Re: [Paddlewise] Landing a victim through surf

Ralph wrote;

--(SNIP)


>The only other possible solution, assuming that the whole situation
>started outside the surf zone would be to transfer the guy to a more
>stable boat.  Then someone, a swimmer, would hang on to the back of the
>boat as a sea anchor guiding it in through the surf letting every wave
>push them both closer to the beach.  Yes, some paddlers going in earlier
>would be there to help the last few yards.  The virtue of this approach
>with the hypothermic paddler is that it keeps him in the boat and out of
>the cold water which would only make his hypothermia worsen.
>
(SNIP)

Using the body as a sea anchor worked for me  (did it by accident and on
purpose) although I found the sea anchor worked better. The thing that I
found most disconcerting about this was when I tried doing it with regular
hand toggles on the ends. If the boat tried to spin (and it did sometimes)
ones hand got wound up in the handle. Very painful if you don't let go
quickly enough.

I now use the trapeze handles used by sailors fastened to the boat with
stainless steel cable. These rotate freely so won't jam the hands.

If you have a rudder on the boat you will want to grab the bow rather than
the stern as you drift in. Rudders can cause serious injury when near your
head. Also, the tails on most handles lack length to trail clear of  the
rudder.

Cheers,
John Winters
Redwing Designs
Specialists in Human Powered Watercraft
http://home.ican.net/~735769/

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