New Years Day 2005

[Guest guest]

http://community.webshots.com/slideshow?ID=241523314

Slide Show

Pebble Beach to Rockport round trip; warm, sunny, a little wind, some waves, some rock play, a rescue, an interesting day on the water.

The day started with a water drop on the lens that dried to a salt spot and it stayed there all day.

http://community.webshots.com/album/241523314DhQQRe

Saturday was a great day on the water, very sunny, but it did get windy in the part from Straitsmouth to Rockport. We landed in Rockport, and hit the coffee shops and sat on a bench to have a snack. When it was time to leave there was talk about attempting to roll or just bail out if someone capsized. People were concerned about paddling back across the windy 2 miles to Straightsmouth with beam seas that were going to be bigger now. I presumed that everyone was basically comfortable, because on the way into Rockport, no one had any problems. I think if we were all uncomfortable, we may have taken a cab back to the cars. Well, we did get back into the wind and 4 foot beam seas, and some paddlers were really working hard to keep it all on track. When this happens it's almost as if a paddler is on a tight rope, moving carefully but at their own speed and can't be bothered with where they are relative to others.

You may notice in the slide show photos above, at photo number 11 or so, that I am following about a boat length behind a yellow kayak. I'm doing this because I selected this paddler as my rescue 'project'. I wanted to position myself to attempt a "paddle rescue" to avoid having this paddler wet exit. I didn't tell the paddler this but I should have so she could look for the rescue. We need to be in close proximity to quickly respond to perform these rescues.

We need to paddle in a tighter group.

Paddle Rescue; If a paddler goes over, you move up, place the paddle, place their hand on the shaft, they come up and can hang onto your boat till they get their wits or they can stay stabilized so that the rescuer can paddle or be towed to a safe spot. It might not always work, but its worth a try.

http://atlantickayaktours.com/Images/Photo...e-paddle_01.jpg

http://atlantickayaktours.com/Pages/Expert...Skills-10.shtml

From AtlanticKayak--look for; Paddle Rescue Variation

[Wayne Smith]

Ken,

Great shots!! It was really fun paddling with you guys. Hope to do so again soon!

Wayne

[markstephens]

I've had several very experienced sea kayakers tell me that the eskimo rescues (bow rescue or side presentation/paddle rescue) are basically pool tricks and never work in real rescue situations. But, I know they are wrong, because I have been saved from wet exits numerous times by bow rescues. And I have done a bunch of them for my buddies as well. But the key is that the paddlers that can effectively use these rescues know to look for them and know that their buddies will be looking for them. Having some ability to do decent "hang time" helps. Practicing rat swimming helps. And yes, paddlers need to be fairly close to each other.

I haven't found the paddle rescue variation to be as reliable. It seems to be harder to quickly position one's boat parallel to, within a foot or two of, and stationary relative to the rescuee's boat, versus simply paddling your bow up to them and sliding it along their boat up to their hand. I've even seen the "rescuer" dump while trying to reach out with his paddle to reach the intended rescuee, resulting in the need for an all-in rescue.

[jeffcasey]

Mark - I've found the opposite.

The "classic" eskimo rescue, where you present your bow to the midsection of the distressed paddler at 90 degrees is rarely accomplished in time, since you are unlikely to be in a position to orient yourself properly. It is easier to do, but less useful (my opinion) in practical situations.

The parallel eskimo rescue is a bit more trouble to work, but a group of paddlers are generally moving along parallel paths a short distance apart, so it sets up naturally when you see somebody go over.

The counter-example is when you are taking turns standing off and playing in the rocks. A bow can often be presented quickly and at the right angle, especially since the upside down paddler is more likely to have gone over from a broaching wave, and is gulping while parallel to shore.

[markstephens]

Jeff: The bow rescue is quite effective at very low angles. One needn't be at 90 degrees to the capsized boat. In fact, it is easier for the capsizee to contact the rescue boat safely when it is coming in at an angle.

And while boats may generally move parallel to each other, unless they are very close together and also side-by-side (as opposed to just parallel) I still think it is easier to present a bow (or stern). You just execute a quick turn and paddle over to them in a couple of strokes. Moving from a side-by-side position, say, ten yards off from someone to a side-by-side position two feet away is not something that many boaters know how to do quickly. Then you still have to stop your momentum and present the paddle while maintaining your position next to the capsized boat. In rough water, you could easily crush the capsized boater's hand between the boats. Or the boats seperate slightly and the paddle slips off the hull mid-roll, etc.

While I've seen the bow rescue work numerous times, in "real life", I've never seen the paddle variation work. So I am glad to hear that someone actually has found it useful, because I had my doubts about it.

Mark

[Guest guest]

Jeff and Mark,

I think you're both right, they can be a good way to keep people in their boats. We practiced the paddle rescue alot down at the BCU camp in GA, so we got pretty fast at it. The good thing with the paddle rescue is the speed you can come in and just flop onto the capsized boat, grab the paddlers hand to place it on the shaft. They don't have to grope around for it. They take practice and more of a team like way of being a group.

Jeff, where have you been, haven't seen you in a long time?

[jeffcasey]

>>Jeff, where have you been, haven't seen you in a long time?

Hi Ken -

Still here. Still paddling (or trying to). See your email.