ROGERS, Ark. — Since the COVID-19 pandemic, kayaking and canoeing has become increasingly popular across Northwest Arkansas.
"We have had a large increase in personal watercraft, you know, recreation vessels, like kayaks, paddle boards, just with the influx of folks to Beaver Lake or to Northwest Arkansas. You know, it's natural that everybody wants to come out to Beaver Lake," said Beaver Lake Park Ranger Kieran Bowe.
However, as the popularity of these boats is increasing, the accidents increase along with it, so there's a few safety tips you need to know before you get in one.
"One, whether you're kayaking, canoeing, paddle, stand up, paddle boarding, all of those are considered vessels under Arkansas state law, all of them require you to have a U.S. Coast Guard life jacket approved, properly fitted life jacket for everyone on board you," Bowe added.
If you are just starting, always make sure you have an experienced person with you.
"Of course, if you can, if you know someone that has been doing it for a while and got some training in water safety and that kind of thing, it's always great to go with someone rather than just trying to figure it out on your own," said Rick Spicer, partial owner of Pack Rat in Fayetteville.
There are also some great organizations to help you learn how to be safe on the water.
"A really good place to start would be with an organization like the Arkansas Canoe Club. They do some educational events like canoe school and things of that nature, where you can go meet people and they can show you some of the proper safety skills that you need to," Spicer said.
When on a boat, Bowe advises people to be safe when you bring alcohol into the mix.
"Drinking and any sort of boating activity is never a good mix, you know, just with the sun being out on the water, it drains you a lot quicker, you know," Bowe said. "And if you're, if you're operating any sort of vessel, including canoes and kayaks out on the water, sometimes it can be choppy, with larger vessels going around, you know. Maintaining your safety by staying away from large wakes and keeping yourself as sharp as possible is always important."
In order to keep the Natural State natural, make sure you tie down all your belongings to keep it out of the water.
"Because we have such pristine water here in Arkansas, you want to make sure that everything is tied down really well in your boat. So if you flip over something like that, you don't have your gear and trash and things like that floating down the river," Spicer said.
Bowe has some tips if you do fall in the water.
"In the off chance that someone potentially does fall in, goes overboard, on a vessel, or falls off a dock. We like to preach talk reach, throw row, go," Bowe said. "So talk them into a safe spot or a ladder if you can reach from the safety of the vessel or the dock. If you can do that, then you want to potentially throw a device out to them, a throwable life safety device, or something you might have that's buoyant, like a cooler or something, to help them out. Then potentially get into a vessel and row out to them. And finally, if none of that's possible, go for help."
Watch 5NEWS on YouTube.
Download the 5NEWS app on your smartphone:
Stream 5NEWS 24/7 on the 5+ app: How to watch the 5+ app on your streaming device
To report a typo or grammatical error, please email KFSMDigitalTeam@tegna.com and detail which story you're referring to.