I went through both ACA instructor training and BCU coach II training in Spring/Summer of 1998. The ACA T-rescue that we were taught involves having the swimmer actively help by moving to the stern (hand over hand down the deck lines is preferred over swimming) then with the boat still upside down they lay on the stern to sink it and swim toward the rescuer with a frog kick. This does several things it unweights the bow by sinking the stern, allows the swimmer to help keep the boat at right angles to the rescue boat, and by kicking with their legs they make it easiar for the rescuer to pull the boat towards them onto their deck. Someone on the list commented on those nasty rudder things that some people put on their boats , and how they consist of metal knives and wicked cables the can do damage to swimmers. I agree, I am a skeg paddler, but I don't want to start another skeg vs. rudder holy war on the list. In fairness to rudder paddlers with the boat upside down ACA style the risk is minimal as long as the boat is not allowed to roll right side up during the start of the rescue. A competant swimmer ensures that it does not. Advantages of the above rescue include the boat draining better as it is lifted, and there is much less work and wear and tear on the rescue boats spray skirt. The downside is that your swimmer has to be calm rational and clued in on how the rescue works. I use this with friends in our club and it goes very quickly. The BCU style assumes the worst for swimmer incompetance, and assumes they will passively hang on to the decklines in front of the rescue boat where the rescuer can keep on eye on them (in case they decide to do something annoying like climb up the rescuers body to try to perch on their head). The rescuer grabs the capsized boat and flips it right side up. This prevents the water from being drained as it is pulled up onto the deck, but if you have one of those nifty Brit-boats with the upturned bow the shape of boat allows for a ramping slope that makes it easy to drag the boat up onto the deck. You don't try to lift the boat, just pull and drag until either you have about 1/3 of it out of the water or until there are big tears in your sprayskirt (I really hate what this one does to my gear!). Then it is easy to roll the boat upside down to drain the water. If I expect the worst from the swimmer and don't know how experienced they are I would do the BCU style. If it was someone who knows the ACA style rescue I would use that one since it is easier on me and my sprayskirt and it lets the swimmer participate in the rescue. *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
In a message dated 5/9/00 11:24:13 AM Pacific Daylight Time, wanewman_at_uswest.net writes: << If I expect the worst from the swimmer and don't know how experienced they are I would do the BCU style. If it was someone who knows the ACA style rescue I would use that one since it is easier on me and my sprayskirt and it lets the swimmer participate in the rescue. >> Yes, I agree. But the question remains, which one do you teach to new paddlers? If you learn ACA and you encounter a worst case scenario where the swimmer is not able to assist, then what have got? If you learn BCU and the swimmer is able to assist, then so what? Scott So.Cal. *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
Scott wrote : [Yes, I agree. But the question remains, which one do you teach to new paddlers? If you learn ACA and you encounter a worst case scenario where the swimmer is not able to assist, then what have got? If you learn BCU and the swimmer is able to assist, then so what?] I think we are walking a thin line. The rescuer needs to be prepared for several situation depending on conditions and people's capabilities. It also appears that the BCU/ACA approaches are basically similiar. Personally I can handle a person assisting me with the rescue or securing them to the bow of my kayak. As a rescuer I must first assess the situation and direct the swimmer to take directions. I have taken BCU training for several years and have been taught (and used) several "variations" of the T-rescue. For example, righting the kayak and lifting/pulling over my cockpit before turning over the kayak to empty it of water; and, reaching down and lifting/pulling the upside down kayak to drain the water. The important thing is to be able to efficiently and safely execute a rescue in a variety of conditions. 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/ ***************************************************************************
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- *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
Andree wrote: >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 ....And that sums it up nicely in two ways: a) It makes plain good sense in the context of real-live rescues b) It illustrates that neither the BCU nor the ACA are as rigid and hidebound as some would imagine. Bob V *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
wanewman_at_uswest.net wrote: > I went through both ACA instructor training and BCU coach II > training in Spring/Summer of 1998. > > <BIG SNIP> > > The BCU style assumes the worst for swimmer incompetance, > and assumes they will passively hang on to the decklines in > front of the rescue boat where the rescuer can keep on eye > on them (in case they decide to do something annoying like > climb up the rescuers body to try to perch on their head). > The rescuer grabs the capsized boat and flips it right side > up. This prevents the water from being drained as it is > pulled up onto the deck, but if you have one of those nifty > Brit-boats with the upturned bow the shape of boat allows > for a ramping slope that makes it easy to drag the boat up > onto the deck. You don't try to lift the boat, just pull > and drag until either you have about 1/3 of it out of the > water or until there are big tears in your sprayskirt (I > really hate what this one does to my gear!). Then it is > easy to roll the boat upside down to drain the water. Just a few comments on the technique. If the capsized boat is a narrow British style boat, it can often be rolled in its side is it is slid across the rescuer's spray skirt, and the water will drain right out. No need to lift any water at all. Also, minimal damage to either boat or spray skirt. Also, in real nasty conditions, this type of rescue puts the bow of the rescuee's boat closer to hand, since the pointy upturned bow is not upside down pointing into the water. Also, in conditions where the water is surging around, the boats will be moving quite a bit relative to each other, and the rescuee can bring the bow of his righted boat to the rescuer's hand, then hang on to the rescuer's deck lines without having to move to the stern of his boat and risk loosing contact with the boats. Just a few more options for the rescuer. Regards, Dave Carlson > > > *************************************************************************** > 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/ > *************************************************************************** *************************************************************************** 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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