Sharing a lesson on failed leash in cold waters

So what sort of belt are you wearing or are you attaching it to your PFD? And how long is your paddle leash and is it attached to the same leash attachment in your ski as the belt leash?

Greg, a good point I get from your post is regarding the danger of a single point of failure...

I and most others I see around here (also CT like Rob) tend to use the same point to attach both leashes to.

And my attachment point actually broke the other day in the impact zone... I coulda lost both leashes if I was further out.

robin.mousley wrote:

guitouni wrote:

Kayaker Greg wrote: A paddle leash seems like a good idea for a back up but I'm a bit concerned about another leash to get tangled in when exiting.

My paddle leash is tied to my pfd, this way it is not too annoying.

With respect I'd say that in our conditions, leashing your paddle to yourself would be missing the point. For us, in offshore downwind conditions, the point of a leash is so that you don't lose the ski. The reason is that if people, either in choppers or boats, are looking for you, it's much easier to spot a 6m ski than a tiny blob of a person in the water. YOU MUST NOT GET SEPARATED FROM YOUR SKI.

Cheers
Rob

Sorry I didn't get your point. I also have a leash between the boat and myself.

Howzit Guitouni,

My understanding is that you have one leash between you and your ski and another leash from your paddle to your pfd, right?

All I'm saying is that if the above is right, you've got a single point of failure between you and your ski. To me it makes more sense to leash the paddle to the boat so that you've got two connections - if your belt/ankle leash breaks, maybe you get to hang on to your paddle and save the situation. There's also a chance that if you do lose contact with the ski, your paddle can act as a sea anchor to a certain extent (although that didn't help me when I lost my ski on one occasion - cut a corner fine, surf snapped my ankle leash, the 30kt wind took ski and paddle much faster than I could swim.)

I repeat though that nothing is a 100% solution - the only 100% solution is to stay off the water!

Kayaker Greg wrote: So what sort of belt are you wearing or are you attaching it to your PFD? And how long is your paddle leash and is it attached to the same leash attachment in your ski as the belt leash?

It's a Mocke belt. If the ski that I'm paddling has a leash anchor point, I'll use it to attach the coiled leash to the boat. The other end clips onto the belt.



The paddle leash is a 5mm rope with a section of bungie cord at the end that acts as a shock absorber if pull the paddle too far. I almost always attach it to the foot strap. The foot strap is obviously not designed to be a leash anchor, but then I don't intend my paddle leash to be the stronger leash anyway.

robin.mousley wrote: Howzit Guitouni,

My understanding is that you have one leash between you and your ski and another leash from your paddle to your pfd, right?

All I'm saying is that if the above is right, you've got a single point of failure between you and your ski. To me it makes more sense to leash the paddle to the boat so that you've got two connections - if your belt/ankle leash breaks, maybe you get to hang on to your paddle and save the situation. There's also a chance that if you do lose contact with the ski, your paddle can act as a sea anchor to a certain extent (although that didn't help me when I lost my ski on one occasion - cut a corner fine, surf snapped my ankle leash, the 30kt wind took ski and paddle much faster than I could swim.)

I repeat though that nothing is a 100% solution - the only 100% solution is to stay off the water!

OK I understand now, it makes sense.

robin.mousley wrote: YOU MUST NOT GET SEPARATED FROM YOUR SKI.

Cheers
Rob

But you should also plan to be and carry say a silvered emergency blanket that you can use to increase your visibility, flares, and a PLB/radio/cellphone.

But you should also plan to be and carry say a silvered emergency blanket that you can use to increase your visibility, flares, and a PLB/radio/cellphone.

Oh, totally agree! And clearly it's better keeping stuff on you, rather than on the boat...! My front pocket contains a set of pencil flares and on any kind of offshore paddle I have my waterproof marine VHF. I usually carry a cheap mobile phone with a duplicate SIM in a waterproof pouch around my neck too. (Ok, ok, I'm not known as gadget man for nothing.)

Just a note on the emergency blanket... In our SR exercise with the NSRI some years ago, we tested a silvered blanket and it was very effective - the chopper found it easy to spot as the sun glinted on it, to the extent that I used to carry one. After a year or so, however, I noticed that it looked a bit odd and took it out to discover that there was no silvering on it at all - I guess it had all washed off! So if you do choose to carry one of these, it either needs to be a high quality one or it needs to be kept in a waterproof pouch as well. Consequently, given all my other gear, I've given up carrying it.

For the boat to body leash ... I've always not trusted the thinner coiled leashes that are about .270" thick. I've been thinking of trying one of the thicker SUP coiled leashes which are about .313" thick.

Has anyone tried one of these thicker SUP leashes and what were your experiences? They look a bit bulky to me but I've not yet tried one.

Thanks!

KenB

KenB , while it doesn't form the coil , the 1/4 inch bungee cord imho is way more fool proof , the leash doesn't need to be super long and if you don't like the loop in your footwell you can loosely "chain" it as you would a kayaking towline.Also no swivels or extra hardware to corrode and or fail . BUT be sure you have a easy to remove clip or small binder on the boat end and some form of reliable quick-release on the body end. Not like you are going to put a huge amount of force on it but it should be sound enough take maybe close to body weight , if you are in an environment that is putting greater strain on the system (i.e getting churned in shore or steep reef break) you probably shouldn't be wearing a leash.I am sure there is plenty of room for debate here , this is my solution for myself.

I know this is an old topic but still relevant. I had a friends leash break recently which followed a long swim and after some good decisions he made it back safely. On inspection of his leash, it had broken due to some existing cracks in the plastic coil tube. These cracks were only able to be seen once the heat shrink wrap (that covers the knots) was removed. A normal inspection of the leash you would not allow you to see the existing damage. Looking at this design it was always going to fail.

Just for everyone's info when you do an inspection next time, worth looking under the heat shrink!