Paddle Safely!
Do you know what every kid does at some point during their lives?
Fall down.
Everyone who’s ever learned how to ride a bike has likely fallen off of one.
Many of the activities that our Passages campers enjoy are considered “adventure sports,” and as such, come with some inherent risk. But our staff is trained to mitigate that risk with considerable training and a lot of teamwork.
When we teach our campers how to rappel, for example, we double- and triple-check their harnesses. We make certain that their helmets are snug and secure, and make sure they’ve got the proper footwear. We talk them through what they’re about to do, coach them through it, and then celebrate when they’re at the bottom of a seemingly huge rock wall. Coaches and counselors are at the top of the wall, and at the bottom. We’ll likely have one or two on the wall itself.
Nowhere is the focus on safety more important than when our campers climb into kayaks.
This past weekend, we saw many of our friends and campers at Dominion Riverrock – a weekend festival celebrating adventure sports and based on the James River. After several days of rainy weather, the James was in all its glory, raging above flood stage, with a churning mess of muddy water. Those conditions should be reserved for experts.
Riverrock happens each year in May, and May happens to be River Safety Month, so here’s some of what we’ve learned at Passages and what we pass on to our campers:
Always check the weather and conditions before you go out. When the James River floods, it isn’t because it rained in Richmond: It’s because of rains upriver from us, like in Lynchburg or Scottsville, many miles from downtown Richmond. If the water is too high, we won’t go out. We’re always alert, because heavy rains can change water levels quickly, making even the river banks a risky spot.
Each camper has a few handy items. The first is a PFD or personal floatation device. This is a life jacket, and like a climbing harness, we check each camper to make certain it’s on correctly and it fits. Everyone also gets a helmet. The river is full of rocks, and everyone is swinging a paddle, so protecting everyone’s head is important.
We teach everyone what to do should they fall out of their kayak. Perhaps the most dangerous thing in a flowing river is something called a “strainer.” This is something like a fallen tree or a root system or even a man-made obstacle in the river. You may not even be able to see it, but water rushes through it, and someone in the water could become entrapped. We scout out all those obstacles and areas with dangerous currents before we hit the water, and our campers are trained on what to do before they end up in danger.
We also operate as a group. We have counselors and experienced kayakers embedded in each group of campers, and we call out names and know how many are in each group. We make certain during our entire time on the water that each person who launched with us is still there and makes it back to shore.
The Friends of the James River Park has a good page on River Safety on their website. You can check it out here. If you want a live look at the James and up-to-the-minute updates on river conditions, we like How’s the James.
Part of our mission at Passages is to expose kids to adventure sports, get them to embrace their fears, and overcome challenges. Our commitment to safety isn’t a challenge, we take it seriously, and especially so when in the water.