Does helping stranded critters count? So far I have rescued a very frigid garter snake and a hypothermic mouse from the base of the sandstone cliffs in the Apostle Islands along the Squaw Bay sea caves. The snake I just slide under my paddle jacket on the deck until he warmed up and he then hit the beach no worse for the 40 degree water temps. The mouse needed more encouragement. I slipped the beast into my day hatch on the old Romany and then made a nice hot little tent on the beach out of a black paddle float. After a quick warming and some chocalate flavor "Gu" brand energy gel - food only for the most desperate of creatures.... he charged off into the bush. On the local inland lakes I have give a sailboat a tow to their mooring bouy as a favor, and we once righted an inverted sailboat after a violent thunderstorm, but no one was there to thank us. Bill Newman *************************************************************************** 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 5/3/00 11:36:40 PM Pacific Daylight Time, dlloyd_at_telus.net writes: << There must be some other good stories out there about paddlers who have serendipitously come along to aid some stricken soul. How about sharing some more positives? Please feed Dougie. >> Doug and All, A couple of years ago a couple of friends and I paddled straight out into the ocean about 5 miles in thick fog. Of course, we used our compasses to guide us out and back. Along the way back, our solitude was disturbed by the rumbling of a loud motor going very slowly. It turned out to be one of those $100,000 cigarette racing boats. The guy in it came up to us and asked which way back to the harbor. In the thick fog, we pointed him in the right direction. Duane Strosaker Southern California *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
>From: Mr Doug Lloyd <dlloyd_at_telus.net> SNIP The report >the other day about the kayaker rescuing a swimmer has given me a >positive focus amidst the negativity of accident investigation work. I >just can't let go of that positive affirmation indicated through the >Kelowna lake incident that John posted. There must be some other good >stories out there about paddlers who have serendipitously come along to >aid some stricken soul. How about sharing some more positives? Please >feed Dougie. SNIP Hi Doug, I think I've mentioned these two incidents over the years on the list, but they may be fresh to newer PaddleWisers, (and I claim the privilege of an "old salt" to bore the drypants off the newer folks with "Did I ever tell you about the time…?"): 1. About a decade ago on I was winter paddling on Lake Ontario. 2-3 foot breaking waves, air temperature low enough that I had to periodically chip destabilizing ice from the front and rear deck. In the distance out to sea I saw what I thought was a fellow kayaker. As I approached, it turned out to be a dismasted wind surfer, attempting to paddle back to shore with only his bare mast. The wind was driving him past a point after which land would have been unreachably far away. With a combination of me towing, and him paddling with my spare paddle, we paddled on a ferry angle, reaching shore just as he was becoming semi-conscious with hypothermia. A buddy of his had noticed his street clothes in his car, and had alerted the emergency response folks, so we were greeted by ambulances and firemen. One of the firemen, not clear that I was an assister rather than an assistee, thought I was delirious with cold and tried to prevent me from putting back out to sea. 2. In the Broken Islands Group, I encountered a pair of goose-neck barnacle harvesters who had anchored their skiff off a reef, then run the boat ashore, casting it off again with a line from the boat to the shore so that the breakers would not beat the boat to pieces on the rock. They lost the line from ship to shore, and were lucky that my paddling buddy happened to be looking their way as they fired their only flare. The current round the reef was so strong I couldn't straighten out the line from the boat enough to reach the reef again, so I put a bolan in the end of it, clipped in my throw/tow line and got it to the stranded fishermen on the second try. They then hauled in their boat. (In the course of this, I had to approach the reef close enough that I put a scrape in the gelcoat in my kayak, which I consider an honourable battle scar.)From where my buddy and I camped that night, we could see the tide completely cover the reef. The boaters had Mustang suits, but they would not have been able to swim in them, and the currents and wind were running out to sea. 3. Just last year, one of the two folks I was with on a trip in the Gulf Islands had pulled his kayak ashore to ah, pump his personal bilges, when he was hailed by a passing sailboat, which wanted to know "What island is this?" (translation: "Where the hell are we?"). I'm accustomed to giving directions to tourists in the city, but at sea? Though at the moment I have what might be considered a "credit balance" in the assistance given/assistance taken books, I don't get smug about it; that could change on my next trip. I know I've gotten myself in situations where it was good luck rather than good management that got me through, and I was a hair's breadth away from needing help from others. Though not all other boaters see me that way, I try to consider myself and the other boaters as all part of the brotherhood and sisterhood of the sea. Philip Torrens N49°16' W123°06' (PS Welcome back to the list Doug, and when did you become a "Mr" - getting formal in your old age?) ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
>> From: Mr Doug Lloyd <dlloyd_at_telus.net> > SNIP The report >> the other day about the kayaker rescuing a swimmer has given me a >> positive focus amidst the negativity of accident investigation work. I >> just can't let go of that positive affirmation indicated through the >> Kelowna lake incident that John posted. There must be some other good >> stories out there about paddlers who have serendipitously come along to >> aid some stricken soul. How about sharing some more positives? Please >> feed Dougie. > SNIP > About two years ago, my wife and I were in a park in Seattle along the coast. I don't remember the name of the park, but the coastline had high rocky cliffs. As my wife and I were watching the water, we observed a small motor boat that had engine failure and the boat with several passengers was drifting toward the rocky coastline. I told my wife to stay and watch while I went to find a phone to call the coast guard. While I was away making the phone call, two maybe three? kayakers came to assist the disabled vessel. The kayakers were setting up to tow him by the time I returned. As I recall, another small motor boat observed the activity and provided the tow that actually towed the disabled boat to the nearby marina. The boat got assistance before it ended up on the rocks... and before the coast guard arrived. Robert *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
Kayaks actually work quite well for doing rescue tows of larger boats, the only headache (other than it's slow work) is that with the bigger boats you need to plan how you're going to get out of the way before you start towing (and keep in mind that once you get a larger vessel moving they'll tend to steer you from behind) - I probably tow 3-5 boats - usually motor boats - a year back to a dock or an anchorage, the biggest was a 38 foot wooden sailboat in Salmon Bay on Lake Union in Seattle and the weirdest was giving a sailor a ride to shore on the back deck of my kayak off of Orcas Island to land at Doe Bay (The sailor was a large woman, and I asked her to sit on the deck with her feet on the water, but she stood up instead - talk about feeling tippy). The dumbest I did was towing a sailboat back to the nearset boat launch and forgetting that the bridge we had to go under was too low, something about the mast hitting the bridge not helping things. The fun part with rescueing larger boats is that it not only gets them to the point of thinking of kayaks as something more then annoying toys that get in their way, but also the psychological games you can play since they don't believe you can actually move their boat, you tend to get incredible cheering from the kids while dad is saying it can't be done. -----Original Message----- From: owner-paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net [mailto:owner-paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net]On Behalf Of Robert C. Cline Sent: Thursday, May 04, 2000 3:23 PM To: PaddleWise_at_lists.intelenet.net Cc: Doug Lloyd Subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Kayakers helping others >> From: Mr Doug Lloyd <dlloyd_at_telus.net> > SNIP The report >> the other day about the kayaker rescuing a swimmer has given me a >> positive focus amidst the negativity of accident investigation work. I >> just can't let go of that positive affirmation indicated through the >> Kelowna lake incident that John posted. There must be some other good >> stories out there about paddlers who have serendipitously come along to >> aid some stricken soul. How about sharing some more positives? Please >> feed Dougie. > SNIP > About two years ago, my wife and I were in a park in Seattle along the coast. I don't remember the name of the park, but the coastline had high rocky cliffs. As my wife and I were watching the water, we observed a small motor boat that had engine failure and the boat with several passengers was drifting toward the rocky coastline. I told my wife to stay and watch while I went to find a phone to call the coast guard. While I was away making the phone call, two maybe three? kayakers came to assist the disabled vessel. The kayakers were setting up to tow him by the time I returned. As I recall, another small motor boat observed the activity and provided the tow that actually towed the disabled boat to the nearby marina. The boat got assistance before it ended up on the rocks... and before the coast guard arrived. Robert *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
Phil wrote... >... hailed by a passing sailboat, which wanted to know "What island is >this?" (translation: "Where the hell are we?"). I'm accustomed to giving >directions to tourists in the city, but at sea? This made me recall a 2nd hand story. A friend was boating out of Moss Landing (near Santa Cruz, CA) and was about 10 miles offshore in heavy fog. He was fishing. He chanced upon another boat and heard about the same question -- "Do you have any idea which way back to Santa Cruz?" He told them to hold a heading of 30 degrees and they would get there. "30 degrees? Which way is that?" Apparently they had set out with no charts and no compass. jerry. *************************************************************************** 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 5/5/00 6:30:13 AM, vaughan_at_jps.net writes: << I once towed a jet skier back to the dock (wasn't very far) when his engine quit. Is that a bad thing? >> The Karma Police will be confused over this one. Will this now attract jet skiers to you like so many flies or will they pay homage from afar ?? Inquiring minds want to know! Jed *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
-----Original Message----- > From: Jerry Hawkins [mailto:jhawkins_at_cisco.com] snip -- "Do > you have any idea which way back to Santa Cruz?" He told > them to hold a heading of 30 degrees and they would get > there. "30 degrees? Which way is that?" Apparently they > had set out with no charts and no compass. > Last summer while returning from a multiday fishing/skiff trip I encountered a solo kayaker about 25 miles south of Juneau. He waved his arms and I slowly approached - he didn't speak English very well and my Swedish(?) isn't very good, but I eventually understood that he wanted to know whether the inlet a mile distant was Tracy Arm - I told him no, that it was another 20 or so miles further and then, reconsidering, gave him my chart. Dave Seng Juneau, Alaska *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
I had an interesting experience in the fog also. I launched at the downtown marina which is protected from the bay by a long rock breakwater. Visibility was only 10 to 20 yards. I paddled right next to the concrete pier walls and then at the closest point to the breakwater (I could see it), I sprinted across and got right up against the rocks. Powerboats and sailboats stay well away from the breakwater since it is shallow and the rocks have spread out underwater in a few spots. I was just going to paddle back and forth down the mile of breakwater until the fog cleared or I got bored. I reached the channel opening through the breakwater and stopped to get a drink of water. As I was sitting there I heard voices. A few mintues later I could just barely make out a sailboat coming my way. From the conversation it was clear that they were having trouble finding the exit to the bay. I heard a woman say something like "There's the bouy turn to the right." . The only problem was it was the wrong bouy and they were headed right for me. I was safe since I was sitting on a wide flat in about 6 in of water just off the channel, but they were in danger of running aground pretty quickly. I still could not actually see the people on board but clearly heard the continuing conversation concerning which direction to take. So I yelled "Wrong bouy. Go to your left. Go to your left". There was this sudden silence. I could just imagine them thinking "Who or what is out there?" I yelled again and this time the woman's voice repeated my directions. A couple of minutes later they passed by in mid-channel and I waved. I think they were as happy to find out where the VOICE had come from as they were to find the exit to the bay. Mark J. Arnold MJAkayaker_at_aol.com *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
Bob on the Bayside wrote; >I once towed a jet skier back to the dock (wasn't very far) when his engine >quit. >Is that a bad thing? > I would say no, that is not a bad thing, Bob. Thanks to you that jet skier can now live to fix his engine and maybe help one of us out one day. Arthur Hebert With several jet ski buddies and one who has the option to paddle where there is no jet skies if he wants to. *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
OK, this isn't really a rescue scenario, but I think this story fits loosely into the category of kayakers helping others. Some years ago I was paddling along the local So.Cal. coast alone in the early morning. For whatever reason I choose to briefly land through the surf on a fairly deserted beach. When I again launched I was greeted on the water by a lobster fisherman. It would seem that the local lifeguard had returned several traps that had washed up on the beach to this fisherman, who wanted to return the favor by presenting the lifeguard with a large lobster. The only problem was the fisherman couldn't land through the rather sizable surf. Having witnessed my landing, he asked me if I could deliver the bug for him. "Sure" I replied. So he handed me a rather large "live" lobster, which was probably in the six to eight pound range. Without thinking I opened my sprayskirt and threw it into the cockpit with me, and then head to shore. I immediately became aware of the fact that I was in bare feet and shorts as this California "spiny" lobster let me know that it was not happy with it's accommodations. I paddled furiously to shore and drove the boat right up onto the beach where I sprang from the cockpit like I had springs on my seat! Then I delivered the lobster. 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/ ***************************************************************************
wanewman_at_uswest.net wrote: > Does helping stranded critters count? [...] Now that's a rescue!!! Mike PS - I would have sent the cigarette boat in the direction of Hawaii and towed the jet ski to a rock garden in a gale. *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
Dave Seng said: > Last summer while returning from a multiday fishing/skiff trip I >encountered a solo kayaker about 25 miles south of Juneau. He waved his >arms and I slowly approached - he didn't speak English very well and my >Swedish(?) isn't very good, but I eventually understood that he wanted to >know whether the inlet a mile distant was Tracy Arm - I told him no, that >it was another 20 or so miles further and then, reconsidering, gave him my >chart. (snipping done) When I was paddling down from Bella Bella last April with the other two fellows, we had just finished a crossing of Smith Sound, between Kelp Head and Cape Caution. This sound is notorious for open swell, wind and wind-waves that break due to the steepening conditions. A light plane buzzed overhead during the crossing of the sound, then buzzed us closer a bit later when we attempted to pull into Indian Cove (where gale force winds were blowing us offshore). The next day was the Storm Island crossing, which we didn't complete due to a conspiracy of tides, gales, circumstances and poor planning. I phoned a number of North Island kayak tour operators a month after the rescue to find out if anybody knew about the persistent "net" ebb we had encountered. I also called one fellow who runs a year 'round water taxi service (the one we were supposed to call if we couldn't make it across once nearer to Port Hardy on the mainland side) does mothership tours during the summer -- and also flies a float plane. He put two and two together, and realized I was one of the three paddlers he had seen crossing Smith Sound that short time back. He could absolutely not believe anyone would or could be out paddling in those conditions that day. This led to a discussion about paddler awareness, competency, preparedness, and other issues - he was all over this one! As a kayaker, industry-involved businessman/skipper, pilot, and long-term resident of the North, he expressed grave concerns over the number of unprepared paddlers he encounters in increasing numbers every year, headed up the inside passage or out to the Haki wilderness area. While he admitted conditions are obviously much better during the regular season than those we had encountered in early spring, low pressure systems still move through the area with some frequency, and fog (with associated wind still present) is almost guaranteed in summer too. He went on to relate a number of experiences that he is finding all too common in that remote wilderness area. The one I most vividly remember him describing involved a young paddler with a foreign accent. Apparently he had been lost for about two days in sea fog, which usually can persist in the area for a couple of days until dryer winds clear the fog out. The pilot was flying over Smith Sound, about the time the fog was starting to break up. The sea surface was getting choppy. Through a break in the fog, the pilot saw a flare go off. He circled back and figured he better land on the water while he still could, though the paddler did not appear too in distress. He shut down the props just as the paddler pulled up. The young man was very agitated. He was having difficulty finding the fishing camp in Rivers Inlet (one whole sound back!), and was basically lost. The paddler had no charts - just a BC Ferries' brochure with a schematic overview lacking any detail. I don't remember the rest of the details, but suffice it to say, the pilot was absolutely dumfounded (at least the paddler had a flare). The man I spoke with on the phone said though it was against Canadian federal laws, he carried a cockpit mounted VHF radio in the plane and monitored channel 16, as well as one of the local chit-chat channels, as all too often someone ill prepared was having difficulty. This concurs with what the Coast Guard told us three paddlers after rescue, namely that we were just the tip of the iceberg up there in terms of paddlers needing assistance. The CG recently pulled another dead body, partially decomposed, from the area -- which they suspect to be a missing paddler from a while ago. A few years ago, most people canoed a lot more, and more canoes were on the water in less remote, difficult areas. If winds did come up, or other difficulties presented themselves, you simply got off the water fast. Expert canoeists went a little longer, kneeling down when things got a bit rough. The modern day sea kayaker has a vessel that is so much more well suited to the vagaries associated with waterborne travel. But it is also so easy to paddle into conditions way over one's current skill level or level of preparedness. Sea kayaking is a safe, fun sport, but you really need to know what you are doing, and work diligently at the soft and hard skills requisite. I really hope there is a resurgence in canoes over the next decade, as that is a sufficient craft for a large majority of the population, and is less enticing a vessel to get into trouble with. Anyway, my own unbalancing hypocrisy is casing me to tumble off my soap box, so I'll eddie-out now before mixing any more metaphores. BC'in Ya Doug Lloyd *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
Boy, talk about a dilemna.... I suppose you did the right thing in helping ;- ) I'm just not sure I would have the courage to admit to the deed........ .Hal -----Original Message----- From: BaysideBob [SMTP:vaughan_at_jps.net] Sent: den 5 maj 2000 06:38 To: Paddlewise (E-mail) Subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Kayakers helping others I once towed a jet skier back to the dock (wasn't very far) when his engine quit. Is that a bad thing? Bob *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
Would have been very impressive though if you left out the bit about the engine quitting... Hal Christiansen wrote: > > Boy, talk about a dilemna.... > > I suppose you did the right thing in helping ;- ) > I'm just not sure I would have the courage to admit to the deed........ > > .Hal > > -----Original Message----- > From: BaysideBob [SMTP:vaughan_at_jps.net] > > I once towed a jet skier back to the dock (wasn't very far) when his engine > quit. > Is that a bad thing? > > Bob > -- : : Gabriel L Romeu : http://studiofurniture.com furniture from the workshop : http://members.xoom.com/gabrielR life as a tourist, daily journal : http://users.aol.com/romeugp paintings, photographs, etchings, objects *************************************************************************** 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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