Rescues

Saturday was the RIC/KA sea kayaking rescue session lead by Tim Motte. Despite the inauspicious weather (downpour) in the morning, seven people showed up and practiced safety skills. As the incident last weekend off of the MA coast attests, safety skills cannot be underestimated. You never know when you are going to need to be plucked from the drink or need to pluck somebody from the drink.
Tim ran through a progression of skills starting with wet exits. While it can be argued the safest strategy for a paddler is to never come out of their boat, the reality is that most paddlers cannot always roll a kayak up, do the rat swim, or hang upside down holding their breath long enough for somebody to perform an eskimo rescue. We all need to know that we can get out of our boats and how to do it quickly and safely.
After wet exits, Tim went over the standard T-rescue. During his talk he pointed out two very important things:

1. When you paddle with a group it is important to be a part of the group. When you go over and wind up swimming, you let the group rescue you. When somebody else goes in, you help rescue them.


2. When you wind up in the water, don't just be a passive victim. Be proactive in facilitating your rescue by holding onto your paddle and boat, making noise to attract attention, and listening to the rescuer.

Tim also demonstrated using a stirrup for helping a swimmer into their boat. We went over the pros and the cons of the stirrup. The pros are that the stirrup makes it easier to get heavier people in their boat and the stirrup, if used properly, stabilizes the rescue boat. The cons are that the stirrup can easily become an entrapment for the swimmer to become ensnared and it takes some time to set up the stirrup.
Eskimo rescues were also demonstrated and debated. Most people have only ever seen them used during practice sessions. For instance, they are great when doing rolling practice. I have seen it used once in the wild, but it was a rare case of factors lining up just right to make the rescue work. The biggest question was about how realistic it is for a capsized paddler to stay in his boat long enough for a rescuer to get a boat in position? Another question was about the risk of the swimmer banging their head.
See Eskimos and Staying-put for more thinking about sticking with the boat.
There was also a heated debate over paddle leashes. Some people love leashes because the leash alleviates the paddler from worrying about losing their paddle. Tim said he could see where leashes have their uses during rescues, but still doesn't use one. I personally don't like leashes for a few reasons:

• they get in the way.


• they are an entrapment risk.


• they make people sloppy.

You should always, always, have to think about keeping your paddle secure.
After lunch we went over self-rescues. Everybody practiced the standard paddle float outrigger rescue. It is a good rescue in calmer water, or if you have the right rigging behind your cockpit. Mike K. showed off the cowboy rescue and a few people tried them out. I, personally, don't see how the cowboy would be useful for more than showing off, but I have good deck rigging for a paddle float. Rolls were also mentioned in passing and a few of us practiced them.
Of course, the safest self-rescue is to paddle with other people who you trust to be able to help out when things go awry...