An alarming trend of standup paddleboarders getting their leashes snagged on river obstructions underscores two important safety considerations all paddleboarders should follow: always wear a PFD when on the water, and if you use a tether, make sure it’s waist-mounted for easy access and has a well-designed, tested release system.
Recent drowning incidents shed more light on this safety protocol, including the July drowning of a 26-year-old standup paddleboarder who wasn’t wearing a lifejacket when his SUP leash got caught on a snag on Oregon’s Willamette River near Clearwater Park. And on the same river in 2024, renowned chef Naomi Pomeroy drowned in a SUP/inner tubing accident at age 49 after her group tied their inner tubes and paddleboard together and Pomeroy’s leash got caught on an exposed snag, pulling her underwater.
Other recent SUP tragedies further echo the importance of this. In 2020, a 60-year-old man and his teenage daughter died on the Colorado River near Glenwood Springs, Colorado, after their paddleboards became entangled with a fallen tree. And, back to Oregon, in 2015, a 66-year-old man died near Clearwater Landing when his paddleboard hit a submerged root ball in the river and his ankle leash became entangled. Though he was wearing a lifejacket, it was his ankle leash that did him in.
The lesson for suppers: always wear a lifejacket, as well as a quick-release system when attaching yourself to your SUP with a leash. Using a Velcro tab around your ankle in a river as surfers do in the ocean can lead to entrapment issues, leaving you unable to reach down to remove it. The leash should be attached to your lifejacket, with a quick-release mechanism to remove it whenever necessary.
“None of us are safe on a wild river,” says river safety instructor Nate Ostis, owner of Wilderness Rescue International and author of the award-winning NOLS River Rescue book. “There are so many preventable river fatalities every year, with repeated mistakes. All quick-release devices offer solutions, and they all can fail. Just because we wear a releasable leash when on a SUP doesn’t mean we are good to go. We need to train and understand our devices, and when and where they have shortfalls or when and where we may even choose to discard them altogether.”
“Not losing your board is important, but not nearly as important as you getting back home,” he adds. “In some terrain, it may be worth considering removing the leash completely. At the very least, SUP users traveling in moving current should utilize leashes that offer a well-tested, quick-release feature. Perform good PPE checks with your teammates and don’t hesitate to call out other groups with grace when you observe them operating inappropriately.”
American Whitewater safety chair Charlie Walbridge, who annually compiles a database of river-related accidents, also strongly advocates the use of a quick-release device when it comes to SUPs. “There have been a number of paddleboarding fatalities reported to American Whitewater caused by entanglement in a tether that fails to release,” he says. “Many of the tethers out there are designed for flat water. They are hard to reach, and often fail to let go in strong current. If you use a tether, it should be waist-mounted for easy access and have a well-designed, tested release.”
As for life jackets, that goes without saying. But we’re saying it again regardless. Wear them. US Coast Guard data reports a big surge of SUP fatalities in 2024. It also notes that more paddling deaths occur every year from people not wearing their life jackets than from any other cause. In 2024, it reported 556 recreational boating deaths, including 143 involving paddlecraft. Where cause of death was known, 76 percent of the victims drowned; where Personal Flotation Device usage was known, 87% weren’t wearing one.