Re: [Paddlewise] BCU vs. ACA Style T-rescues

As this thread winds-out, and I think about my experience I harken back to
raft guiding and teaching guides. We had so many beginners (our company
ran two trips a day of up to twenty boats each trip  (and it usually went
smoothly) - that just getting that person back into the boat was what was
important. All the guides got so they manipulate the raft to swimmer and
pull almost anyone in on their own.

In instructor courses we focus on the rescuers skills. There is a great
game I learned in my first instructors course. One person goes to the
middle of a circle of kayakers and flips over. Immediately after the other
appointed person points to a kayaker and says "you go". The object here is
a smooth eskimo rescue - no crunched fingers, no panicking, no flipping on
the part of the rescuer. Often times the flipped person needs to roll up
as the rescue just doesn't come quickly enough, or the rescuer tips in
the process.

The same can happen in an assisted rescue if the rescuers skills
maneuvering their boat aren't great, or if they can't control the rescuees
boat...or...they don't go into command mode and get the person out of the
water quickly. Of course our water is 40-some degrees...

I also asked one of the people who assists me in teaching. He is an ACA
certified instructor and a BCA coach - he says:

My most recent 5 star training emphasized 1) speed and 2) injury
prevention.
We were expected to use whatever style or method was most appropriate for
the
circumstances (person, boat design, environment). - Bill McKenzie



Andree Hurley - http://www.viewit.com/
  Viewit Dot Com - Websites for Specialty Businesses 
	On Water Sports, Kayaking Resources  - http://www.onwatersports.com
		-Now selling the Garmin GPS and Accessories-

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