I had an interesting thing happen the other day. I was out with a group, conducting an "Intro to Kayaking" Class. We had about 9 people participating. The group age ranged between about 50 and 70 years old, which is pretty much the average for "these-here-parts".
One gentleman in particular, who was seemingly the oldest of the bunch, was having a strange issue. He couldn't seem to keep the boat level. I had him in a Native Manta Ray 12 foot sit-on-top kayak. It's a very stable boat, so I wasn't so worried about him rolling it, but I thought it was odd that no matter what I tried to do, he just couldn't keep the kayak level.
When we got to a beach area to get out and stretch, the gentleman paused while getting off of his kayak. He was in about a foot of water, with both feet off the side of the boat. At that stance, he just has to lean forward and stand up. I asked if he needed help. He didn't answer, and paused for a little while. I started making my way toward him. Before I could get there, he got up…then SPLASH! He fell back down backwards, the boat flipped upside-down, and he was now sitting in the foot of water.
I promptly got him up on to his feet. The interesting part is that he kept leaning one way. He said he didn't understand why he couldn't keep his balance. One shoe had fallen off, so I figured it was that his foot was stuck. We got both of his shoes off so all things were equal, but even then, he was still leaning backwards. Every time I would release pressure he would start stepping backwards. I just didn't get it, nor did he. I decided that standing was not for him and got a kayak under him as soon as I could. I put him in a different kayak that was even more stable. I was getting nervous at this point. He obviously had some equilibrium issues, and I really wasn't sure what to do.
We paddled for a while longer and came up to a sand bar. Next thing I know he was out of his kayak and back on his butt in the water. He needed to adjust the seat and thought it would be better to get out of the boat to do so. I again helped him into the boat. After I got him into the boat I began wading back to where I had anchored my kayak. As I looked down into the water, I noticed that the wind and current had the water moving. It's always moving. Was that the thing that was causing him to lose his balance? He seemed to walk fine on land. The movement of the water, if you are focused on it could certainly give you some spatial disorientation. I thought about it on the paddle back to the launch.
I had been toward the end of the group on the way back in so no one was left behind. As I was paddling up to the ramp, I saw that the Gentleman with the balance issue was getting out of his boat. There where a couple other people around him helping to get him off the boat and on his feet. They helped him get up and started walking away to help other people. Sure enough, he started slowly stepping backwards. It got more rapid as he lost his balance and down he went back into the water. I got him back to his feet and told him to look at the horizon, NOT the water. HE looked up and instantly had his balance back. I was holding him and could feel his muscles correct his position. It was amazing. He was able to walk up the ramp by himself. I assisted him, just incase my theory didn't work, but he didn't need my help.
For any of you who have ever taken Flight Lessons, or been in the cockpit of an airplane when in fog, you realize that your eyes deceive you. In an airplane, when you can't see the horizon, you instantly start feeling like the plane is rolling. This will make you want to turn the yoke one way. This is why JFK Jr. went down in his plane. He was not trained to deal with this scenario and its not something you can really learn on your own. Pilots spend a lot of time training to ignore those senses and rely on the instruments to confirm that your plane is level. It's difficult to learn because you body convinces you that you are NOT straight and level. The issue in the water was the same sort of deal. My customer was so focused on the water that, although he wasn't moving, his head thought he was. He was backing up to adjust for the "movement". For us onlookers, he was walking backwards.
Moral of the story: Look at the horizon if you are having balance issues on the water. Find something in the distance to fix on, or look at the shoreline. Looking down at the water will only get you wet…and perhaps your guide!
Jory Pearson
Florida Paddlesports
www.floridapaddlesports.com
239-214-8300
