Only 100 yards out of Lane's Cove

[Gcosloy]

You don’t need to brave 7-foot surf to learn lessons about sea kayaking and the sea and yourself. Last Tuesday I was leaving the entrance to Lane’s Cove in Gloucester through the opening in the high sea wall when it occurred to me that the sea looked particularly rough. No white caps but steep progressive waves. I thought this would be a good opportunity to learn something more about the handling and stability of my new Ellesmere Kayak. Previous to this I had it out only once before in rough water and twice on flat water. I knew the boat was marketed as a kayak for " experienced paddlers" and thought that my now three seasons of paddling once or twice a week would be sufficient. Prior to this experience I have performed self and assisted rescues with no problem on flat water but have not yet developed a roll to rely on.

As I was sitting a beam to the oncoming surge I thought, let’s see what happens when the boat is hit by oncoming waves –how will it behave? Before I knew it the boat was leaning heavily to the port side and my low brace attempt to stabilize came to naught and I found myself going over. It felt like I was performing a slow motion capsizes on purpose but what this accident revealed in retrospect was my non-existent brace. What I had been calling a brace was simply sticking the stick in the water and pushing down. No knee or hip snap in the opposite direction, in fact just the opposite the tilt of the boat had my right knee elevated and my head was probably intuitively cocked to the right as well, exactly the opposite of what was needed in the situation.

The cold rush of water and my lack of knowing where my paddle was prompted an immediate wet exit, done flawlessly I might add, I don’t even think my feet scraped the combing on the way out. Here I found myself in a roiling sea with an upside down kayak. No problem, just flip it right side up like I’ve done many times before in practice at Walden pond in flat water and in warm water. The boat flipped only ninety degrees and resisted going further. What was wrong I thought! My front deck was outfitted with a large deck bag filled with water, food, a vhf radio and sun blocker and towel. Not being waterproof like a dry bag it quickly filled up with water and slipped downward towards the water acting like a large water logged anchor. Additionally I had placed a 2-piece back up paddle in a nylon bag on the front deck and that too was filled with water and slipped downwards preventing the complete righting of the boat. Lesson number two: don’t put stuff on the deck that can take in and hold water. I should have opted for one of those vinyl deck bags that roll up and completely seal out water like dry bags do.

There I was no more than a hundred yards from the opening in the sea wall with a kayak on edge literally and decided to hold on and just swim for the opening. Once I got into the cove where the water was calm I could the figure out what I needed to do to get back in the boat. After all the entire surge was moving on shore, not offshore, the swim would be easy. Not! I must have spent 10 minutes in the water before my goal of reaching the cove was replaced by hoping to reach the next lobster trap buoy so I could grasp onto it and rest. At this point I ripped off the deck bag and paddle bags and stowed them in my cockpit. Now I was able to complete the rotation and the boat was upright. I thought this would facilitate better progress with the swim since I had been making very little forward progress. Third lesson: swimming for it especially towing a kayak is often an illusory solution. It probable dawned on the reader by now that filling my cockpit with gear wasn’t exactly going to facilitate a paddle float reentry. Of course if the situation was dire and had I been more desperate, dumping those items would have been done.

Just then my surprised companion showed up through the opening in the wall and assisted in a side by side rescue. Only after I transferred my two soggy anchors over to him was I back in my upright boat and busy pumping the water out of the cockpit. His first comment to me was: "Why didn’t you blow your whistle?" "I would have been here right away" Why indeed? Final lesson: hubris will get you every time.

To review then: the lack of an effective brace represented a lack of skill. The inappropriate choice of deck gear represented a lack of experience. Attempting a swim with disabled kayak represented a lack of judgment. Since my paddling partner was on the shore of Lane’s Cove getting his gear ready he could not possibly see through the high rock wall to the other side where I was floundering. I, in partial defense never thought to blow a whistle since I didn’t think he could possibly here it. In reality though I felt I would have self-rescued before he showed up and was slightly embarrassed be the whole situation. I’m writing this so that others can appreciate the trouble we can get ourselves into when a few random events conspire coupled with skill and judgment deficits to make an otherwise uneventful situation potentially dangerous.

Gene Cosloy

[Poncho]

Oh.oh..oh..my goodness my friend..!!!

I salute you for giving it a try.!!

Poncho

[Brian Nystrom]

Lessons are much more easily learned when presented so graphically. I'm glad to here that everything worked out well.

If I may make a few suggestions:

- A clean deck is a happy deck. Pumps, paddle floats, water bottles and such stored on deck are a nuisance at best and a liability at worst. Keeping them on-deck makes it more likely that they'll get lost during a capsize and rescue (the classic "yard sale") or simply get in the way. There are few things in kayaking more frustrating that trying to get back into your boat and getting hung up on your own gear while doing it. Stowing the pump and paddle float inside the cockpit keeps the deck clear and they're readily accessible in the event of a wet exit. While there is a reasonable argument to be made for keeping a pump accessible without opening one's spray skirt, for assisting other paddlers in pumping out their boat, the small likelihood of needing to do this isn't worth the hassle of keeping a pump on-deck, IMO.

- Your radio belongs on your body, not on your deck, which is true of other signalling devices (horn/whistle, signal mirror, flares). If you wet exit and lose your boat, you'll need these to summon help.

- Think about what you actually NEED on deck. Is it really necessary to have food, sun blocker and a towel on-deck? That's what day hatches and PFD pockets are for.

- Using a small (1.5 liter or less) hydration pack on the back of your PFD makes staying hydrated more convenient and gets one more loose object off your deck. The first time you have to fumble with a water bottle while paddling in rough conditions should be enough to convince you that there must be a better way.

- Your swimming experience mirrors my own; it's MUCH harder to swim with a kayak in rough water than it sounds and you can't count on the water to move you quickly. Under ideal conditions, one can swim pretty effectively while towing a kayak, but you could also re-enter easily. Swimming with a kayak in rough water is strenuous, frustrating and dangerous and should be considered a last resort.

- Don't paddle rough water alone. Had you simply waited for your companion before exiting the cove, you probably would have been back in your boat quickly. Then again, you might have missed a valuable learning experience.

Many, if not most of us, have had similar eye-opening experiences. Fortunately, we've lived to learn from them and share them with others. Thanks again for being willing to share.

[cathyfoley]

Gene:

Excellent post. I would be happy to hook up with you and teach you how to re-enter and roll with your paddle float, which is a very reliable self-rescue in choppy conditions. It's very easy to learn and if a lot less effort than a traditional paddle float rescue. In less than an hour I'm sure you could be proficient at it. You can contact me at cathyfoley@aol.com I live in the coastal NH area but happy to come down to the north shore.