Français

Subject 7's Experience

Ryan B. - Paddler

Ryan grew up on the St. Clair River and he and his family had a 20-foot cabin cruiser. When he was around 13 years old, they moved, and he took up paddling with many canoe trips down the Saugeen River and canoeing and kayaking on small lakes up at his family cabin, north of Washago, ON.

A few years ago, when Covid-19 hit, he and his wife and kids enjoyed camping, paddling, and fishing as much as they could. Ryan and his wife always wear a lifejacket when paddling. In powerboats, they tend to make sure they have them close by, but usually don’t wear them. Their kids always wear lifejackets.

Watch Ryan B. go through the experiences below.

Pre-Interview
Fishing Boat
Cold Water Tank
Warm Water Tank
Post-Interview

Ryan was once paddling a canoe with friends on a fast-moving river in late Spring. The water was pretty high, and they got pushed into a fallen tree and tried to work their way around it, but the current tipped the canoe pretty rapidly. They were in the water before they knew what was going on. Thankfully, they had their lifejackets on so were able to surface quickly, right the canoe and get it to shore. He still remembers that pretty rapid entrance to the water. He states, “It was a little scary at first, the initial shock, as it wasn’t planned.”

He feels 100% wearing a lifejacket made a difference in that situation. “The water was moving really quick and without lifejackets I don’t know that we would have gotten back to the canoe as quickly as we did. I was with other people so I imagine somebody would have been able to get to our canoe while we all sort of rescued ourselves – but it was a lot less stressful with lifejackets on for sure.”

“Just that feeling of falling, and that little bit of shock of fear when you fall, it definitely felt real.”

Ryan felt the Virtual Reality (VR) experiences were great and really immersive. He knew that something was going to be happening, but at the same time, felt shocked when it actually happened. “Just that feeling of falling, and that little bit of shock of fear when you fall, it definitely felt real.”

With the dunk tanks, Ryan was definitely caught off guard when he fell in. “The shock was total. I wasn't ready to fall in. And the water was very cold. I think you saw the sort of involuntary gasp from me. It took awhile to get my breathing sorted out. So yeah, that was a big shock too.”

“I was in a tank. I knew I was safe. But at the same time, it was initially difficult to get my physical body under control. And if you're out on an open body of water, that would be scary, especially if you had your family with you.”

In comparing the dunk tank experience with a real-life situation, Ryan thought, “Hitting the water would be a massive shock and scary to deal with in that situation. I was in a tank. I knew I was safe. But at the same time, it was initially difficult to get my physical body under control. And if you're out on an open body of water, that would be scary, especially if you had your family with you.”

After going through all the experiences, Ryan says it has definitely reinforced his lifejacket use on paddle craft, and additionally he says, “I like to think I'm a responsible boater. So, you know, even when I'm in powerboats, it's sort of the thing in the back of your mind, like, should I be wearing my lifejacket? And you know, it definitely reinforces that yeah, I probably should be. Just having it beside me maybe isn’t enough.”

“Just having (my lifejacket) beside me maybe isn’t enough.”