Leg leash or paddle leash

Gone are the days of a 60k solo paddle wearing nothing but a Speedo! I now paddle alone in the North Sea throughout the year, and am finding using both a leg and paddle leash cumbersome and irritating, particularly when I get tangled in remount practice. I've changed to just a paddle leash. Any thoughts on advantages of using either leg or paddle only, or both?

When winds are blowing say 25+ and you find yourself in the water, and you (accidentally) let go of your ski, be sure that you trust your paddle leash will not snap when the ski gets caught in the wind and starts flying away.

It happened to me, my paddle leash held; but, it did convince me that a paddle leash (which tends to be lighter weight than body or leg leashes) was not enough protection, at least on the ocean or anywhere I might have to swim more than a km.

So, for many years now I have used a body leash also, self-constructed and attached to my pfd. Could I get tangled? Yes, but, I have practiced quite a bit with it, purposely throwing myself into the wrath of the sea on big wind days when I am nearing the end of my paddling session.

The key for me is to put myself and the leashes in the exact position needed to execute a successful remount. After a while I could just kind of "feel" when the body leash is in the correct place (I can easily see the paddle leash).

Where are the leashes attached?

Paddle to wrist, paddle to body, or paddle to boat (and where on the boat?)

I find paddle to wrist annoying in remounts as i prefer to always grip the paddle against the far side of the bucket rim. Wrist to paddle leash prevents that half the time depending which side of the boat i am on.

I have no tangle problems if both paddle and leg leash attach to the same point on the boat, such as both to the same side of the footstrap or both to the under knee anchor point. If i have them going to separate points they are more likely to tangle in remounts.

I really like the safety of having both a paddle leash and a leg leash. Where I paddle it is often cold, far from shore, and without a coast guard or equivalent water rescue service. If I lost either paddle or boat it could be really bad.

From what I have read on this website a paddle tethered to boat will not reliably slow down a runaway ski. The ski may roll itself up in the paddle leash and keep blowing away. So for me having just a paddle to boat leash is too risky. If I had to choose just one I would take the leg leash. In fact when the water is warm and I am closer to shore I don’t always use the paddle leash.

The other reason I like a paddle leash is so that both hands can be free if I need to help someone else. I usually downwind with others and the more people there are in a group the more likely it is that somebody has a situation that benefits from assistance.

I paddle off the west coast of scotland. Not icy waters, but cool all year round, and windy.

My boat is heavy, so it takes 50knot winds to pick it up.

I use a paddle leash, so I can put the paddle down to do things like take a photograph, have a snack. Leash is shockcord, tied to the footbar.

Never had a situation where I've gone in and let go of the paddle. I've had situations where the boat was pulled away from me, but, fastened to the footbar, the boat quickly orients bow-on to me and then I can grab the bow handle.

I think a paddle leash, fastened to the boat, is essential if you ever paddle on your own.

A body or ankle leash is optional. I'd prefer a body leash to an ankle leash; if it is really rough, you don't want to be pulled feet-up in the water.

I am of a different mind mrcharly, though I respect your right to make your own decisions. Personally I lost a friend who got separated from his ski 3 km off shore in 14C water. In addition to being a great surfski paddler he was a competitive swim racer and whitewater paddler, about 40 years old, and super fit. He even had a buddy with him at the time but that was not enough to save him. Personally I don’t trust myself to always hold the paddle and grab the ski in every situation, even though both of those are my intention. Things are fine for the longest time, lulling us into a false sense of security. A big nasty breaking wave, hitting a submerged object, bracing hard and dislocating a shoulder - all those things and more could throw me off and I might let go of something. If i was a half mile off the beach in warm waters it my calculation is different. That is how I assess the risk for myself. I have never personally had a problem getting separated, but I have also never had an airbag go off or the seatbelt restrain me in a crash. I still want a seatbelt and airbag in my car. But unto each their own and we can make our own decisions on this.

You have a great deal more experience than I do, and in bigger conditions.

Nearly all of my paddling is solo (well, when I paddle, I've had to stop due to a bad rotator cuff injury). That means a lot of caution, mostly of the "If things go wrong, can I get myself to a safe location" sort. There are few people around here to pick up a VHF signal (let alone see you go in), moderately reliable mobile signal.

So, I am somewhat cautious. The most likely incident would be loss of paddle, maybe due to wind yanking it from my hands. I would be in serious trouble if that happened.

So, bigger conditions, or more committing passages; I agree that a body leash is a sensible precaution.

Mostly, I stay no more than 1km offshore and dress for immersion.