Keep an Eye on Your Kayak or It Could Be Costly

In an effort to get in some summer fun this year, you may have rented or invested in a kayak – but did you know losing your kayak could have some big consequences?

After seeing Gazelle's posts all over social media of him sitting in a kayak, I started to look around at what is so great about them. We have all seen his posts with just his feet and his kayak, and if he can get one and keep it then so can I.

But I didn't go out and buy one this weekend because I then saw something on social media that perhaps got me overthinking it. A post on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Cape Cod Canal Visitor Center Facebook page was the deciding factor that stopped my online kayak shopping. 

I had no idea that if you lose your kayak or any unmanned and unregistered paddle craft, that it's actually a bigger issue than I thought.

Did you know that if you happen to lose your kayak then the Coast Guard must assume that a person is missing and will initiate a full missing person search? That means there will be boats, planes, and other first responders all alerted. They estimate that this costs about $113,000 an hour, all because you forgot to tie up your kayak.

So I think for now, I'll just live vicariously through Gazelle and his kayak posts.