Fernando Lopez Arbarello and I "spoke" back-channel about T rescue technique. He gave permission to send his exellent description of technique to the group. It's almost identical to the technique I learned except for the position of the swimmer, and I like the added safety his technique provides for the swimmer. I also like his thoughts on boat weight and strength. - Bill Hansen - Ithaca NY ________________________________________ Hi Bill, Sorry IŽm replying so late. YouŽre right. Thing is I prefer a different T-Rescue, which requires more effort than yourŽs, but it only depends on the rescuer, not the victim. Process is much the same, 1) turn the victim's boat right side up, without attempting to empty it of water 2) after assuring that the victim is not in a state of panic and is physically okay, have have him/her swim to the bow of your boat, where he/she will remain resting Žtill the end of the process. There he/sheŽll hold both paddles in case you donŽt have yourŽs tethered 3) position the boats at right angles, 90 degrees, from each other 4) grab the flooded kayak with your hands. The "boat" side hand on the hull, the oposite from the bow toggle or deck line if possible. Lift the kayak by pulling up with the hull-hand while pulling backwards with the other. Use the flooded kayak for support to keep your balance (like a paddle float). As you repeat the process youŽll notice the flooded kayak loose balance. This is ok so tip its deck towards you, easy and slowly, letting the water go. 5) once you reach the middle of the boat, so the fore cockpit rim is on your belly, tip it towards you so it gets upside down again. As youŽll have its bow higher than the stern, the rest of the water will pour out. 6) finish the rescue by the usual way. > Doing it this way, even a person who has relatively little upper body > strength, like me, can empty the victim's boat of water. The process I described, as almost everything in kayaking, depends more on your technique than in your strength. Remember rolling, didnŽt it require a lot of effort in the beginnings ???. With this technique you can see the victim is not involved in the process. In most on situations, whe a kayaker is swimmimg is because he failed to roll or never attempted to do it. This means he is a novice or is extremely tired. If novice he/sheŽll surely be confused and close to panic. If tired he/sheŽll better rest gaining forces to reenter the kayak. Many times youŽll have to do it in stormy conditions, with waves and wind. YouŽll discover wind doesnŽt afect too much, and waves can be used for your help. Once you grabbed the flooded kayak use it to position paralel to the waves, so it is between the incomming wave and you. As the wave reaches its stern it will push it toward you, helpinig in the lifting process. > .....and also if the rescuer's boat has a delicate foredeck the foredeck could crack. I > don't think those things happen very often, though people who practice > rescues with certain boats (unmodified boats built from CLC kits come to > mind) do report deck cracks. I know of some manufacturers that prefer making "light" seakayaks so you donŽt have to paddle useless extra kilos. The result is a flexing light kayak that cracks everywhere. The good thing is it will be easy to carry alone. The bad thing is it wonŽt last many years if you really use it. A light kayak is about 24 kg., while a heavy one is about 30 kg. (fiberglas seakayaks). An expedition loaded kayak weights 70 to 100 kg. Tell me, is it really harder to paddle a 76 kg kayak than a 70 kg ???? I donŽt think so. The real thing is lighter kayaks requires less materials, and this means more profit. And if the kayak last less years better, so youŽll have to buy a new one !. Business is business here and everywhere !!!! I manufacture seakayaks here in Argentina. My kayaks weight 30 kg. They are landed completely loaded in stony beaches without real harm. You can use the as tables, sit on them and even jump on them and here no cracks at all. My personal kayak is almost ten years old and still the only one I have, with more than 6000 miles paddled and a lot more to come. And yes, I never sold a second kayak to the same person, but they all are so grateful they happily bring theyŽre friends to me. Finally, I donŽt make a living on selling kayaks and my bank account is burning red so maybe IŽm not so good doing business. Best regards and have fun ! ( You can put this on the list if you like ) U.K.T. - UNION DE KAYAKISTAS DE TRAVESIA Fernando López Arbarello uktkayak_at_uol.com.ar *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
Bill wrote: 2) after assuring that the victim is not in a state of panic and is physically okay, have have him/her swim to the bow of your boat, where he/she will remain resting Žtill the end of the process. There he/sheŽll hold both paddles in case you donŽt have yourŽs tethered I really think this is Step Number 1 - Survey the situation - check the "victim"; check the suuroundings (is the current pushing you into rocks?). I also would not have the swimmer holding my paddle - it does not leave my hands/body - tethered or untethered. sid *************************************************************************** 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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