By Sarah Thornely &
Simon Hutchinson of SUPfm

Photos: Supjunkie

Bio

Sarah’s love of SUP brought her to running SUPJunkie, covering UK and worldwide races through live feeds and interviews.

Sarah is a qualified instructor with the ASI and British Canoeing and still gets great pleasure in getting complete beginners on the water. Sarah writes for SUP Mag UK and the Paddler, and does a lot work to support the GBSUP race series as well as paddlers who are participating in adventures and challenges for charity. https://www.supjunkie.co.uk

British Canoeing safety conference 2023

Simon and I recently attended the British Canoeing Safety Conference in Coventry with safety groups such as the RNLI and HM Coastguard, retailers including Palm and Whetman Equipment and SUP associations such as BSUPA and the ISA.

An acknowledgement was also made of the recent demise of the Water Skills Academy, which has gone into liquidation. Throughout the day, many people mentioned how upset they were to hear this news as the WSA brought life and safety to adventure and expeditions in the UK and worldwide. They really will be sorely missed.

Sam Hughes from the RNLI
Sam shared this year’s stats on incidents and rescues and the trends emerging from another year of SUP as a high participation and growing sport. With 4,250,000 people now participating in the sport, or 6.3% of the UK population, this has had a knock-on effect for the number of people having to be rescued. The RNLI featured three videos with one thing in common – offshore winds. There has been a 442% rise in RNLI SUP rescues in the last five years, with 54% due to offshore winds.

The ‘avoid offshore winds’ advice was highlighted as an area of improvement. It was particularly ineffective for a public who seems largely unaware of what it means and how to identify and manage it. The safety initiative is a golden opportunity, and getting the eyes of the public onto that core messaging is invaluable, so expecting people to Google an unclear message could be seen as a huge opportunity lost.

We heard from Darren Sherwood, lead researcher of the effects of offshore winds on stand up paddleboarders. More than 300 tests highlighted paddling difficulties in a Force 4 wind, with the ‘SUP brake’ position being:

• 63% more effective at reducing drift than standing.
• 48% more effective at reducing drift than kneeling.
• 36% more effective at reducing drift than prone.
• 15% more effective than a SUP paddler sitting with their legs in the water.

The SUP brake position is achieved by sitting at the tail astride the board and facing the nose while placing the paddle into the water braced against your leg and offering resistance to drift.

As a technique, this would be particularly important to learn for emergency responders who could advise callers to use this while they awaited rescue. Regardless of this procedure, current safety guidance should always be followed before deciding to get on the water.

Dr Loel Collins on Leashes
Dr Loel Collins then spoke about his research into ‘Leashes in a White Water and Flow Environment’ – quite an emotive subject due to recent research by other independent white water specialists. British Canoeing has recently recommended that paddlers not wear a leash in white water, but the jury is still out concerning flowing water such as rivers and estuaries. The BC research will be released later this year.

What is clear from the leash research in flowing water is that fitting the waist leash correctly is critical, and ensuring the release is set on the ‘hair trigger’ side of the equation is necessary to ensure release happens quickly and cleanly. So, there are no improvised devices and the standard webbing waist belt is adjusted for your waist size and cut down to ensure that there is no excess length to run through the buckle before it is released.

Terminology

• White water: Graded using the International I- VI grading scale.
• Flowing water: Water that is moving down a gradient, typically smooth or laminar in flow , such as an estuary.
• Moving water: A mass of water moving from one point to another, a ground swell/surf.
• Quick Release Harness (QRH): A method of connecting a rope to rescuer in an emergency to perform a rescue, typically worn on the chest and integral to a PFD.
• Waist worn leash: Leash system connecting a paddler and board comprising of a belt and elasticated leash parts, distinct from an ankle leash.
• Entrapment: The leash and thus board and paddler are caught up on something in the flowing/white water, holding the board and paddler in a fixed position.
• Entanglement: The user is caught up in the leash system.

Recommendation 1: On White Water (Graded Water I -VI)

• Leashes have no place on white water.
• PFD/PPE should be worn.
• Leashes, if worn between rapids, should be disconnected from the board and stowed away while running the rapid.
• Application of tried and tested principles common to all white water users using similar devices.

Recommendation and Findings: Flowing Water

• Ankle leashes have no place on flowing or white water.
• Leash sections should float and have sufficient elasticity to remain on the board while in use, a combination.
• Waist-mounted systems have inherent weakness that will be exacerbated with untrained users.
• Waist mounted leash performance improves by following simple guidelines in line with those for QRH – (Punch away – toggle release and shorted tape).
• There remain 8-10% poor releases that are associated with belt movement and swimmer instability when entrapped.
• PFDs reduce the impact of sub-surface entrapments but is NOT a mitigation.
• Leashes may also have saved lives – recommendation for use or non use is premature, a ‘risk verses benefit’ balance.
• Therefore, further research is required, in these three areas:
• The position of the dorsal attachment point.
• The integral nature of the belt and PDF.
• QRH as an option.

Many discussion areas were to add detail in areas we already understand. Still, the fundamental safety basics remain the education of those who don’t identify as ‘paddlers’ to identify and avoid offshore winds and skip flowing water if they can’t wear a waist leash.

Emily Evans
Emily Evans recently became SUP Lead with Canoe Wales and spoke inspiringly on SUP participation. She brought to life the benefits and fun this sport brings to so many young and older adults.

Emily spoke about the health benefits, the environmental awareness, the rise in female participation and the #ShePaddles initiative. From racing to adventure, SUP polo to SUP surfing, either individually or in groups or clubs, this is an exciting sport to be involved in. The benefits of ‘blue’ therapy on the water should not be underestimated.

Round table discussions were held towards the end of the day on topics such as point-of-sale safety messaging, weir safety, leash research, offshore winds and the Paddle Safely campaign.

Let’s be hopeful that British Canoeing can make our sport safer while keeping the level of skill and excitement right up there. We believe collaborations are key; there is nothing quite like keeping open minds and hearts – after all, we are talking about people’s lives.

Brendon Prince
Brendon Prince of Above Water was also at the conference – he is touring the UK, teaching thousands of school children about water safety in a fun and informative way. Brendon’s thoughts, “It was truly fabulous to see the people that were in the room united to talk about what we all want, which is success for the sport of SUP, not just for now but for the next 10 to 20 years. I think what must happen is not rocket science; when you come from a position of no leadership, that sudden leadership needs to be strong, and it needs to be swift.

“I am looking forward to seeing how the next six months go with British Canoeing at the helm. I would truly love to see them get the glory out of the sport.”

Lee Pooley
Speaking at the conference, Lee Pooley, Director of Coaching and Qualifications at British Canoeing said, “It was very clear from those that had made the journey and contributed throughout the day to the discussions that SUP safety is a priority for us all.

“I am very confident that this conference has created the appropriate platform for collaborative working with next year seeing a step change in how we work as a strong collective.”