SESKStuff Everyone Should Know
SESK: Stuff Everyone Should Know · sesk.info/boat-river-feet-downstream

Separated from your kayak in a fast river, which way should your feet point as you float?

Downstream, on your back.

  1. Upstream
  2. Toward the riverbank
  3. Downstream ✔

Why: Floating on your back with feet downstream lets your feet, not your head, meet rocks first. Don't try to stand up in fast water, because feet can get trapped on the bottom.

Huh, didn't know that: NASBLA says foot entrapment is a leading contributing factor in deaths of human-propelled boaters on rivers.

The dad joke
Why do rivers never get lost? They always follow the current.
Like this card?
Play the game

Sources

  1. NASBLA ESP TR 101-2022, Technical Report: Basic Boating Knowledge Core + Plus Human-Propelled https://higherlogicdownload.s3.amazonaws.com/NASBLA/76594a34-f3a1-4916-95ac-1e9c872170cc/UploadedImages/education/national-education-standards/ESP_TR_101_Core_Plus_Human-Propelled_2022_06_01_FINAL.pdf
  2. NASBLA ESP TR 101-2022, Technical Report: Basic Boating Knowledge Core + Plus Human-Propelled https://higherlogicdownload.s3.amazonaws.com/NASBLA/76594a34-f3a1-4916-95ac-1e9c872170cc/UploadedImages/education/national-education-standards/ESP_TR_101_Core_Plus_Human-Propelled_2022_06_01_FINAL.pdf

Test yourself in the game

Boating & WaterIn the first few minutes after falling into cold water, what should you do?Boating & WaterIn most cases, what should you do if your boat capsizes in open water?Boating & WaterIn 2024, where boat type was known, about what share of US boating deaths involved kayaks, canoes or paddleboards?

That's stuff everyone should know.