w h i t e w a t e r ⢠r i V e r ⢠s e a ⢠m u l t i s p o r t ... - Canoe & Kayak
w h i t e w a t e r ⢠r i V e r ⢠s e a ⢠m u l t i s p o r t ... - Canoe & Kayak
w h i t e w a t e r ⢠r i V e r ⢠s e a ⢠m u l t i s p o r t ... - Canoe & Kayak
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Avoid being a Judder Bar<br />
by Ruth E. Henderson<br />
It is frightening – speeding boat,<br />
propeller whirling, churning through<br />
the water, coming straight at you, is the<br />
b……. blind, daft or what?<br />
Maybe it is you that is stupid?<br />
Is your kayak a highly visible colour – red or yellow<br />
or multicoloured?<br />
Is your PFD or life jacket a bright colour? (Of course<br />
you are wearing one! Aren’t you?)<br />
Are you wearing a brightly coloured hat?<br />
Fluorescent orange or lime green?<br />
If you can answer yes, yes and yes, and still those<br />
boats seem to approach faster than a speeding<br />
bullet, propeller blades like meat-mincers, –<br />
check again. If in doubt about your visibility ask<br />
a boatie….<br />
When I asked some Kawau water taxi drivers: “How<br />
can I make myself more visible and less likely to<br />
be a judderbar for you?” their answer was “Get a<br />
fluttering fluoro flag.”<br />
It does not have to be a professional shop-bought<br />
number, but the ‘Great Stuff’ flags available from<br />
<strong>Canoe</strong> and <strong>Kayak</strong> shops are obviously designed<br />
and made to do the job admirably. The pole is a<br />
lightweight fibreglass rod about 1.2 metres long<br />
with either a deck mount or a fishing rod holder<br />
attachment. They also have an ‘all-round white<br />
light’ option for night paddling.<br />
If you do not want to drill holes in your precious<br />
Deluxe flag – deck mounted with night-light atop,<br />
and the adaptation of a float and Velcro security<br />
strap.<br />
Standard flags – deck mounted, with light<br />
atop.<br />
Frisbee (and bungee) mount instead of screwing<br />
to deck.<br />
Homemade flag – PFD mounted on telescopic<br />
fishing rod.<br />
Night light with adaptation of flag attached by<br />
craft there’s an alternative mounting system. Attach<br />
your flag to a piece of wood, or an old Frisbee, or<br />
an old vinyl record and slip it under your rear deck<br />
bungee cords.<br />
Another idea frequently seen is to poke your flag<br />
in the rear (water bladder) back pocket of your<br />
PFD, or sew a special slot for it on the side of the<br />
pocket.<br />
Homemade versions and adaptations abound.<br />
After losing a flag in a 25-knot wind, I’ve added a<br />
float to the pole, and a rope or Velcro lead tying<br />
it my deck.<br />
If you think you have nothing suitable to make<br />
a flag from, and can’t sew to save your soul….<br />
think again…. take another look at all the junk in<br />
the shed.<br />
Needing a hasty replacement for my lost one, I<br />
found an old kiddies telescopic fishing rod. Using<br />
safety pins I attached a hunk of orange cloth, and<br />
stuffed it in my PFD pocket. Bingo – the best flag<br />
ever since if the b……. still can’t see me I can<br />
whip it out, extend the rod to its maximum length<br />
and frantically do the ‘hokey tokey’ and wave it<br />
all about.<br />
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