I'm from Trinidad and Tobago. Lucky for me, we don't have to worry about cold weather or too many predators (like great whites, etc.) and the sea is just beautiful. However, like anywhere else, some huge waves can just roll up onto you from nowhere. Though I've been kayaking close to shore off and on for a couple of years (more off than on), I finally bought my on kayak and have decided that I need to spend more time on the water where I love it and let the rest of life take care of itself for a bit.

Anyway, the question is as I venture further and further away from shore I become more apprehensive about being separated from my kayak. I have taken all the precautions and training, but I was wondering if it was wise to "leash" myself to my kayak, much in the same way surfers do to their surf board. I know there is always the difficulty of entanglement and your kayak taking you where you might not want to go. But I was thinking about a bungee /shock cord get up with carabiners on both ends for quick release. Is this a good idea? If so, should I leash the kayak to my waist or my wrist? Any ideas or sugggestions?

You'll likely get all sorts of answers to your question about leashing yourself to your boat, but it is important to have your boat equipped with perimeter decklines. Whatever misfortune washes you out of your boat, it is important that you've got something to grab onto in a hurry, if conditions threaten to quickly separate you from your kayak.

Thanks for the good advice Strange Magic, and for the quick response. I don't have decklines right around, but will fix that.

To return to your question about leashing, I think you'll find almost all sea kayaking manuals discourage it, whether it be leashing paddler to boat, paddle to boat, or paddle to paddler. The concern is that somehow the paddler will become entangled in the line, either during a rolling attempt, or trying to re-enter the boat. Perimeter decklines should suffice to keep the kayak from getting away, and, if you have a spare paddle that you can reach from your cockpit, you can retrieve your escaped paddle if it's gotten away from you.

I don't always follow this wise advice--when paddling protected waters, and often putting down my paddle to watch for sea birds with binoculars, I'll often use a leash to attach my paddle to the boat. As always, good judgement on the water is the essential ingredient for safe paddling.

i too have had same question, either way it'll be a mistake one day

Reading a lot of Sea Kayak books as a nubie recently. Some do say it is OK to leash up a paddle. Some even say to your person. I do it to my boat in protected waters here much of the time. I would not want it on my body.

Rough water book I was reading last night said when alone lease yourself to the kayak except in surf or rapids.

I was knocked down in a "confused sea" in October. After 3 attempts at rolling back up I had to ditch. Unfortunately, I did not notice the other paddlers were a couple of seconds away and I could have gotten an assist. None the less, when I came up someone was holding my boat and I had my paddle (thanks Tim). I had a heck of a time to swim to my boat and hold my paddle even when someone was keeping the boat from blowing away on its own. This might be a good exercise for everyone. I had on a drysuit for the first time and it messed me up. Floppy and only could swim with my arms. I had to hold the paddle with one of them. I am going to practice this. If I was tethered I would have been able to pull in the boat. I should have ditched the paddle and picked it up after (or since I had help, someone else could have gotten it). This was a real eye opener, even though I was in no danger. I was a Navy rescue swimmer in my youth and can still power along.
This is not an answer to the query, it is just food for thought. I have recently started to ask canoe and kayak friends if them have ever actually been entrapped by rope. I also ask if they have ever tried to cut through rope and cord in the way it would be necessary if trapped, with the knife that they carry.
Nope to both questions.
More food for thought.
Paddle safe!
Steve

Feathercraft makes a tether for kayakers the text of their product info is as follows

"Personal Tether - The personal tether attaches you to your kayak so that you cannot be separated from it in the event of a wet exit. The Feathercraft tether features a small stuff sack which holds approximately 15 feet of webbing. You attach one end of the webbing to your kayak and the other end to either a quick release waist-belt or to your PFD. We especially recommend the tether for . . . sit-on-top kayaks. If you capsize in a strong wind you may not be able to swim fast enough to catch your drifting kayak. Always detach the tether before entering beach surf to avoid entanglement."

In my dinghy sailing days I always tied the end of the mainsheet around my ankle when sailing alone. This was after being thrown out of the boat in a rather violent capsize, only to have the boat still on its side traveling way faster than we could swim. Fortunately someone saw us go over and was able to launch a powerboat and fish us out of the water before we were totally hypothermic. My crew member was basically unconscious and I was unaware we were being rescued till I was on my way out of the water. This is from back in the days before boaters wore wetsuits or had even heard of drysuits. We at least had life jackets on. My foam PFD worked good enough to keep us both afloat since her kapok PFD failed. That was the last kapok PFD any of us used.

I, too, paddle solo in open ocean and share the concern about being separated from the kayak in winds and waves. While I don't use a personal tether now, I have no doubt that the value of a quick-release personal tether is far greater than the risk of entanglement.

If I were to make a personal tether, it would be 1/4" shock cord, attached somewhere near the front of the cockpit, and long enough to allow the swimmer to lift the bow and get onto the stern deck during a rescue; Clipped to the life vest with a marine-grade caribiner.

Right now I use paddle leash made from 1/8" shock cord that attaches the paddle to the kayak. It comes in very handy when fishing, since it makes two hands instantly avaialable to pull in fish.

John

I used to do an awful lot of solo paddling, open coast with long crossings, in purposely sought-after rough water (at times by choice, sometimes not). As a consequence of those actions, one either contemplates a seperation at some point or anticipates mitigation strategies - or indeed, experiences said separation and perhaps may or may not have employed tethering as a routine practice. I've had to swim without my kayak a few times (a world of hurt) and alternately, bailed, fortunately, sans person-to-boat tether. They do work. Done properly. Done as a back-up to all other skill-set developments and not necessarily for the beginner or less gear-savvy intermediate paddler.

I've written for SK Mag on these subjects, with some of my own experiences and article research/interviews indicating both the utility and the dangers of tethering/leashing. These days, for the most part, I just stay in my kayak, relax if inverted unexpectedly, scull for air - then visualize a successful role or re-scull to upright, done with positive energy and then just do it. It actually works.

If you do tether more than a few items, including a boat-to-person tether, be advised that the risk of entanglement with shorter, tether-come-loose items and resultant intertwining is a real possibility, and one that might complicate a difficult situation drastically. Tethered emergency bags, knives, radio leashes - even a paddle leash - just make a personal leash exponentially MORE dangerous - so think through your system and choices and application. Carabineers, multiple rotations, pre-existing water hazards (such as fish trap lines, etc) all add to more potential for entanglement complications that a quick-release buckle or handy knife may not resolve soon enough.

An unencumbered paddler with good skill sets and proven judgment is a far safer one than a paddler with a multiplicity of gear, where that _specific_ gear or gear conflicts could have unintended or unanticipated consequences - especially where that gear was being used to bridge rusty or un-honed proficiencies.

Let me know if there are any particular questions about boat-to-person/ personal leash options, material/design choices, etc. I may or may not have the answer or experience.

Doug Lloyd

So what could I use for tethering a knife or VHF to my PDF? Something that would break easy if I had to?

As others have said the only concern I would have of any kind of tether is entanglement and entrapment due to to short of a leash. And having some sort of quick release system to get out of it.

Sudden capsize is well, sudden. Often you don't have a lot of time to take a real good deep breath before you roll over so time is of the essence. If I can't roll out of right away then a wet exit follows. My point is, this doesn't leave a lot of air to be fiddling tethers and stuff that may potentially entrap me.

I use 1/8" bungee cord for most things I want to tether these days, as long as the item stows well; 1/2" webbing for personal tethering, similar to what Chris Duff uses, not used often; coiled leash for my paddle, use all the time for convenience.

thanks!