By eye or by radar, kayakers need to be seen

Dreary, dark clouds were kissing the top of a crane on the Coast Guard dock at Southwest Harbor Wednesday evening. A steady rain kept puddles filled to overflowing. The street lights across the harbor by Hinckley Yachts were fuzzy orbs of light through the mist. The sea was calm. It was a perfect night for a kayak paddle.

OK, maybe not for a scenic tour. But the conditions were nearly ideal for testing our radar signature and to fire off some flares to see how well we could be seen.

I was invited to participate in a joint training exercise with the Maine Association of Sea Kayak Guides and Instructors and the U.S. Coast Guard. The goal was to illustrate just how visible (or invisible) sea kayaks are to other boaters, to witness firsthand various distress signals, and to get some tips from the Coast Guard on VHF radio protocol. It was great to have a chance to use these emergency devices in a nonemergency situation – and very educational.

Doug Michael of Bar Harbor, Karen Francoeur of Orono, and I were assigned the role of floating targets. We were given various radar reflective devices (including a Mylar Space Blanket and some aluminum foil) and flares. We each had our hand-held VHF radios, strobe lights, and whistles, while Francoeur and I demonstrated use of Greatland Laser’s Rescue Laser Flare. Our role was to paddle amongst a few vessels moored in the harbor and be “painted” with radar by a Coast Guard rescue boat dockside while other guides got to watch the radar screen to see whether we showed up as blips (more technically called echos).

Our test wasn’t fully true-to-life because we never got very far from the dock and the water was flat calm. The Coast Guard’s radar was tracking us within an eighth to a quarter of a mile of the boat. In these conditions even mooring balls can be picked up on radar. Throw in some rough seas and the picture becomes less definitive, partly because radar can be adjusted to filter out echos from wave tops (called sea clutter by radar watchers). If you’re in a kayak bobbing up and down, you’re sometimes off the screen.

Anything you can do to become more of a recognized echo, therefore, will help a powerboat operator see you. And that’s the name of the game – to be seen, whether it’s eyeball to eyeball or as an echo on a radar screen. No small boat is a match for a powerboat.

That’s why the lousy weather Wednesday evening was so good. It helped illustrate just how “visible” a kayak is on the water in less-than-ideal conditions. Each in our trio launched with a different radar reflector aboard. I was given the “Kayak Watch Dog.” A plastic cylinder about 2 inches in diameter by 2 feet in length, it has a metal, multifaceted metallic interior. It’s designed to suction to the deck in a vertical position, but the suction cup won’t hold it in place. I opted to lay it flat across my rear deck, held in place by the deck lines.

Francoeur and Michael were given metal reflectors – one sort of ball-shaped, the other looked like two pyramids bottom to bottom. The pyramid was a bit beat up since it had been around for years.

Each of us paddled around two lobster boats in a figure-eight while the rest of the guides checked out our radar echo. Then we dropped off the reflectors and repeated the course. The ball-shaped reflector and the Kayak Watch Dog showed up best, followed by the old reflector. But, hands down, the echo was far better with these reflectors vs. no reflectors.

Then we wrapped Francoeur in the Mylar space blanket and wrapped a piece of aluminum foil around Michael’s head and put his hat on over it. The space blanket was the most effective target of all, probably because of the area it covered. But even the aluminum foil inside the hat enhanced the radar image (to say nothing about improving the reception of those alien radio waves …).

All right, so what if you’re in trouble and want to summon help? Most sea kayak guides carry VHF radios that permit direct verbal communication with the Coast Guard or other boaters. Rachael Washko, a Coast Guard radio communications specialist at Southwest Harbor, said a series of high towers and repeaters on shore allow her station to monitor radio traffic from Rockland to Eastport.

If you are a boater in distress, she said, use Channel 16, the international hailing and distress frequency, to call the Coast Guard. Be ready to provide information on your position (latitude and longitude are best, landmarks and islands are helpful), the nature of your distress (lost, overboard, injured, etc.), the number of people in your party, and whether you’re wearing life jackets. If it’s an emergency, declare a May Day. Do not call the Coast Guard for a radio check, however; it drives them buggy and they usually won’t answer.

After the radio operator gets your information, you may be instructed to switch to other working Coast Guard working channels – 21, 22, 81A, or 83.

While a cellular phone is not recommended as the primary communication device on the water (in some areas you can’t get a signal), it pays to have one as a backup. (Last year I wrote about a group of us who got stranded on waters near Eastport when the inboard engine overheated. It was a cell phone that helped us to get in contact with the Eastport Coast Guard station.) One advantage of a VHF radio is that the Coast Guard can triangulate your position based on the radio’s transmitted signal. Current cell phone technology doesn’t allow this, but I’m told it’s coming.

If you don’t have a cell phone or VHF radio, there are several other means of summoning help. Aerial flares such as the Orion Star-Tracer or the SkyBlazer XLT Flare are good. These so-called pencil flares are hand-held and launch a reddish ball some 200 feet into the air for a 10-second flight. Aerial flares are considered a sign of distress and other boaters should use their radios to contact the Coast Guard. We launched several of these flares Wednesday evening and the gang ashore had no trouble seeing them through the rain and low ceiling. One of the three that I attempted to launch was a dud.

The other drawback to an aerial flare is its relatively short time aloft. But for anyone looking for you, these babies should make your location obvious.

Another device is a red signal flare. The Orion we tried will burn two minutes and can be seen for about 5 miles. Francoeur found it a bit balky starting and a spark nearly burned a hole in her spray skirt. The hand-held Orion orange smoke signal emits a cloud of smoke for just under a minute and in daylight can be seen for about 5 miles. Forget about using it at night, you cannot see it.

Here’s my advice on flares. Be very familiar with the ones you have. Know how to operate them with your eyes closed. Trying to read the instructions in the dark in a capsize situation will most likely cause you to tear your hair out, if not put you in a panic. And I’d suggest you carry them where you have easy access. I found that even light gloves complicated access to the flares in my PFD’s pocket, and made it difficult to make them ready to shoot.

And most of all, remember these things involve fire and heat. Keep them pointed away from you and others at all times.

For my way of thinking, the best thing you can have to supplement all of these is the Greatland Laser. Its ruby red laser paints an ever-expanding line that can be seen up to 20 miles away. Depending on the model you get five to 72 hours of continuous operation. Bob and Pam Scott of Castine, who market the light, were present Wednesday and let us use several of these lights. The darker and drearier, the better they perform. They’ll cut through rain and snow and will attract rescuers from miles away. Check www.greatlandlaser.com for details on these little beauties. Or call the Scotts at 326-9444. One should be on your key chain if you’re the outdoors type, whether it’s on land or water.

Jeff Strout can be reached at 990-8202 or at jstrout@bangordailynews.net.