More and more people are trying out paddle sports as kayaks, canoes and stand-up paddle boards become easier than ever to get. They’re sold not just by sporting goods store such as REI, but bigger, general merchandisers such as Wal-Mart, Costco, even clothing chain T.J. Maxx. Tie the kayak to the car’s roof rack and you’re good for a day of paddling on the Columbia River.
But with the uptick comes another trend — deaths. So far this year, there have been nine boating fatalities in Washington; eight involved people on paddle crafts.
“A lot of these folks don’t consider themselves boaters,” said Ashley Massey, spokeswoman for the Oregon State Marine Board.
People paddling on the water aren’t required to have a boater education card, unlike owners of larger, motorized vessels. Because of this, local water safety officials like Massey say it’s difficult to reach paddlers. On Tuesdays, water safety officials visited Portland metro area media outlets to get a jump-start on spreading safety awareness.
Washington State Parks started the media tour three years ago in Seattle, and decided to expand it to Spokane and the Portland-Vancouver area this year, said spokeswoman Lynn Satre. With several warm days already in the books this spring, officials are predicting that it will be a dry summer that attracts a lot of people to local waterways.
Normally, snowmelt from the Cascades raises the Columbia River’s levels and the water doesn’t get low until September; with this year’s dismal snowpack it looks as though the water levels will be low in July, said Tyree Wilde, meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Portland.
Low water levels mean that rocks, logs and sandbars that weren’t exposed before will become potential hazards. On a hot day, it’s common to see people floating down the Washougal or Lewis rivers on inner tubes and pool toys, which can be easily punctured by debris. It also means the river channels will be narrower, so recreational boaters and commercial boats will be sharing a slimmer space on the Columbia, said Kellian Whidden, officer in charge at the Coast Guard in Portland.
The rivers will move faster and in a different way, she said. Some of the riverbanks may have steeper drop-offs. Boaters could be caught off guard by the changes in conditions from last year to this year.
“Congestion’s going to be a big issue,” Massey said. “We want to be proactive. We don’t want fatalities to bump up.”
Paddlers and those new to boating may not know the “rules of the river,” such as which way to go when a boat is heading your direction.
‘Getting complacent’
Experienced boaters can get overconfident in their abilities and believe they would be able to swim if they capsized. The average age of people who died in boating-related fatalities last year was 46 to 55.
“It’s the older males that are getting complacent,” Whidden said.
Those with medical conditions have a higher risk of death when the body is exposed to cold water and goes into shock; swimmers will automatically gasp when they hit cold water and may breathe in water or hyperventilate. The body draws heat to protect vital organs and reduces blood flow to the extremities, reducing a person’s ability to swim.
There’s never a time of year when the local rivers are warm. At its peak, the Columbia River gets as warm as 64 degrees, said Clark County sheriff’s Deputy Todd Baker. Tuesday, the river was 54 degrees in Vancouver.
Boaters, especially those in a paddle craft, are encouraged to dress for the water temperature rather than the air temperature. And, of course, everyone is urged to wear a life jacket.
Paddlers are supposed to have a noise-producing device and a life jacket on board. Some people don’t know the rules; those who do may bring a life jacket and not wear it, making it useless if they get separated from the paddle craft.
Massey pointed out that life jackets aren’t the stark, orange contraptions they used to be. Modern personal floatation devices are slim fitting and won’t really hamper someone from paddling along a river.
As the number of sunny days increases, water safety officials hope people take care when recreating in and around local waterways.
2014 summertime drownings in Clark County
o Sept. 23: Troy A. Hendrix, 42, of Vancouver was found dead in the pool at Shorewood East Condominiums.
o Aug. 23: Stephen W. Rilea, 22, was swimming in the Yale Reservoir near Beaver Creek Campground when he went under and didn’t resurface. The Vancouver man’s body was recovered the next day.
o Aug. 11: A 2-year-old boy went missing near a bridge that crosses Siouxon Creek, an offshoot of the Yale Reservoir. The boy, who was found at the bottom of the reservoir, was put on life support following the near drowning. He died the next day, Aug. 12.
o July 6: While swimming with friends in the Yale Reservoir, Austin H. Wolford, 19, drifted out on an inner tube to a deep area of the reservoir, slipped off and could not get back on. His body was recovered from the reservoir the next day.
o July 2: Pioneer Anastacio Kelulau, 42, of Vancouver waded into the deep section of Klineline Pond to retrieve a child’s hat when he suddenly called for help and went underwater about 50 feet from shore. His body was retrieved from the water.
o July 1: Sean Margetis, 44, jumped off rocks into the water near Moulton Falls, south of Yacolt, and didn’t come back up. His body was found under about 10 feet of water.
o July 1: Donald Kemper, 80, was found dead on the bottom of the North Fork of the Lewis River in Woodland, near the Lewis River Golf Course. He became separated from his 14-foot aluminum fishing boat.
o June 28: Jay Jones, 25, of Battle Ground had been shuttling people back and forth to Bachelor Island when his boat apparently hit something and Jones was launched out of it. Law enforcement found Jones’ 16-foot aluminum boat going in circles on the river. Jones’ body was found seven months later in Kalama.
Water safety by the numbers
o Nine people have died in recreational boating incidents so far this year in Washington. Of those, eight were people on paddle craft (canoes, kayaks, rafts, stand-up paddle boards).
o In 2014, 22 people died in recreational boating incidents in Washington. Twenty-one of those victims were male.
o Children 12 and younger are required to wear life jackets on boats.
o Water 70 degrees and colder is considered cold water. On Tuesday, the Columbia River in Vancouver measured 54 degrees.
o In 50-degree water, a stranded swimmer has a 50 percent chance of swimming 50 yards.
o Boaters can get a BUI if their blood alcohol concentration while operating a boat is .08 or above.
Sources: Washington State Parks and the Clark County Sheriff’s Office
