Remember that rescue scenario involving two non-swimmers drowning? Of course, you do, it raised a lot of heat!!! :-) Here is a postscript of a sorts from yesterday. A woman jumped into the Hudson in almost the exact same spot as where the two fellows drowned. She was an apparent attempted suicide. Just south of there, construction works were building a new pier (part of a park extension and Donald Trump's contribution in line with his massive apartment complex going up nearby). They spotted her and threw her a life jacket or life ring. She at first refused to grab it but then did. One of the construction workers was then lowered on a rope by his co-workers and swam to her. He hung on to her until the harbor police arrived. From photos he was brawny and she was quite small. A prescript: Back in the early 1990s I was on a round-Manhattan kayak trip. We were on the Hudson passing in front of 125th St. when people up on the pier started shouting and pointing out that someone was in the water. We thought it was just a prank and all I could see was what looked like a coconut floating until a face suddenly appeared as well. I took it for some NY crazie and hesitated to go in with my single kayak. But right next to me were two strapping brothers in a double Klepper. I sent them in for the rescue on the theory that they had a real stable boat and with two of them could deal with some one who might go nuts on them. It turned out the person was quite small. How small? The paddler in the back was able to pick him up by the back of his shirt and hold him high like a fisherman deciding whether to keep this particular catch or not. Before they grabbed him, the man had kept trying to swim away from them and submerge himself into the water. The back paddler threw him between them on his spraydeck and they paddled back against the current to a small beach where we could already hear sirens and ambulances coming. One of our other paddlers had a cell phone and had placed the 911 call. This was almost a decade ago, when cell phones were a rarity. He had managed to rent one for the trip so that his family could follow us around the island taking pictures and bringing him fruit. I could overhear his conversation with the 911 dispatcher. "Emergency, we have a drowing victim on the Hudson River and need assistance. I am in a kayak on the Hudson at 125th St....Yes, really I am!!! This is no hoax!! I am in a kayak!! Don't hang up!!! My name is X X, I live at YYY, my SS number is xxxxxxx" I almost fell out of my kayak with laughter over the interchange between them. Nowadays sometimes if some one is doing a rescue or rolling class, dozens of skaters and bicycling passerbys get on their cell phones and call 911. The poor practicioner rolls up to a surprising close up view of the hull of a police boat!!! ralph diaz -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Ralph Diaz . . . Folding Kayaker newsletter PO Box 0754, New York, NY 10024 Tel: 212-724-5069; E-mail: rdiaz_at_ix.netcom.com "Where's your sea kayak?"----"It's in the bag." ----------------------------------------------------------------------- *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
In a message dated 8/24/00 3:52:07 PM !!!First Boot!!!, rdiaz_at_ix.netcom.com writes: << Nowadays sometimes if some one is doing a rescue or rolling class, dozens of skaters and bicycling passerbys get on their cell phones and call 911. The poor practicioner rolls up to a surprising close up view of the hull of a police boat!!! >> Shouldn't the local authorities be notified prior to such a class? Might not limited resources be diverted from a person that is truly in need? Bruce McC WEO *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
> << Nowadays sometimes if some one is doing a rescue or rolling class, > dozens of skaters and bicycling passerbys get on their cell phones and > call 911. The poor practicioner rolls up to a surprising close up view > of the hull of a police boat!!! >> > > Shouldn't the local authorities be notified prior to such a class? > Might not limited resources be diverted from a person that is truly in need? > I agree they should for a class. But there is a difference between the Coast Guard and the Police. It is fairly easy to call the Coast Guard to alert them at the Vessel Traffic Service, which can be reached by VHF radio or a phone call and avoid getting the Coasties out unnecessarily. I am not certain about the police and EMS. I don't think 911 is set up to reserve non-emergencies in their computer. So a call to 911 would alert squad cars, fire dept and ems and the harbor police. The latter might know about the rolling class going on if they follow VTS alerts but the other emergency units might not. In one incident an individual was practicing her rolling alone. I doubt if she would have thought to alert the authorities. We also have had incidents in which a public program kayak goes over in the Downtown Boathouse embayment. While our volunteers were effecting the rescue, some body called 911 on a cell phone. Park police, city police, ambulances etc. all showed up. I rather that they come than not come because a call may be for a real emergency instead of one under control. But still.... The problem is with the public and cell phones. Some people have itchy dialing fingers and go for 911 without thinking. If you see a group of kayaks around and one is over, a person should wait and observe the scene for a second where they can realize that the situation is under control. If a bunch of kayakers are around and one of them is overboard and the setting is instructional, a person should be observant enough to see it is not an emergency. On Sunday as our group of kayak escorts were working their way down river to where the NYC swim event was to start, one of our kayakers went over in the extremely rough conditions we were experiencing. We quickly went to help her get back in her boat in less than a minute. But we were directly in front of the World Financial Center with hundreds of people watching. I was crossing my fingers that no itchy 911 fingers were thumping away. Luckily no one did or the authorities, keyed into the upcoming swim event, were more selective in alerts and responses. ralph diaz -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Ralph Diaz . . . Folding Kayaker newsletter PO Box 0754, New York, NY 10024 Tel: 212-724-5069; E-mail: rdiaz_at_ix.netcom.com "Where's your sea kayak?"----"It's in the bag." ----------------------------------------------------------------------- *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
At 10:19 AM 8/24/00 -0700, ralph diaz wrote: ><snip> >Nowadays sometimes if some one is doing a rescue or rolling class, >dozens of skaters and bicycling passerbys get on their cell phones and >call 911. The poor practicioner rolls up to a surprising close up view >of the hull of a police boat!!! Yeah, no kidding. It happened to me once near the 520 floating bridge between Seattle and Bellevue. It was a clear winter day with high winds, and my friend and I were practicing cold water rescues in the clapotis near the bridge (more than 100yds away though as required by law). Near the end, we decided to do a double rescue and switch boats. By the time we finished pumping out, we watched amusedly as a small police boat made its way over to us. The boat was having extreme difficulty negotiating the extremely rough water. When he reached us, he was anything but amused... PO'd to the max, he chewed us out for making him work so hard for nothing. No doubt the drivers on the bridge had called 911 with a story about kayakers drowning. Kevin Kevin Whilden Your Planet Earth http://www.yourplanetearth.org (206) 788-0281 (ph) (206) 788-0284 (f) *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
In a message dated 8/24/00 4:41:03 PM, rdiaz_at_ix.netcom.com writes: << The problem is with the public and cell phones. Some people have itchy dialing fingers and go for 911 without thinking. If you see a group of kayaks around and one is over, a person should wait and observe the scene for a second where they can realize that the situation is under control. If a bunch of kayakers are around and one of them is overboard and the setting is instructional, a person should be observant enough to see it is not an emergency. >> Agreed, but I'm not so sure that the non-paddling public nor the non-paddling police are savvy enough to know the difference. Still a call to the cops might save them the hassle and expense of saving us from ourselves. I to believe that the 911 system does not have the ability to reserve non-emergency's but sooner or later they will either legislate some solution or extend their response time to limit the false calls. I just happy that we have a secluded location to practice our rescue skills. So far we have had no false alarms. Jed *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
In a message dated 8/24/00 4:44:44 PM !!!First Boot!!!, rdiaz_at_ix.netcom.com writes: << In one incident an individual was practicing her rolling alone. I doubt if she would have thought to alert the authorities. >> Isn't this very dangerous? Practicing rolls alone? Wouldn't this definitely be a good time to let someone know what you were doing? << Nowadays sometimes if some one is doing a rescue or rolling class, > dozens of skaters and bicycling passerbys get on their cell phones and > call 911. The poor practicioner rolls up to a surprising close up view > of the hull of a police boat!!! >> I did not notice the "Nowadays sometimes if" lead of your original post. I thought that you were suggesting that this happened. <> As to your, " I agree ...but" response, you did say that it was a rolling class didn't you? I'm sorry, I forgot that it was a "Nowadays sometimes if" scenario. People that are planning a class should notify local authorities. Authorities being whomever may be called upon to respond. Paddlers planning on practicing solo should let someone know their intentions. If you were to slip a disk or pull a muscle while practicing solo, it might prove disastrous. Recommended number of paddlers is three or more for safety. It's like "the boy who cried wolf" in reverse. If we don't call them (because we don't need them) and they still come (because they think that we need them), then, when we really need them, they may think that we are just practicing (and not respond). Disclaimer Expert, advanced paddlers paddle at times without the "safety nets" of PFDs and partners. Most paddlers should not. Bruce McC WEO *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
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