[Paddlewise] Rescuing a capsized canoeist

>>
We've had a couple of canoe related fatalities this year here in the
Twin Cities. The downtown chain of lakes is a very popular with
rental canoeists. All the deaths I know of were drowning after a
dunking while not wearing a PFD.

-Patrick
>>

According to news reports, in one of these cases, a woman in a sea kayak 
tried to rescue the canoeist by first throwing him her PFD, and then 
extending her paddle to him, but the man drowned anyway. I don't know who 
the woman was, but one TV viewer reported she was paddling a stitch and 
glue kayak. It must have been traumatic watching a person die in front of 
her despite her best efforts.

Rather than throw my PFD (was she wearing it?) or extend my paddle, which 
would almost certainly guarantee a capsize, I would have maneuvered my 
kayak so the rescuee could grab the bow and hang on. In this case, even 
that might not have worked; reportedly the victim was Spanish-speaking, he 
might not have been able to follow directions in English very well. How 
would other Paddlewisers have tried to rescue this victim?

There was a similar capsize in just about the same spot a few weeks 
earlier, but in that case several members of our club (Inland Sea Kayakers) 
were nearby, and the result was much happier. I suspect one of the factors 
in the death in the first case was lack of experience in water, leading to 
panic. Recently, my wife and I took one of the doctors in her department 
out in a kayak for the first time. It was a windy, choppy day on the small 
lake we were on, and the doctor capsized when he turned to watch Linda 
roll. Fortunately, he had practiced man-overboard exercises in a sailing 
class, so he was comfortable in water. He remembered to follow Linda's 
instructions to pull the sprayskirt tab, exited cleanly, and, following my 
instructions, was able to climb back into the kayak after I emptied it in a 
T-rescue. He actually did much better without preliminary instruction than 
I have seen many people do in class. And he wants to kayak again!

Chuck Holst


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