Re: [Paddlewise] Assisted rescue technique

From: Rich Kulawiec <rsk_at_gsp.org>
Date: Fri, 22 May 1998 07:47:30 -0400
On Fri, May 22, 1998 at 12:28:32PM +0100, Colin Calder wrote:
> A couple of weeks ago I was shown an assisted rescue by a chap called
> Donald Thompson, which I hadn't seen or heard of before. I don't know
> whether anyone other than Donald has developed this rescue, but I was very
> impressed and consider this technique to be the fastest method I've tried
> for emptying a wet exit victim's boat in deep water.

This is somewhat similar to what some paddlers I know call the "Hand of God"
rescue -- I suppose it got the name, because to the rescuee, it feels like
something reached out of the sky and popped them upright.

The way the H-o-G rescue works is that paddler A falls over and misses
his/her roll.  Paddler B approaches the A's boat -- with A still in it
and upside down and comes up parallel to it.  B reaches over the
upside-down hull of A's boat and grabs the cockpit rim, then pulls
it up, flipping B back upright.  For additional leverage, B can flip
towards A's boat (being careful not to smack their head into A's hull)
which will allow them to use their entire body weight to hoist A up.
B then lets go of A's boat and rolls up.

I've seen this done, but it only works well if B weighs a lot more than A.
And manages to grab the cockpit rim without popping the sprayskirt off. ;-)

---Rsk
Rich Kulawiec
rsk_at_gsp.org
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Received on Fri May 22 1998 - 04:47:06 PDT

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