Don Dimond wrote about how drowning swimmers can pose a very serious threat to rescuers. Probably the best advice I have ever found on this subject came from Bill Nealy's book "Kayak" (1985). I know that info not because it's right here (it's not), but because it is like a Bible to me. Mr. Nealy described how to distinguish a good victim from a bad victim. A good victim will accept that you are in control and follow the necessary commands given to help them to shore. A bad victim will attempt to climb up on your boat, sit on your head and generally create much more anxiety/danger than was previously found with only 1 victim in the water. Most dumped paddlers/drowning swimmers who are in a crazed panic will be saying things like "mmaarff!" and swinging wildly. These people are bad victims, and are a threat to the lives of anyone who tries to help them. Mr Nealy advised that you only allow them to hold the front toggle of the boat, if they try to dump you or climb up on your boat, it's paddle smackin time. If they get really aggressive, and you can't get em off the boat, point just behind them and scream SNAKE!! It is okay to float in front of suspected bad victim and ask them to say multisyllable words. ex. antidisestablishmentarianism. Just like the three taps on the bottom of a boat before a wet exit/Eskimo rescue, this calms the mind and slows down time. Telling them a joke works well too... I have been in this situation before and I can tell you the victim is looking at you like "What the Hell?!?!" If they are coherent enough to stop and think about it, they can handle being rescued. If not, well, let them know that you are not coming any closer until they calm down. Bad victims are very dangerous things All credit to Mr. Nealy, Phil Huck thekayaker_at_yahoo.com __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Bid and sell for free at http://auctions.yahoo.com *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Hello Fellow Paddle Wisers, During classes I teach students the importance of helping drowning or struggling swimmers on open water. I think the first issue is to not put yourself at risk. You must take command by telling the person to only grab the front of your kayak. If you do not do that they may grab your pfd and pull you over into the water and climb onto the bottom of your capsized kayak. Be sure to be prepared to paddle backwards if they do not listen to you. -- Don Dimond Owner of Superior Visions Sea Kayaking School Board Member of Twin Cities Sea Kayaking Association *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
I'm with Don all the way on the importance of not putting yourself at risk. While there is great moral and humanitarian value, if not a moral imperative, in attempting to save a life, it is all for naught if the attempt creates another victim. Drowning/struggling victims in the water are frequently panicked and very unpredictable and can cause serious problems for even experienced lifeguards/rescuers. I have had panicked victims literally attempt to "climb" on top of me in their struggles to escape the water. As a lifeguard one of the primary things I was taught to do while approaching a victim, whether in a watercraft or by swimming, was to attempt to establish control using voice, eye-contact, and if need be, physical force. As a rescuer your aim should be to remain in total control of the situation. The victim cannot and should not typically be relied upon to behave in a rational and predictable fashion. Thankfully, the worst does not always happen, but there can be a lot of value in at least understanding and planning for what _can_ happen. One scenario Don mentioned was (paraphrasing) - "What will you do if the victim panics, flips your kayak, and causes you to wet exit because they won't release their grip on the hull?" Now let's add cold water and 2-3 ft waves. 1. Abandon the effort and head for shore alone? 2. Swim the kayak with the clinging victim to shore? 3. Get the victim off the kayak and swim them to shore? 4. Get the victim off the kayak, re-enter, and place them under control for a yak-assisted rescue? Obviously, there's no single right answer - and a lot of variables to confound the issue. A familiar adage among lifeguards is "Reach, Throw, Row, Go". If attempting to perform a kayak rescue, the prudent paddler should know ahead of time whether they have the skills and capability to either continue or to bail-out if the rescue goes awry. Being in the water with a victim is serious business and to be avoided if any other method is possible. Dave Seng Juneau, Alaska > -----Original Message----- > From: superiorvisions_at_att.net [mailto:superiorvisions_at_att.net] > Sent: Thursday, October 14, 1999 6:11 AM > To: PaddleWise_at_lists.intelenet.net > Subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Drowning Swimmers > > > Hello Fellow Paddle Wisers, > > During classes I teach students the importance of > helping drowning or struggling swimmers on open water. > > I think the first issue is to not put yourself at risk. snip > *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
When I was taking a first aid course an interesting statistic was brought up. The instructor said that sixty percent of accident victims are would be rescuers. More people get hurt trying to help an accident victim than there were accident victims in the first place! Mike -- Paddling along through fog so thick that only one's thoughts are visible, your reverie is abruptly shattered by the ancient cry of a great blue heron as she lifts uncertainly from the brilliant blue of a mussel-shell beach witnessed only by the brooding, wet spruce....your passage home seems as much back through time as it does through space. Mark H Hunt *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
After reading this thread on panicked swimmers, I think that if I ever find one, I will remove my pfd and throw it to the victim, then paddle like hell to get away from them and call for help (or if I happened to have a cell phone or vhf, call for help that way).. Probably involves less risk to the victim and the rescuer than other proposals. Another reason to wear your pfd at all times (except immediately after throwing it to a panicked swimmer) ;-) Professor Karl S. Coplan Pace Environmental Litigation Clinic, Inc. 78 North Broadway White Plains, N.Y. 10603 kcoplan_at_genesis.law.pace.edu (914) 422-4343 *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
One carry-over (from WW) piece of safety gear that I keep very handy at all times when on the water or even on shore is my throw rope. 75 feet of 3/8" Spectra, in a throwbag with a built-in float. I keep the throw bag clipped to the Pelican case (water-proof, hard-sided case) that houses my first aid kit. When I get out of the boat on shore they both go with me. It's almost always safer to throw a victim a line than it is to go after them. Dave Seng Juneau, Alaska (watching the snowline head down towards sea-level - let the winter kayaking commence!) > -----Original Message----- > From: Karl Coplan [mailto:kcoplan_at_genesis.law.pace.edu] > Sent: Friday, October 15, 1999 4:02 AM > To: PaddleWise_at_lists.intelenet.net > Subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Drowning Swimmers > > > After reading this thread on panicked swimmers, I think that if I > ever find one, I will remove my pfd and throw it to the victim, then > paddle like hell to get away from them and call for help (or if I > happened to have a cell phone or vhf, call for help that way).. > > Probably involves less risk to the victim and the rescuer than other > proposals. > > Another reason to wear your pfd at all times (except immediately > after throwing it to a panicked swimmer) ;-) > > *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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