Re: [Paddlewise] Capsized Canoeist

On Mon, Oct 09, 2000 at 10:05:37AM -0400, Rick Sylvia wrote:
> In the capsized coneist thread....what's a "strainer"???

It's a collection of branches/brush/trees/debris that has accumulated
in a river.  They're usually found along the outside of bends in the
stream (because that's where the current deposits them).

They're called strainers because they allow water to pass through
but not solid objects...like you or your boat.  Therefore they present
a nasty hazard to paddlers, because it can be hard to escape them against
the full force of the current.

If you're in your boat, the easiest way to avoid a strainer is to paddle
to the inside of the turn -- presuming that it's on the outside.  But
wherever it is, you *do not* want to be upstream of it.  If you can't
avoid it, then lean into it (because it you lean upstream, you will
instantly flip and be pinned against it), and if you can climb out of
your boat, then do so -- get up on top of it, even if that means watching
your boat disappear under you.

If you're swimming, this is one of those places where the "float on your
back, feet downstream rule" gets tossed.   Turn over, and swim sideways
in the current HARD in order to try to avoid it.  You're probably better
off swimming an entire rapid (assuming you have a properly-fitting PFD)
than messing with a strainer.

If contact with a strainer is unavoidable, then turn over, face it,
swim toward it aggressively (because you need to be moving faster than
the current) and CLIMB for all you're worth.  As soon as your hands make
contact you need to be pulling yourself up, before your lower body gets
swept under the strainer and pinned.

If you are a rescuer standing by with a throwbag, it's always good to
keep in your mind where these hazards are.  Questions like "if I hit
X with a throwbag at this point in the rapid, and start pulling them
in, will I be trying to pull them directly upstream of a strainer?"
need to be answered *before* you make the throw.

---Rsk
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