[Paddlewise] (paddlewise) Self tethering

"I have tethered myself to the boat while playing in heavy surf on a
sit-on-top.  Since my favorite place to surf has a very rocky sea wall,
the
last thing I want is to have to swim close to the wall to retrieve my
boat.
A knife or a fool-proof means of detaching yourself from the tether is,
of
course, crucial"

Sailors tether themselves to big boats.  They are more likely to simply
fall overboard, but tangling is a real danger as is being dragged at
speed, so sailors use a harness, and clip to the tether with a big
stainless steel carabiner that can be removed with one hand.
 It occurs to me that, rather than depending solely on a knife (which
requires a spare hand, perhaps another tangling lanyard, etc.) it might
be worthwhile to clip your tether to a slip ring on a quick release tow
belt, just like many use for towing.  In fact, you are most likely to
use the tether when traveling solo, so you could stash your tow line
away and dedicate the belt to anchoring your tether.  I would think the
tether should be attatched to the boat somewhere on the back deck or
beside the cockpit.  You would want to do many experiments to find the
least tangle-prone set-up.  The tether should allow you to wet exit
either to the right or the left, and to work your way along the boat to
set up paddle floats etc.  This quick release could be important durring
rough landings, although I would think you would want to detatch the
tether in surf zones.

I haven't tried any of this myself.       Nick Lyle

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