Ouch is right when it comes to the Eskimo bow rescue. In sea kayaks, and choppy seas there is a real potential of someone damaging the victims hands as the bow nears the bottom of the kayak when the kayaks are perpendicular. It works well with white water boats because they have a blunt bow and plastic is much more friendly on the hands than plastic. fiberglass. The best approach to the Eskimo bow rescue is to perform this rescue when the kayaks are parallel. The advantage of this variation is the hands are not likely to get sandwiched between the two boats; the rescuer can quickly position his/her boat parallel quickly because most paddlers travel in a staggered position; the rescuer can slow the progress of the kayak by sliding their paddle along the bottom of the upturned kayak; and, the rescuer can quickly change to the side-paddle rescue (using their paddle) to allow the victim to resurface. When practicing this rescue always ensure that the victim's places both hands on the bow of the kayak. Otherwise, if one or the other kayak swings out of position it could cause the person's shoulder to dislocate. In all, the Eskimo bow rescue assumes the person upside knows how to hip flick, will remain calm underwater ( even in cold water), and will not fall out of their kayak. It is not perfect but another "rescue tool" in a person rescue toolkit. cheers. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
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