Are Kayaks Dangerous?
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NudeDiver
Contributor
Eric Sedletzky
Contributor
Kayak diving is great! No gas, no license fees, plenty of range, good upper body exercise.
We use kayaks up here on the CA north coast quite a bit. If anybody should be paranoid about sharks it would be us, and we don't give it a second thought. Lot's of people around here use them for freediving for abalone and for scuba. I have an Ocean Kayak scrambler XT with a tank well. I can load about 300 lbs in it.
I don't think there is any more risk factor with a kayak then with any thing else, provided you keep things within a practical safety margin. I think kayaks are probably safer then shore diving in a lot of ways because you don't have a surface swim. I something did happen to where you were incapacitated you could always climb on the kayak and have your buddy tow you back in.
The only thing that gets dicey with a kayak is when the wind comes up. Kayaks and wind don't mix too well.
We use kayaks up here on the CA north coast quite a bit. If anybody should be paranoid about sharks it would be us, and we don't give it a second thought. Lot's of people around here use them for freediving for abalone and for scuba. I have an Ocean Kayak scrambler XT with a tank well. I can load about 300 lbs in it.
I don't think there is any more risk factor with a kayak then with any thing else, provided you keep things within a practical safety margin. I think kayaks are probably safer then shore diving in a lot of ways because you don't have a surface swim. I something did happen to where you were incapacitated you could always climb on the kayak and have your buddy tow you back in.
The only thing that gets dicey with a kayak is when the wind comes up. Kayaks and wind don't mix too well.
I'm not going to get into the PADI specialty issue, but a significant safety issue of kayak diving concerns training from someone with experience. There is a pretty good learning curve, and you can pay more in lost gear in one dive that any class will cost you.
A bigger risk than bites or DCI would be losing your boat. Anchoring or towing skills are very important. Also in this area we have shallow reef edges and crossing through surf, especially coming back in, is an important skill or a wipe out over coral is the result.
In short, the safety of kayak diving relates more to your skill and experience with the kayak than on misfortunes that could happen on any given dive.
A bigger risk than bites or DCI would be losing your boat. Anchoring or towing skills are very important. Also in this area we have shallow reef edges and crossing through surf, especially coming back in, is an important skill or a wipe out over coral is the result.
In short, the safety of kayak diving relates more to your skill and experience with the kayak than on misfortunes that could happen on any given dive.
I put two inflatable bladders in my OK Scupper Pro TW. I dive it solo, me the yak and the sea, no BC, no nothing. It does not have a deco chamber onboard but I do have a vhf and signal kit.
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I love kayak diving, I am a member of Kayuba. You are welcome to come to one of our meetings and we are having the next one Monday night (see our website for details). I've been shore diving for close to 30 years, kayak diving for about 1-1/2 years, and I think kayak diving is a WHOLE lot safer. I like that I have the platform above me, much more visible than just the flag I carried for beach diving.
You can also bring stuff back with ease. I've found anchors, and of course lobsters, and it's easier to paddle them back than to swim them back.
That said, you have to have REALLY good lines and knots. I relied on a caribiner clip to attach my tow line to my yak and it failed...LUCKILY a buddy was right there, still ON his boat and got it back to me. Another time, my paddle leash failed while I was diving, I came up and no paddle. Another friend retrieved it for me but now I have a spare to keep on board. And, of course, everything has to be tied on really well.
It is a beautiful sport, very relaxing, and you can spend more of your air on the dive than on swimming to your dive spot. I have a handheld GPS with my spots marked. I also carry a VHF and a cell phone with me.
I love that I can now dive spots that were previously inaccessible by just swimming, unless I was trying to beat Neal Watson's world record, lol. I also love that I can keep a cooler with ice cold water/tea and fruit and snacks etc. with me.
So, is it safer than a boat dive? Probably not. But it's a lot less expensive, and it is a BEAUTIFUL sport. It is a WHOLE lot safer than a traditional beach dive.
You can also bring stuff back with ease. I've found anchors, and of course lobsters, and it's easier to paddle them back than to swim them back.
That said, you have to have REALLY good lines and knots. I relied on a caribiner clip to attach my tow line to my yak and it failed...LUCKILY a buddy was right there, still ON his boat and got it back to me. Another time, my paddle leash failed while I was diving, I came up and no paddle. Another friend retrieved it for me but now I have a spare to keep on board. And, of course, everything has to be tied on really well.
It is a beautiful sport, very relaxing, and you can spend more of your air on the dive than on swimming to your dive spot. I have a handheld GPS with my spots marked. I also carry a VHF and a cell phone with me.
I love that I can now dive spots that were previously inaccessible by just swimming, unless I was trying to beat Neal Watson's world record, lol. I also love that I can keep a cooler with ice cold water/tea and fruit and snacks etc. with me.
So, is it safer than a boat dive? Probably not. But it's a lot less expensive, and it is a BEAUTIFUL sport. It is a WHOLE lot safer than a traditional beach dive.
I am a solo yak diver, and I love my yak, but I make dives from my yak that I would not let others do, because there are way more risks on those dives than any other divers I know should risk (including instructors).
Yak diving is great for the right diver, but there is no way yak diving is a whole lot safer than traditional beach diving!
NudeDiver
Contributor
Gezz...it took me 19 posts before i realized that "yak" must be short for "kayak". I was imagining smelly 4 footed animals, but it didn't seem to fit with the context.
OK - carry on.
OK - carry on.
2Tours N Iraq`
Contributor
I'm going to preface this by stating I have never dived from a kayak so I don't have any actual experience with it.
That being said, I believe that the rules for boat diving apply to kayak diving. There should always be one person on the boat so one should think there should always be one persone with the kayaks for the very reasons DebbyDiver pointed out above. However, kayak diving does make it easier to access dive sites relatively close to shore that shore diving wouldn't allow you to get to. I would think that as long as you mitigate the risks then it can be a safe and rewarding experience.
That being said, I believe that the rules for boat diving apply to kayak diving. There should always be one person on the boat so one should think there should always be one persone with the kayaks for the very reasons DebbyDiver pointed out above. However, kayak diving does make it easier to access dive sites relatively close to shore that shore diving wouldn't allow you to get to. I would think that as long as you mitigate the risks then it can be a safe and rewarding experience.
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