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From: <HTERVORT_at_aol.com> subject: Re: [Paddlewise] RFI Another rescue book + rescue question Date: Tue, 2 Oct 2001 19:21:10 EDT · This archive was generated by hypermail 2.4.0 : Thu Aug 21 2025 - 16:33:23 PDT

In a message dated 10/1/01 4:39:29 PM Pacific Daylight Time, 
uhoeger_at_is.dal.ca writes:

> 
>  Has anybody checked it (John Lull's new book) out and could give us a 
first subjective 
>  opinion?
>  
>  I bought Sea Kayak Rescue: The Definitive Guide to Modern 
>  Reentry and Recovery Techniques by Roger Schumann and Jan 
>  Shriner a couple of months ago, after a very positive review posted 
>  on paddlewise.  I like it a lot and highly recommend it.
>  Now, barely 5 month later there is another book entirely dedicated 
>  to this topic.  Redundancy or additional wisdom? 

Ulli and all,

If one is looking for very concise and clear explanations of re-entries and 
rescues, I think that Roger and Jan's book is superior by far in that area.  
I'd expected more from John, but I feel he was too verbose in some areas, 
while not adequately explaining some very basic things like how to perform a 
controlled wet exit.

I have not finished John's book yet, and I am looking forward to the sections 
on rough water paddling.  I hope that will make the book worth buying.

AND, just when you thought it was safe to place your order --

Wayne Horodowich has released his very excellent pair of videos on re-entries 
and rescues.  This is another must-have.  Superbly done.  Great videography 
shows above and below-water shots of the demonstrations.  www.useakayak.org

And while I'm notalurking --

All of the above sources, along with the ACA I understand, teach the T Rescue 
with the swimmer going to the stern of their boat and assisting the rescuer 
by pushing down on the stern during the boat lift.  I personally have 
described this method to my students for some years as a less-desirable 
variation to only be used when the rescuer is weak or otherwise unable to 
perform the bow lift.  But I really dislike it for general-use for a few 
reasons.

The countdown of the four most important reasons I see to avoid this rescue 
variation:

4.  The bow of the boat can be difficult to handle in rough seas and less 
stabilizing for the rescuer.
3.  It is easier for the swimmer to lose contact with his boat in high seas 
than if he were holding onto the deck lines of the rescuer's boat.
2.  If in cold water, it requires the swimmer to move around in the water 
more than is prudent for prevention of hypothermia.
1.  It puts the swimmer on the rudder which can easily cut, stab and entrap 
the swimmer.

With regard to number 4:  In Wayne's video, he has his wife use this 
variation to rescue him in flat water.  It is the first time she has tried 
the rescue (which is a good touch for the vid since it demonstrates that a 
neophyte can rescue you, provided you give them proper verbal directions).  
When (big) Wayne pushes down on the stern, the bow squirts up out of her 
control and at one point you hear the bow "bonk" the helmet she is wearing.  
How well could she have controlled the bow in rough seas if this is the 
result in flat water?

With regard to number 1:  I have a cut which is just healing, which came from 
the rudder of a boat when I was attempting a "fancy flip" to drain the water 
during a solo reentry.  As I pushed down on the stern and rolled the boat, 
the rudder got me -- just exactly like I always tell my students it will.  
Again, this was in flat water.

I'd love to hear some discussion of this.  I know that such esteemed 
colleagues don't adopt a method without long consideration, but I don't 
understand the appeal of this method.  Obviously, most will say that it makes 
the lift easier, but I've only had a handful of students in 9 years of 
teaching re-entries that have not been able to lift the boat.  And for those, 
there are other methods of lifting (many of which have appeared in this 
forum) which will work for them in flat seas (although I don't believe most 
of those methods are easily  performed by new paddlers).  But there is still 
the right, reenter, and pump method, which works for everyone in calm or 
rougher waters.

So, what are the real reasons why I should learn to love this variation??

Inquiring minds. . .

Harold  

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