One of the best ways that I am aware of to speed the judgement learning process along is to practice self rescues in rough, cold water. It's surprising how few paddlers actually practice these skills in the conditions that can most likely cause them trouble. There's nothing like first getting back into your boat in nasty conditions and then having to empty your boat out that teaches you that you may well want to stay out of conditions without adequate margins of safety. Just this last weekend I was helping a friend (Rob Cookson of Pacific Water Sports) with his advanced seakayaking class in Deception Pass in Washington State. It was the classes graduation paddle. The current was running at 6 knots and the wind (at least where it was funneling in the pass) was blowing at 25 knots. I had just managed to break through the eddy at the top of Srawberry Island and was playing in the eddies on the south side of the island when I saw and watched two guys in a double come across the channel from Cornet Bay. They were obviously unaware of what they were doing and, as it turns out, were new to kayaking and had never paddled before. They had no idea of just how close they were to the edge. There's something about bad weather rescue experience that gives one pause while standing on shore on a nasty day. John Winskill *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
> The problem, I believe, is that very few participants are willing to try > a self-rescue under those conditions. I know I have a bunch of friends > who paddle who have done the self rescue drills in a heated pool, and > nowhere else. Any ideas on incentives to get them to do the real thing? Dave; My experience is that you will have to organize a clinic and sell it to your friends. What I found is that as people do it they begin to see the need to practice the rescues and the process will begin to gain momentum. What I would recommend is for you to, first of all, plan a cold water rescue session that has adequate control over conditions, that is, no current, nor wind, and close to shore. Make certain everyone does several assisted rescues (perhaps of various types) and and at least a couple of self rescues (I generally have students empty thier own boat at least once and I also have them paddle a boat full of water about fifty yards. Next find a location where the prevailing winds blow onto an easy sandy beach. As people begin to gain confidence and get thier systems down for rescueing themselves and others in calm water they will, with only a little more encouragement want to go on to something a bit more challenging. As and aside, we have found that, within the club I am most active in (the Seattle and Tacoma Mountaineers), we tend to get the most response when we charge for clinics. Go figure. If you (or others) are interested in how I specifically stucture either the beginning rescue clinics or the advanced clinics let me know and I'll give more details. I think you'll find that there are more people in your area who are interested than you might realize. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
Good ideas, but I would add a potluck lunch (hot chicken soup!) and some kind of chocolate thing for dessert. In Bay Area Sea Kayakers we organize skills practice sessions every so often, and in varying conditions. I initially dreaded them, but once I started dressing for the water temp. the sessions became more and more fun. The key is to have everyone work at their own skill level with plenty of support. You can also develop little contests, like what team can do the fastest T-rescue, and so on. Barbara in Richmond California At 09:25 PM 4/18/98 -0700, John C. Winskill wrote: >> The problem, I believe, is that very few participants are willing to try >> a self-rescue under those conditions. I know I have a bunch of friends >> who paddle who have done the self rescue drills in a heated pool, and >> nowhere else. Any ideas on incentives to get them to do the real thing? > >Dave; >My experience is that you will have to organize a clinic and sell it to >your friends. What I found is that as people do it they begin to see >the need to practice the rescues and the process will begin to gain >momentum. >What I would recommend is for you to, first of all, plan a cold water >rescue session that has adequate control over conditions, that is, no >current, nor wind, and close to shore. Make certain everyone does >several assisted rescues (perhaps of various types) and and at least a >couple of self rescues (I generally have students empty thier own boat >at least once and I also have them paddle a boat full of water about >fifty yards. >Next find a location where the prevailing winds blow onto an easy sandy >beach. As people begin to gain confidence and get thier systems down >for rescueing themselves and others in calm water they will, with only a >little more encouragement want to go on to something a bit more >challenging. >As and aside, we have found that, within the club I am most active in >(the Seattle and Tacoma Mountaineers), we tend to get the most response >when we charge for clinics. Go figure. >If you (or others) are interested in how I specifically stucture either >the beginning rescue clinics or the advanced clinics let me know and >I'll give more details. >I think you'll find that there are more people in your area who are >interested than you might realize. >*************************************************************************** >PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List >Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net >Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net >Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ >*************************************************************************** > > * -- * -- * -- * -- * -- * -- * -- * --*--*-- Barbara Kossy Communications vox: 510-234-3479 fax: 510-234-6615 * -- * -- * -- * -- * -- * -- * -- * -- *--* -- *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
This has been an excellent thread. For what it's worth, a couple of comments on a program that the Chesapeake Paddlers Association (CPA) ran in Annapolis, Maryland in the middle of January. - we ran an awareness program indoors in the morning, with experienced speakers highly qualified in cold water paddling, physiology, and equipment at a local marina-restaurant. - the afternoon sesson was an on-water program --- better stated, "in- water", with air temps in the mid-40s (F) and a water temp of 38 (F) --- with anyone interested in paddling first being required to swim his/her gear for ten minutes or more. A few lessons-learned: bad dry suit seals, dry suit seals over thermal underwear, allowing wicking into the insulation layers, bad drysuit zippers, loose neoprene hoods, neoprene in those temperatures --- lots of stuff we should have already known but didn't. Even the observers bundled up in pile layers and windbreakers on the pier could see what a roll or wet exit felt like from the look on the in-water paddlers' faces! - spotters in the water in drysuits --- rotated with others on the beach --- are a very important item. - the local county Fire Department bent over backwards to support the event, providing an ambulance on site with Advanced Life Support (ALS) paramedics and a rescue boat with three more ALS paramedics in drysuit diving gear in the water with us --- all "just in case", none called on for assistance. (Editorial comment: for any extreme or risky workshop, call your local rescue people; they seem to really want to support activities like this.) - finally, if you freeze the water, they will come! We figured on 25-30 local participants --- advertised a little and got 90 from up and down the coast! Had to turn a few late-reservations away. And the comment on charging for the event? Yup, this was the first time the CPA had charged for an event of this sort, and we were overwhelmed --- somewhat literally --- with attendees! (Might be interesting to see the elasticity of the supply-demand curve on something like this.) It worked. We moved summer paddlers into extending their seasons, we hooked a few fellow-crazies on the idea of winter paddling, we transitioned a few folks from wet-suits to dry suits for these near-freezing temps, and we probably took a few un- or under-prepared folks off the water for the cold season --- which is okay, too. Nothing like a faceful of winter water to catch your attention! Joq *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
> - the afternoon sesson was an on-water program --- better stated, > "in- > water", with air temps in the mid-40s (F) and a water temp of 38 (F) > --- with > Sounds like really 'cool' (no pun intended) and worthwhile stuff. Wish I could find something like that in my area. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
In a message dated 98-04-21 09:57:56 EDT, Clyde.Sisler_at_wang.com writes: << Sounds like really 'cool' (no pun intended) and worthwhile stuff. Wish I could find something like that in my area. >> Not sure where you are, but there was another program done in Westchester County (NY) or Fairfield County (CT) somewhere during the winter, as well. If there are plans to run another, I'll try to remember to post it on this net, too. We had folks from NY, CT, NJ, DE, PA and VA, in addition to local Marylanders at the Annapolis workshop. Joq *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.4.0 : Thu Aug 21 2025 - 16:32:49 PDT