Shawn, Thanks for the story, and the analysis which is right on the mark. I'm glad you made it all right, as that is a scary situation. A couple of questions for you though... what kayak were you paddling, and did you tell the swimmer to kick? If you were in a shorter playboat, it is extremely difficult to gain hull speed enough to tow a swimmer. However, if the swimmer kicks hard, their body rises to the surface and becomes much easier to tow. Also, the kicking does add a little forward motion, but the main benefit is their body lifting and reducing drag. When I rescue swimmers, I am yelling at them to kick like mad. The difference in speed is significant. Cheers, Kevin *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Mon Jun 03 2002 - 21:35:13 PDT
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