayaker who wasn’t handed a PFD and helmet before he climbed into a boat. Never in a welcome-to-whitewater chat has an instructor said, “Here’s the essential safety equipment—a helmet and PFD— that we will always wear in and around whitewater, or at least until you’re really good and surfing one of the largest waves in the world.”
Life jackets and helmets are already part of our uniform and have been since before Sesame Street. Now it’s time for these kids to play our game.
This article first appeared in the Fall 2007 issue of Rapid Magazine.