Re: [Paddlewise] panicky paddlers was: baidarka Back Support and Sp*ns*ns

> From: Doug Lloyd <dlloyd_at_telus.net>

> As has been mentioned on this list before, you never offer close-in
> assistance initially with a panicky swimmer, lest two victims emerge. I had
> a 250# male panic in a pool once, while he was horseplaying at the side. I
> came around from behind, grabbed his hair, pulled him out onto the deck
> (that's gotta hurt!). 

I read on a water-rescue training site ( http://www.WaterOperations.com/ )
that a six-year-old can drown an adult if they are panicking.  So, I guess 
even a small person panicking in the water can be a risky rescue, not to
mention 250#s 8-}. 

My experience with a panicky paddler was that she gave up paddling.
She was in a tandem kayak and her paddling partner, also female, was 
struggling to paddle them both in a boat loaded with gear in some rough
conditions.   One of the guys ended up towing them in.

<snip>

> The Bottom Line: Be prepared for anything (including dogs in the water
> tired of dog-paddling).

Which is a good point to put a doggie life preserver on your pet.  They
*can* panick.  About the time the lab was trying to climb on my head
while I was swimming alongside my boat, a swimmer was drowned by his 
large pet dog that panicked in the water and attempted to get safety
where he was most familiar with it.  Very sad.  

Jackie

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