Spaced Out

Learning to drive a vehicle safely was no small task for many, including me. My youth demanded speed, my instructor demanded safety.

“A bit too close” Mr. Enns would say as his foot hovered over his passenger-side break pedal.

Starting with Mr. Enns, I learned it is impossible to follow at a safe distance if you disregard specific conditions such as road surface, traffic speed, and visual conditions. Ah, hah; the proper distance is situational.

Following distance when kayaking is often less critical, especially when the river is well-known, well-scouted, and well within the party’s skill level. Unlike the ’51 Chevy coupe that fell victim to my brother’s learning process, on some runs there is little consequence to playing bumper boats (other than perhaps irritating the irritable).

Although much of boating feels quite recreational, it is critical that we recognize situations that could create serious hazards and respond with appropriate caution.

As river difficulty increases, as flow increases, as unknowns (wood) increase, so should spacing.

What feels like a “normal, adequate” distance to maneuver past a friend who flips or becomes delayed in a hydraulic might be grossly inadequate if the flow is fast, the bends are frequent, or obstructions are unknown.

Take this scenario: the lead boater quite suddenly spots an obstruction and quickly ducks into the nearest eddy.

The next kayaker should be following no closer than one eddy behind the leader, as the leader’s sanctuary might not be big enough for 2 boats.

Each kayaker in this situation should always have an eddy spotted in case the boat in front of them has to stop. Yep, boaters might be hundreds of feet apart, depending on frequency of eddies. Otherwise, as Mr. Enns would say…”a bit too close!”

Bary speaks.