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Monday, 05 May 2008

Be smart, be safe, be seen

One thing that I was really impressed with when I participated in Sailing Scene's beach-side gathering on the weekend was the amount of brightly coloured kayaks among the fleet. The majority of them were either a yellow or orange colour, and it was really very easy to spot any of these at any distance, whereas the duller coloured kayaks were much harder to see. I also noted with interest that every single kayak in Sailing Scene's demo kayaks were the papaya (yellow) colour, which demonstrates to me that these guys are really using their heads. I imagine that's partly why so many of the kayakers that showed up (most of them Sailing Scene customers) had bright coloured kayaks. In busy waterways like those in Sydney, standing out and being seen is really very important. This truism has been brought to the limelight in the past week, due to the horrible boating tragedy that cost 6 lives and another 7 injuries. And it has reminded me that the one most dangerous factor that is ever-present with kayak fishermen isn't sharks, crocadiles, or being swept out to sea. Being rammed by a larger, heavier, faster boat is a far more likely scenario, for salt water or fresh water endeavours.

The accident in question occurred at night, however, at a time when a bright coloured boat alone wouldn't be enough. Obviously lighting is paramount whenever on the water at night and this is something that any kayak fisherman should be thinking about. Whether it be launching early in the morning, fishing into the twilight or beyond, having some form of highly noticeable illumination is pretty much mandatory. I haven't done a lot of fishing in darkness lately so up until recently it hasn't been on my mind, but current affairs have made the issue significant to me again. The more I think about it, the more I reckon that some sort of strobe light is probably the way to go. Static lights tend to blend in fairly easily, whereas a strobe light just sort of jumps out and say's 'look at me... I'm here!' Obviously, a combination of both is the way to go.