Re: [Paddlewise] Rolling, rolling, keep them kayaks . . .

ralph diaz wrote:
--snip--

> The reason I added that last point is that I know of one case years ago
> here in the harbor on a busy weekend when a double kayak went over.
> Pleasure crafts were whizzing around and they were in the path of
> several ferries.  The leader came over and started debating with himself
> and others whether to use X method or Y method and who exactly should do
> it and from what angle, etc.  A silly waste of time was being wasted in
> figuring out the optimum approach when what should hold, borrowing from
> Nike ads, "Just Do It!"  While he was holding court, a very skilled
> old-timer solo canoeist just paddled up and did the rescue, no bull
> shit.

While obviously a no-nonsense approach is required, I suggest that the rescue
coordinator should whenever reasonably possible be someone other than the person
performing the assisted rescue.  The reason I propose this is that there are a
great many variables which can affect both a successful rescue and the safety of
the group.  Someone needs to keep an eye on these things -- watch out for potential
problems, use resources wisely.  If a person is focused on physically performing a
rescue, then he or she might lose sight of these other variables.  It is not any
single event, such as a dunking, that I am worried about -- it is more the
cumulation of a series of small mishaps that I worry about.

Thus, for example, a rescue coordinator should assign someone capable of performing
an assisted rescue to do the actual rescue, and assign a more experienced paddler
to round up the group and assist other paddlers in avoiding broaches and further
dumps, rather than send in the most experienced paddler to perform the rescue and
risk other members running into trouble.  At first this approach seems counter
intuitive, for under this system the most experienced paddlers are usually not the
ones actually performing the rescue..  If, however, you break everyone's skills
down into categories such as situational awareness, technique, and leadership, and
then try to find the best balance overall, you start noticing that situational
awareness and leadership skills are usually more scarce than technical skills, so
if a rescue must include all three aspects, then you had better not sacrifice one
entirely (e.g. situational awareness) simply because that person also has the best
technical skills of several people who have requisite technical skills.

The error made by the trip leader as presented in Ralph's fact scenario is not that
he failed to immediately perform a simple assisted rescue, but that he took on the
role of rescue coordinator and was entirely unable to perform in this capacity.  He
was unable to correctly make an instant decision as to resource allocation, and he
lost situational awareness.  Perhaps the best decision would have been to have
other members of the group perform the rescue, or to call over the old-timer to
perform the rescue, or to quickly perform the rescue himself -- I do not know the
answer to this because we do not have full facts,  but one thing is glaringly
obvious:  the decision as to how to act was not clearly and quickly made by the
trip leader in his role as rescue coordinator.

Note that I do not suggest that the best approach would be for the trip leader to
immediately perform the rescue.  This is simply one option that the trip leader in
his role of rescue coordinator should have considered.  When it comes to rescue,
too many cooks can spoil the broth.  If several would-be rescuers have different
plans which while perfectly sound still conflict with each other, or if a common
plan requires resource allocation, or if there is a significant deus ex marina
factor which might impact on the entire group, then people immediately doing what
each individually thinks best may lead to disaster.

Since time is often (but not always) paramount in a rescue, a rescue coordinator
must not "hold court" as Ralph puts it.  He or she must be aware of the strengths
and weaknesses of each member of the group, and assign tasks accordingly without
any delay.  The best way to do this is to paddle with the same people regularly,
and to practice various rescues with them regularly.  Before every trip discuss the
rescue procedure so that everyone will know what to expect in terms of not only
possible or likely incidents, but also overall procedures which will be applied in
any rescue.

Paddlers (particularly wild water paddlers who often face complex rescue scenarios)
interested in this sort of thing would do well to take rescue courses, for not only
will they learn about how to perform specific rescues, but they will also learn
about command and control in rescue scenarios.

Cheers,
Richard Culpeper

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