Situation awareness in sea kayaking: towards a practical checklist

ABSTRACT

Ever-changing weather and sea conditions constitute environmental hazards that sea kayakers must pay attention to and act upon to stay safe. The aim of this study was to propose a tool to aid sea kayakers’ situation awareness (SA). We developed a checklist guided by theory on the concept of SA and expert problem detection, judgement and decision-making, along with knowledge concerning previous incidents and important risk factors in sea kayaking. The checklist consists of two parts: a guide to how paddlers can improve their SA and decision-making skills, and an overview of what critical factors should be evaluated before and during a sea kayak trip. We argue that the checklist may improve risk assessment and management among sea kayakers, help to prevent distress and future incidents, and ultimately potentially save lives. Finally, we wish to stimulate debate concerning risk management in sea kayaking and outdoor education.

KEYWORDS:

• Paddling
• decision-making
• outdoor education
• expertise
• intuition

Acknowledgement

We thank all the paddlers who have provided valuable feedback on the checklist.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Supplemental data

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed here.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Eivind Aadland

Eivind Aadland, PhD, is a researcher at the Faculty of Teacher Education and Sports at the Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, Campus Sogndal, Norway. His research interests include various aspects of sport science and outdoor education. He is an experienced sea kayaker, certified at the highest level of sea kayak leadership through the Norwegian Canoe Association, and has been engaged in sea kayak education on various levels for several years.

Odd Lennart Vikene

Odd Lennart Vikene, MSc, is an experienced lecturer in outdoor education at the Faculty of Teacher Education and Sports at the Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, Campus Sogndal, Norway. His main interests are motor learning, outdoor leadership and learning perspectives in practical outdoor education contexts.

Peter Varley

Peter Varley, PhD, is Associate Professor of Marketing and Entrepreneurship at Edinburgh Napier University and a visiting researcher at the Western Norway Research Institute and the Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, Sogndal, Norway. His PhD fieldwork included auto-ethnographic work while learning to sea kayak with Nigel Dennis in North Wales in 2002. He acknowledges that nowadays his paddling journeys are too rushed, chaotic and unplanned, and his equipment uncared for, hard to find and covered in cobwebs. He would seriously benefit from a pre-trip checklist of some kind.

Vegard Fusche Moe

Vegard Fusche Moe, PhD, is a researcher at the Faculty of Teacher Education and Sports at the Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, Campus Sogndal, Norway. He works in the intersection between sport philosophy and science in order to understand the varieties of skilled motor behaviour. He is influenced by research on expertise and is a beginner kayaker.