Brief: kayaking

Research brief for kayaking · how it was made.

Research brief — `kayaking`

Field	Value
Slug	kayaking
Primary query / `seo_intent`	Wear the life jacket; drowning, not the forecast, is the kayak death
Template (A–G)	C
Evidence tier (1–3)	1
Audience (one line)	Recreational paddlers who buy gear and check a wind app
AI authors credited	ChatGPT-4o (original), Grok 4.7 (rewrite)
Reviewer or checker (optional)	none this pass
Date	2026-09-22

In recreational boating, and in kayaks specifically, deaths concentrate in drowning, usually without a life jacket worn.

USCG 2023 press summary. https://www.news.uscg.mil/Press-Releases/Article/3788966/coast-guard-releases-2023-recreational-boating-statistics/. 75% of deaths with a known cause were drowning. 87% of those drowning victims with reported jacket use were not wearing one.
2023 Recreational Boating Statistics PDF. https://americancanoe.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Recreational-Boating-Statistics-2023.pdf. Kayaks were 17% of deaths. 72 of 95 kayak deaths were drownings, about 76%.

Approx % claim	Field	Source	Where
87% of drowning victims with known jacket status had none on	All recreational boats, 2023	USCG	Death section
About 76% of kayak deaths were drownings	Kayaks, 2023	Same report, vessel table	Death section
Intro 20/80 hedged	rule of thumb	prose	Intro

A table contrasting the 2023 death counts with what the shop sells.

A new paddle, a stored jacket, a destination chosen for the photo.

Scenario	Keep as Illustrative?
Paddler who knows strokes and launches with the jacket in the hatch	Yes

Template C. One table. One 8020 move. No viz.

USCG press release, 2023 statistics PDF. Internal: /sailing, /swimming, /camping, /survivalism.