Re: [Paddlewise] self rescue techniques

At 07:59 AM 3/8/00 -0800, Dave Kruger wrote:
>Allison Corning wrote:
>
>> I was watching a video of rescue techniques the other day and saw mostly the
>> usual stuff, paddlefloats, t rescues etc. and then the hosts did a
>> modification on their paddle float rescue where they attached nylon webbing
>> to the paddle shaft and made a stirrup-the person then stepped into the
>> stirrup and was given a "boost" back into the kayak. I'm looking at this
>> tape and thinking to myself "you've got to be kidding me". 
>
>Less cumbersome and quicker is to carry a loop of webbing which will fit
around
>the cockpit and hang down in the water so the paddler can get her/his foot
into
>it to help him/her back into the cockpit.  Some forethought is necessary:  put
>a carabiner (or similar) on the loop so it will slide to the low point of the
>end of the loop in the water, and also attach a float so the whole thing will
>not disappear into the briny deep.

I've never tried to use webbing as a stirrup, but I have used a loop of
rope.   Get a piece of rope about 15' long and tie the ends together.
After a capsize, and the cockpit has been mostly emptied of water,  put the
loop of rope over the paddle and lay the paddle behind the cockpit,
perpendicular to the boat.  Reach under the boat and pull the rope under
and to your side of the kayak.  Wrap the loop of rope around the paddle
shaft several time until there is only about 2' of loop hanging off.   Put
on a paddle float and then step into the loop.  If you're facing to the
stern put the foot in that is closest to the kayak.  Reach across the top
of the kayak and pull yourself onto the rear deck.  Once you've hooked your
other leg across the paddle shaft you can take your foot out of the
stirrup.  Then grab the paddleshaft with your hand and lean toward the
paddlefloat and you can move your leg from the paddleshaft.  

Keep your head low to the deck and most of your weight on the paddlefloat
side of the kayak.  This is *VERY* important.  Wiggle your feet into the
cockpit and start sliding toward the stern.  While making sure that your
weight is always toward the paddlefloat, turn over so that you're sitting
down.   Don't take your hand and weight off the paddleshaft until you're
sure that you're sitting upright.  
>
>My experience is that with folks who are heavier than average and/or do not
>have good upper body strength, the loop is necessary to re-enter the cockpit. 

Same here.  I remember teaching wet exits and self rescues last summer and
a woman that just flat out did not have the upper body strength to re-enter
the cockpit without some assistance.

>For the fitter crowd, it just makes mounting the deck easier, and less
>fatiguing.  

In a recent posting someone asked under what situations a reentry and roll
might not be the best self rescue technique and my first thought was "when
your ability to do so might cause fatigue".   Even if someone can reenter
the cockpit with a stirrup "most of the time", using up a lot of energy
trying to re-enter the cockpit will make subsequent tries that much more
difficult.  
>
>BTW, I thought T-rescues were disfavored because in the conditions where you
>would need a T-rescue, most likely it would be so rough the T-rescue would be
>unworkable and/or hazardous to life and limb.  Could be I have confused the T
>with another rescue.  The version of the T I know is called "TX" in my 1988
>edition of Dowd's Sea Kayaking (page 123).

I also thought the difference between a T rescue and a T-X rescue was that
in the latter the capsized boat is brought complete across the rescuers
boat (thus forming an X) to empty water from the cockpit.  In a  T rescue,
the swimmer pushes down on the stern while the rescuer lifts up on the bow
and most of the water will be emptied.  The kayak is then spun over quickly
and put back into the water bow to stern.  The rescuer then leans on the
empty boat while the swimmer attempts reentry.

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