St. Cloud Times — Paddling instruction, life jackets and phone apps. They can help keep you safe on the water — if you remember, use them or keep them dry.
When sun-sparkled, teal-hued waves finally swallow the last ice, the river can seem a glittery invitation to canoe or kayak. Especially early in the season, enthusiasm can override ability. And that, paddling safety experts agree, is how most people get themselves in trouble.
The scenario more critical in the spring when cold water cuts the survival rate, and fast-moving floodwater augments hazards.
“My suggestion is that everybody hold their horses until May when we do have more appropriate conditions,” said Ivan Bartha, an American Canoe Association-certified instructor/trainer since 2002. He chairs ACA’s 11-state Midwest Division.
Air plus water temperature fell far short of 120 degrees, the ACA’s guideline for requiring cold-water wear such as a drysuit, and the Mississippi River was far from ice-free when Bartha sat down in mid-March to talk paddling safety. Yet a brief warm-up had prompted calls about watercraft rentals to St. Cloud State University’s Outdoor Endeavors, where Bartha is director of experiential programming.
