Late Season River Paddling Rescues

[markstephens]

I'm looking for other paddlers' perspectives on the following idea on how to handle rescues in late season/cold water conditions when paddling very near shore or during inland river paddling. This would apply to paddlers who would be at risk with exposure to very cold water (i.e. - not in drysuits, for example.) My thinking is that, when paddling in a group, in the event that a paddler goes over, the best thing is to just quickly swim to shore and get out of the water as quickly as possible, rather than wait for an assisted rescue. I would even go so far as to suggest the in-water paddler abandon boat and paddle and let the "rescuers" retrieve boat and equipment. The time it takes to set up a rescue and get the paddler back in their boat would be longer than the time it takes them to exit the water on shore. The obvious downside risks are conditions which would prevent the swimmer from getting to shore quickly (such as strong winds, current or heavy surf), and/or losing the boat or a paddle.

Obviously there is some judgement involved for any given situation as to which "rescue" would have the paddler safely out of the water the fastest, but I was interested to see if anyone would take a position that, for example, one should never leave their boat, etc. etc. The situation I am contemplating is a tidal river location where there is little current and the banks of the river are both within a minute or two's swim away (at most) and are climbable. Ideally, another paddler monitors or accompanies the swimming kayaker as they swim to shore.

Thanks,

Mark Stephens

Surge/Teal over White

[Jed]

I would think you either have to plan one way or the other. It,s not unrealistic to train to be able to have a paddler back in a dry boat within 45 seconds of your arrival at their boat. At 4 knots (top speed for an advanced novice), 60 seconds of paddling is equal to 100 ft or 33.3 yrds. This is far enough away so that conversation is limited which is to say further away than people that need to worry about rescues should be apart from one another when paddling in cold water or around other hazards.

A more realistic distance for two paddlers to be apart is 10 yrs, or about 20 seconds. Add in the 45 seconds to one minute for the rescue and you can have them back in their boat in 1 > 1.3 minutes and you would not have to go fetch any equipment. Also consider that the act of swimming is worse than just hanging in the water. Swimming causes the water to cool the victim even faster.

I like your thinking relative to time in the water and that equipment should be a distant second consideration but in real life most people would risk their lives before they would let the equipment go. They wouldn't risk their lives intentionally but few would be willing to let expensive gear go adrift just because the water was cold. As a result they would become hypothermic before they realized it. This is often the case with hypothermia victims, they don't really believe they are hypothermic until it's severe.

Better yet is to stay off cold water until you can nail the rescue within a minute.

Good Luck,

Jed

>I'm looking for other paddlers' perspectives on the

>following idea on how to handle rescues in late season/cold

>water conditions when paddling very near shore or during

>inland river paddling. This would apply to paddlers who

>would be at risk with exposure to very cold water (i.e. -

>not in drysuits, for example.) My thinking is that, when

>paddling in a group, in the event that a paddler goes over,

>the best thing is to just quickly swim to shore and get out

>of the water as quickly as possible, rather than wait for an

>assisted rescue. I would even go so far as to suggest the

>in-water paddler abandon boat and paddle and let the

>"rescuers" retrieve boat and equipment. The time it takes to

>set up a rescue and get the paddler back in their boat would

>be longer than the time it takes them to exit the water on

>shore. The obvious downside risks are conditions which would

>prevent the swimmer from getting to shore quickly (such as

>strong winds, current or heavy surf), and/or losing the boat

>or a paddle.

>

>Obviously there is some judgement involved for any given

>situation as to which "rescue" would have the paddler safely

>out of the water the fastest, but I was interested to see if

>anyone would take a position that, for example, one should

>never leave their boat, etc. etc. The situation I am

>contemplating is a tidal river location where there is

>little current and the banks of the river are both within a

>minute or two's swim away (at most) and are climbable.

>Ideally, another paddler monitors or accompanies the

>swimming kayaker as they swim to shore.

>

>Thanks,

>

>Mark Stephens

>Surge/Teal over White

jluby@teamnorthatlantic.com

Life is too short to own an ugly boat.

[Bill Gwynn]

This really happened to me this past March in Lynn Harbor. Water temp was 42, i was wearing a 3 mil farmer john with a semi-dry top. I fell in, and boy what a shock...the first minute or so was spent hyperventilating trying to catch my breath. My Paddling partner was quite a bit ahead of me in a brand new boat and had a grand total of 10 minutes in the cockpit. By the time he got back to me I was starting to catch my breath and think about what to do next, my thought was doing a T rescue that we had practiced the previous fall (this was our first paddle this season, just a short jaunt to try out the new boat). My partner expressed some hesitation about doing a T rescue because he was not very comfortable in this new boat that is 3 inches narrower than what he's used to. By this time my semi-dry top was completly filled with water, I was panicking and I just wanted out of the water. We were about 100 yards from shore and made the decision to leave my boat, and I grabbed ahold of my partners bow, on my back, legs on either side of his boat, and he paddled me ashore. 3 or 4 minutes later i was back on land and very cold, but happy to be alive. This was the beginning of my second season paddling and I had limited skills. This experience was probably the best thing that happened to me. As a result I learned first hand how cold 42 degree water is. Also it prompted me to join NSPN so I could educate myself and become a better, more knowledgeble paddler. This season I have spent a lot of time practicing rescues and skills (almost got my roll down) I think the paddle float re-entry roll is the quickest way back into a boat and I got that down pat.

Well...I think in the situation we were in we made the correct decision, and i'm still here to prove it!

Bill

P&H Capella...All White

PS Thanks to my paddling partner (my wonderfull brother Brad) for making me leave my expensive equipment behind and getting me ashore!!!

[Guest guest]

Mark:

At the Cold Water Workshop that Rick organized a couple of weeks ago, some of our participants in wetsuits and drytop did OK when in the water next to the boat, but found that swimming 25-50 yards quickly pushed them to the edge of hypothermia. So take Jed's point seriously: swimming speeds up cooling significantly due to flushing of cold water.

Another option is getting out of the water onto the deck or hull of a boat, whether your own capsized boat or your paddling partner's. Particularly with multiple partners, you can be out of the water in seconds and stay relatively warm while the righting and emptying of your boats gets sorted out. Carrying a swimmer on deck makes the rescuer's boat unstable, though, so practice, practice, practice.

Never say never (i.e. never leave your boat) but consider the risks of swimming and the alternative ways to get out of the water.

Scott

[eneumeier]

>We were about 100 yards from shore

>and made the decision to leave my boat, and I grabbed ahold

>of my partners bow, on my back, legs on either side of his

>boat, and he paddled me ashore. 3 or 4 minutes later i was

>back on land and very cold, but happy to be alive.

>

>PS Thanks to my paddling partner (my wonderfull brother

>Brad) for making me leave my expensive equipment behind and

>getting me ashore!!!

There is a very important difference between swimming 100 yards and being carried on a bow, as you were. You were able to keep your arms and legs tightly wrapped around the boat, significantly reducing the flushing effect. If you had been swimming that 100 yards, you would have lost much more body heat and, inevitably coordination.

Liz N.

[christopherG]

Mark, I do not recognise your name, so presume you are new(-ish) to this list?

With all due respect, I believe that Jed Luby and Scott Camlin are being very gentle, restrained and diplomatic with you. Please do yourself a (big) favour before you become another statistic: practise your rescues with other paddlers until you get a person out of the water within (about) a minute. Attend the cold-water clinics and practice-sessions that regularly happen with NSPN and learn about correct clothing for kayaking in chilly/cold water.

Your email is self-contradictory in several instances: you mention that you think you might be paddling in a tidal river, yet you mention "heavy surf"; you mention "strong winds, current" and likewise go on to say that the tidal river you have in mind has "little current". This leads me to believe you are trying to imagine various scenarios; but if you are trained to deal with these situations, you will easily cope with any of the above.

Stop trying to be so imaginative and, rather, get practical. This is a wet and dirty sport or pastime and is one that is fraught with misconceptions and ignorance from many sides. TRAINING and the developement of good judgement is all that is required for your safety. By the way, familiarise yourself with the deeper pages on this website and you will find much information about cold water paddling...

Sincerely,

[cmfos]

Mark,

Actually, I'm glad that you brought this stuff up. For someone new to winter paddling, the idea of heading to shore after a capsize might seem like the best option rather than waiting for a rescue. But I agree with Jed and Scott that a skillfully executed T-rescue will have you out of the water and into your boat in a jiffy and that this will usually be faster than having to swim to shore (unless you are really close to shore).

But winter paddling is a serious business and so I'd suggest you look for some of the archived threads on this topic in the website. A few other suggestions:

1) Drysuits really are a must for paddling in water temps under 50F. It sucks because drysuits are pricey and if you don't have one, then you really are land-bound for the winter. But you really can't take any chances with wetsuits in cold water.

2) Warm liquids are super-important. Have some hot tea or hot water available in case you or a comrade go into the drink.

3) Probably, you shouldn't consider paddling in groups of less than 4 in winter. Having extra folks in your crew will be indispensable in an emergency.

Lots more advice can be had from the archives and you should check it out. Just be careful 'coz hypothermia is not something you wanna mess with. Good luck Mark!

J

[Jed]

Mark,

Mark wrote:

>Obviously there is some judgement involved for any given

>situation as to which "rescue" would have the paddler safely

>out of the water the fastest, but I was interested to see if

>anyone would take a position that, for example, one should

>never leave their boat, etc. etc. The situation I am

>contemplating is a tidal river location where there is

>little current and the banks of the river are both within a

>minute or two's swim away (at most) and are climbable.

>Ideally, another paddler monitors or accompanies the

>swimming kayaker as they swim to shore.

Christopher wrote:

>Your email is self-contradictory in several instances: you

>mention that you think you might be paddling in a tidal

>river, yet you mention "heavy surf"; you mention "strong

>winds, current" and likewise go on to say that the tidal

>river you have in mind has "little current". This leads me

>to believe you are trying to imagine various scenarios; but

>if you are trained to deal with these situations, you will

>easily cope with any of the above.

Jed comments:

After reading Christopher's response I would add that typically the only group for whom the word "never" sees use in a paddling context is among novice paddlers. I don't mean to offend but as a paddler gains experience they tend to find exceptions for every, formerly hard-and-fast, rule. There are few absolutes among those experienced in sea kayaking.

Christopher wrote:

>Stop trying to be so imaginative and, rather, get practical.

> This is a wet and dirty sport or pastime and is one that is

>fraught with misconceptions and ignorance from many sides.

>TRAINING and the developement of good judgement is all that

>is required for your safety. By the way, familiarise

>yourself with the deeper pages on this website and you will

>find much information about cold water paddling...

Jed comments:

Firstly Mark, you need to understand that Christopher is the nicest, kindest, most eloquent writer around these parts. If I may be so bold as to presume to understand his intent I would say that he wants to illustrate, in no uncertain terms, that the knowledge you seek can only come from real world experience and not from abstract discussions about the finer points relative to good judgement.

People often find nice tidy rules simplify the learning process and if that is was you are doing please try to err on the side of caution. Few experienced paddler would say to "never" leave or let go of your equipment. But most would never consider themselves safer outside of their boats than they would inside them. So in the abstract we can say that there are situations where leaving the boat might be advantageous. But in practical application, such does not seem to be the case or our experience.

Sorry, but there is no easy answer to your questions that we can provide. If you become proficient at rescues and at paddling "in complete control" in the conditions that you describe then you will be quite safe or at least as much as anyone can rightfully expect to be in such a high-risk sport. To get to this point you would do well to heed Christopher's advice about training. I find that as paddlers progress there is a threshold where they stop seeking abstract knowledge and instead apply what knowledge they do have in real world conditions. Passing this threshold seems to be the separation between sophomoric intermediates and experienced paddlers with valuable judgement skills. It's less about boat handling skills at that point and more about good judgement. A paddler with weak boat handling skills but strong judgement will always be safer than a highly skilled paddler with poor judgement.

"A man that is not afraid of the sea will soon be drowned,

For he will be going out on a day when he should not.

But we do be afraid of the sea and we do only be drowned now and again."

John Millington Synge

Cheers,

Jed

jluby@teamnorthatlantic.com

"Friends don't let friends swim, ever!"

[B]

Mark

Knowing the skills of the folks that have responded to you, you have gotten the best advice, be it kind in some cases, available anywhere.

I'd just like to add that there is no replacement for the most important thing, good judgment. You have already taken the most important step, asking the right questions from the right people.

Now take the next steps, follow the advice you've found here. Join NSPN, by the right gear, and learn from these folks. I'll paddle with them anywhere.

Stay safe, B

[donperry]

Who makes the decision to swim for shore, the swimmer or the savior? Someone sitting upright in a kayak has a better perspective on the local situation than a cotton-clad swimmer treading ice water. Death from cold or drowning is at hand. The only rule should be to make the right decision for the situation and act quickly. The wrong move will waste the little time remaining.

If getting to shore is faster and easier than an assisted rescue, then do it. The rescuer should make the decision and the swimmer should cooperate. The current side of the stream will have a steep mud bank that’s almost impossible to climb. The non-current side is usually shallow and it may be easiest to tow the swimmer there. But shallow water may be too far away and an assisted rescue might be better than attempting to scale the mud bank.