Snip >What I'm getting from the thread is I can pretty much forget about a paddle >float rescue in the same conditions that knocked me over. If I can't stay >in the boat to start with, how am I going to get back into it? And if I can >get back in the boat, there won't be enough hands to operate a manual pump >and stay upright, assuming I can get the spray skirt on anyway. (I paddle >solo most of the time). > >If all this is true then the paddle float/hand pump are really a safety >hazard rather than a safety feature in that they give you a sense of false >security which may lead you into conditions from which you really can't >recover. > This is certainly true if you are not going to practice enough and set your kayak up to make it effective. A paddle float is not a talisman that is going to save you and if you treat it that way it will be just as you described. Before you give up on this rescue please read the Rescue Float Plus directions in the manuals section of www.marinerkayaks.com Disclaimer: I have an axe to grind here as I am responsible for inventing or rediscovering (take your pick--I had no clue that Eskimos or others had done similar things before when I developed it), developing, and promoting the outrigger paddle float rescue (or Mariner Self-Rescue as I called it in 1981). I told John Dowd among others and he put it in the second edition of his book and credited me. What is truly frustrating is that back in 1981 I had worked out most of the bugs for extreme conditions and then watched as versions of the rescue spread among sea kayakers. Because mostly it was learned in swimming pools and calm conditions (and it was so easy there) many of the bugs I had fixed crept back in as it was taught by more and more instructors and kayaking schools and written about in books, videos and magazine articles over the years. I remember one British video that showed the paddler standing up in the cockpit before turning around to sit down (at least they had the paddle fixed to the kayak--which gave them the stability to make it work on calm water even with such a high center of gravity as standing up). Clyde, please study the directions in the website above and report back to the group on your experience after trying it then. >This then leads me to the question: Why does the entire industry seem to >perpetuate this myth? All of the instruction books include paddle float >rescues. Do they also state it's useless? I doubt it. Why does Sea >Kayaker magazine (I don't subscribe nor do I read it regularly) perform >tests and write articles about it? Why is the paddle float rescue taught in >kayaking classes (at least in mine) if they have little or no practical >value. Must be a conspiracy to kill innocent kayakers! Maybe it works for some people and there isn't a better solution for a solo paddler to have as a back-up to a solid Eskimo roll. (Nice to have Tim gagged at a time like this.) Shortly after I developed and refined it I tried to show it to Derek Hutchinson. He wouldn't even look much less try it and told me it wouldn't work. I knew it worked and that some kayakers had even done it in surf using there PFD for the float. Frustrated, I later asked him during the question and answer time of his slide show just what he would do if somehow he found himself alone and failed to Eskimo roll. His answer was "Pray". Obviously he had a greater faith than I did. Even Derek has slowly (very slowly) come around. In many of his earlier books he only mentioned it to pooh-pooh it or labeled it a "calm water rescue". I see in his latest book "The Basic Book of Sea Kayaking" he finally gets the directions right at least from how to right the kayak (he used to advocate laying across the kayak which scoops in more water) to fastening the paddle to the kayak--if there is a way to do it (he should be advocating making sure your kayak has a way to fix the paddle to the kayak but he used to promote only leaving the paddle loose and holding it in place). His drawing still has the paddler coming in from behind the paddle and having to walk over it before entering the cockpit--maybe by the next edition he will fix that. He makes it seem like the tricky part is you have to roll over with one hand and lay on your back on the rear deck before sliding forward into the cockpit (which you don't have to do even with those tiny cockpit on those heavy boats). Screw yourself down into the cockpit as you are turning over and by the time you get face up you will also be sitting in the seat. Oh well, his latest version is a whole lot better that his earlier ones. Sure wish I could have got him to pay attention back in 1981 though. Matt Broze *************************************************************************** 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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