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From: Clyde Sisler <clyde_sisler_at_email.msn.com> subject: [Paddlewise] Paddle Leash Rescue - Not! Date: Sun, 9 May 1999 09:24:44 -0400 · This archive was generated by hypermail 2.4.0 : Thu Aug 21 2025 - 16:32:59 PDT

Saturday was a dreary, drizzly, foggy (Oregon type?) morning.  I obviously
couldn't paint the house so I packed the gear and headed for Portsmouth (NH)
Harbor.  As I passed over the bridge past the Navy Yard I could see the
harbor was socked in pretty good.  By the time I put in I could see the
vague outline of the shoreline where I was headed.

I had remembered to put batteries in the GPS and re-read a little of the
manual the night before so I cleared the track log and marked the put in.

The tide was half way through the ebb around 9am when I got to my little
hideyhole and there was still a reasonable amount of water.  I beached the
kayak and waded out into the water to see if the dry suit would stay dry now
that socks and booties were over, rather than under the ankle gaskets.
Amazingly enough it stayed dry.  I was kinda surprised by the amount of
pressure exerted on my legs though.  I never noticed that in a wet suit or
barelegged.

I just waded and floated around for a few minutes and went to get the kayak
to try some self rescues again.  I decided to commune with nature behind a
rock first.  When I came back to shore I was gazing out into the harbor as I
struggled back into the dry suit (a relief zipper would have been a relief).

A dark object popped to the surface a couple of hundred yards from shore,
then another, and another.  At first I thought it was loons or ducks but
they were too big.  Then I thought they were seals but they didn't seem to
act right.  Then another surfaced and they all seemed connected and
undulating and my mind registered 'It's a freakin' sea monster!'.  I stood
there in utter disbelief but there it was right before my eyes.  Then I
heard a voice and quickly turned around to find someone to share this
spectacular sight with but I didn't see anyone so I turned back to watch the
monster.  Again I heard the voice and again no one was there.  This is
getting spooky and I'm wondering if maybe I should head for higher ground.

Gradually my feeble brain begins to process this strange data and in
searching through the data bank of past memories and experiences pulls up
what might possibly be an alternative to the sea monster theory.  Divers.
;-(.  As this suggestion was passed to the optic nerves, my eyes changed
focus and sure enough, there were 5 of them out there and that's where the
voices were coming from.  Well…. It could have been a sea monster.

I finished getting back into the dry suit leaving the zipper open a little
so the air would escape as I waded back out with the kayak.  A couple of
minutes have passed and I'm out to waist deep water when the divers start
surfacing a few yards from me.  We chatted for a few minutes and I explained
I had no idea what they were when I first saw them.  They thought the sea
monster theory was rather humorous and I felt just little silly.

They left and I continued out to deeper water and got a rude awakening.  I
had forgotten to close the zipper.  That sucked!

I flipped the kayak over to get some water in the cockpit.  Would you
believe I couldn't get much in and I tried a couple of times.  I guess those
long, drawn out capsizes when you're trying to save yourself tilted up on
edge is what fills it up.  (I've only capsized once, so far, and then I
rescued myself in a slightly different manner).

After last week's fiasco, I've thought a little about what I'm going to do.
Again, the water's calm and there's little wind.  But I have a hard time
holding onto the kayak and the paddle while trying to inflate the paddle
float.  I finally lose the paddle so put the leash on after retrieving it.

I get things situated and hoist myself up on the aft deck with no problem
(except the pump is digging into me so I rip it from under the aft bungies
and throw it in the cockpit).  I wiggle around a little and get one foot in
the cockpit.  Then I try to get the second foot in.  I move it around but
keep running into an obstacle.  Sh*t!  It's the paddle leash, stretched over
the cockpit.  Nothing to do but slide off the deck and undo the paddle leash
and try again.  This time I manage to get back into the cockpit ok.

I have the neoprene gloves on and want to see if I can get the spray skirt
attached with them on.  After a minute or so of futile effort I take them
off to get the skirt on.

I've heard people on the list talk about putting the pump down through the
spray skirt to pump out the cockpit so I decide to give it a try.  I stick
my Aquaterra(?) gray and red pump down there but have to squirm and wiggle
and scrunch down in the seat to get it to touch bottom.  If anyone had seen
me, they probably would have thought I was after the pee bottle.

Well, I could pump water.  However, my right (pump) hand was hitting the
bottom of the PFD and would have been pretty raw in short order.  Secondly,
in that awkward position I couldn't keep control or put any weight on the
paddle float so I would have been swimming again in any kind of lumpy water.

So, in summary, last week I definitely would have died.  This week I think I
managed to drag out my demise a little longer but unless I could paddle a
boat full of water to shore….  And how would I get the paddle float off in
really rough water?

I forgot to test out the neck gasket.  I meant to, but I forgot, honest.

After emptying the boat, I marked my position on the GPS and sat there
trying to figure out what I wanted to do now.  The fog was pretty heavy but
I gradually started to make out the outline of a lighthouse in the distance.
Sure, why not, so I paddle off in that direction.

After a minute or so I think maybe I should have brought my deck mounted
compass along.  At least I'd know my heading and how to get back to shore if
I get completely fogged in (again).  I, however, always being fully prepared
for every contingency, carry a hand held Suunto compass in a PFD pocket
along with a whistle, so I figured out where I was heading and where I had
been.

I got out to the island next to the lighthouse, had lunch and decided to see
if I could get back using the GPS.  It was still pretty foggy and since I
didn't have a deck mounted compass, this would be a pretty decent test.

When you say GoTo waypoint with the Garmin 12XL you get a little compass
with an arrow pointing to the direction in which you should be heading.  If
you're on course it should be pointing straight up.  It also has the
bearing, where you're headed, speed, estimated time of arrival and some
other stuff.

The problem with trying to maintain a heading with the GPS alone is it takes
seconds for it to react from the satellites to course changes.  You end up
going too far left or right and overcompensate in making corrections and end
up wobbling back and forth like a one legged drunken sailor trying to walk
down a beach.

I could see the vague outline of shore but couldn't see where I had come
from.  When I got myself and the arrow in alignment, I didn't agree with the
GPS but decided to trust it and eventually got in the general area.

Observations:

Always bring your deck mounted compass if there is a chance of fog, even in
your 'home harbor'.

 Develop a routine for checking your safety gear and that you're all zipped
up.

I'm still convinced the paddle leash is a good thing although it can cause
some major problems in a self rescue.  Last week it wrapped around my leg,
this week it prevented me from getting into the cockpit.  The cockpit
problem can be solved by moving the leash to the aft deck after the capsize.
I use one of those keyring carbineers and the leash is more or less
permanently mounted.  This however has corroded shut.  So I guess for this
to work you'd have to perform regular oilings(?) to keep it operational.  I
don't know the effect of mounting the leash on the aft deck.  I suspect it
would be easier to get tangled if you roll off but I also think it would
wrap around your waist or chest and would also be easier to untangle.  I
have another keyring carbineer so I'll try this out next time out.

How are you going to do a self rescue with a bunch of crap piled up on the
aft deck?  Pumps, spare paddles, camera bags and what not?  I had been
thinking about moving the float and pump all the way aft.  It's not like I
need to reach them from the cockpit or anything.  Guess I'll try the spare
paddle on the fore deck like someone mentioned a while ago.

If you're going to wear gloves, practice putting the spray skirt on with
them on.

I dunno about this pumping through the spray skirt trick.  I suspect those
who have done it started with a full cockpit of water so they didn't go
through the contortions I did to find water.  They probably pumped down to
the level I actually started at.  I had been thinking of getting a manual
bilge pump with a hose on the end of it to extend its range.  They're
available from the marine stores/catalogs.

Clyde Sisler
http://csisler.com

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