Obviously safe racing is a key aim of the Arawa Club, and in this age of decreasing personal responsibility the club has to build a culture of safety into a sport that has some inherent dangers.
Please report any incidents to a friendly committee member via an Incident Report form.
We reached an agreement with the key Avon River users that has since become a series of Canterbury bylaws. Essentially it is as follows:
Rowers drive on the right and pretty much everyone else, including kayaks, drives on the left so we can see the rowing boats coming. They are deceptively fast, so move clear well in advance of them – generally, head for the bank. No-one has exclusive right of way, but rowers are mostly faster, have sharper points at the business end, and don’t look where they’re going, so to avoid pain, keep clear of them.
Use lights when training on the Avon after dark, to avoid being mown down by rowers or other paddlers - flashing red facing forward. Cycle lights are ideal, and cheap. Having another light (fixed red, or white) facing back would be useful, too.
Watch out for fishing lines, usually off the bridges.
Power boats have to give way to yachts and manually powered craft (dinghies and kayaks), but for your own safety, don’t count on it. Shouting won’t work, because they can’t hear a thing with the engine running, and often (as they've found in Auckland) the fizzboaters aren't even looking.
Neither yachts nor kayaks have right of way over each other. In theory, the faster vessel should give way, but that could be difficult to judge, so let common sense prevail – if they’re racing and you’re not, stay clear of them. Bear in mind yachts have to zig-zag to get upwind, which means they change direction frequently, and although they (and you) are required to maintain a lookout at all times, their view is often obscured by a sail, so they might not see you at all.
We run races in 4 typical environments: flat water (usually the Avon and Heathcote rivers), open water (typically the Estuary and Lyttelton Harbour), whitewater (grade 2 rivers, such as the Waimakariri, Rakaia and Rangitata), and the Waimak Classic (the same course as the Coast to Coast). Each environment has different demands, consequently we have developed a risk management plan (RMP) to cover each type of race.
Note that these RMP’s are living documents, intended to be updated in the light of experience or better ideas, so if you have any suggestions or experiences to relate please let the club know. Feel free to use these RMP’s as a basis for your own club’s events, but please acknowledge the Arawa Canoe Club origin somewhere in the text.
Waimak Classic
The risk management plan is the primary document, but depends heavily on the Day Sheet to record who is where, who to contact, the order of play, and other essential details.
Risk Management Plan
Day Sheet
Whitewater races
Risk Management Plan
Open water races
Risk Management Plan
Flat water races
Risk Management Plan
Flat water instruction
Risk Management Plan