ralph diaz wrote: > > He wondered what would have been his best course of action in trying to > deal with 2 non-PFDed panicking people in the water and who did not know > how to swim...... > Do not get close to the panicky fellows in the water. They will only > pull you over. I would amend this to "Do not let them grab your cockpit, lest they pull you over." But I can give one person my bow and still keep him 8 feet away from me. If he tries to climb up, backpaddle. As someone has already observed, giving someone your bow or stern (I prefer bow, so I can keep an eye on them) is standard practice in WW rescues. Now they're only 4 feet away (used to be 6 in the old days), but I've never had a problem doing it. I'm not above whacking someone with a paddle if necessary, either. > > While making certain that you are not near them, tip over your kayak and > fall out. Rescue Rule Number One states "Do not create another victim." Purposely exiting violates this rule. IMO, exiting in this situation is dumb. The other suggestions of tossing out flotation are good ones. I'm not sure I'd offer my PFD, though. Steve *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced/forwarded outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Thu Aug 17 2000 - 14:03:59 PDT
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