Re: [Paddlewise] Memorial Weekend paddle adventures/rescue scenario

Did  anyone have any memorable kayak trips over the Memorial weekend?  I  was
on-call for my job so wasn't able to leave town.
 
Memorable? Oh yes. We paddled Cape Flattery, Washington State, over the  
weekend, camping at Hobuck Beach on the Makah Reservation. We took trips to  
Tatoosh Island and the following day to Shi Shi beach. Conditions were good for  
the most part, though we did perform a rescue, of which I'll detail in a moment. 
 We launched in small surf off Hobuck and rounded Waatch Point, the north 
side of  Makah Bay. As we progressed along the Cape Flattery shoreline we ducked 
in and  out of rock and reef gardens, chutes and sea caves. The caves along 
flattery are  spectacular. In one of them we managed to get all of us into it 
and marvelled at  the high ceilings and multiple entrances and exits. The swells 
were only about 4  feet but quick with 8 second periods. The breeze was 
fairly steady to about 15  knots and added some wind waves to the swells and 
clapotis.
 
After a quick lunch on a pocket beach on the cape we paddled over to  Tatoosh 
Island. On the west side between Tatoosh and little Tatoosh we saw big  
colonies of Stellar Sea Lions. A couple of cranky bulls, the size of my car,  dove 
in to yell and moan at us, hastening our departure. Paddling back across  the 
channel, aptly named Hole in the Wall, the breeze picked up and raised up a  
short choppy sea with a decreasing ebb current still opposed to the breeze. 
 
We ran into another group of paddlers returning to Hobuck of whom a couple  I 
knew. This is when things changed for the worse. Along Waatch Point we  
threaded through a rock garden with following seas, studded by boomers. There  was 
a clear path but timing, as always is essential. Of the 4 in their group I  
knew *J* and J2* but not really anyone else. Our group cleared the garden and I  
turned to see the others come through. *J* yelled out BOATER OVER... SWIMMER! 
Uh  oh, not a good place for that.
 
*J* managed to be on scene first and had the boat up over the deck to  dump 
it. I yelled for everyone else to hold their position and face out to sea.  I 
yelled to *S* to get a line on the free boat to hold it off the cliffs. The  
boats were bucking in the surge and getting awfully close to the  rocks. *S's* 
towline was not ready and at 35 feet it was too long for where  we were, so I 
snapped my 15 foot line to *J's* kayak. I do not like  connecting to a rescuer 
as they need to be more mobile but it was all that could  be done at the time. 
I headed over to the opening and pulled *J* and *K* as far  from the rocks as 
I could without standing over the boomers. I then yelled to  get *K* in the 
boat. No response. It was a bit noisy and folks were  nervous, so I yelled 
again to get *K* in the boat. Still, *K* was not  in the boat. Hmmmm. Water had 
began infiltrating the boat again.The swells  coming through the gap were in a 
bit of a lull so I drifted back, grabbed *K's*  coaming and had *K* get in. 
 
When the spray deck snapped on I said *skip the pumping lean onto "J's*  
kayak for support and hang on*. My line was clipped onto *K's* bow by now  and 
then the big set rolled through. Yikes! I paddled into them in an effort to  get 
whatever sea room I could in the tight confines of the garden. It was enough  
but the ride was bumpy as the swells rolled through, breaking on the boomers 
and  spilling into us. I dug in hard with the big blades and for a few dozen 
yards  the going was tough. I think I braced once or twice but only looked at 
*J* and  *K*, the whitewater and the clean green room in front. We were actually 
paddling  almost parallel to each other but eventually made it.Once there we 
took the  time to get her boat pumped out and nerves detoxed. 
 
Our groups stayed together until we landed on Hobuck and debriefed. The  
rescue was quick, it worked and no one had anything worse than hurt feelings.  *J* 
and *K* looked like typical coastal paddlers around here: Mariner or British  
kayaks, immersion apparrel, helmets, pfd's and some tow lines. That being 
said,  we can still improve somewhat. 
 
*J* was quickly on the scene, doing a full 180 and starting the T Rescue  
before anyone else got there. *J* was first in spotting the capsize. *J*  
suggested the tow line carried was not instantly deployable so it offered  no real 
benefit for this scenario. 
 
*S's* tow line was 35 feet long and its use would have stood him in the  
impact zone. *S's* clip was not instantly ready to deploy. "*S* might  benefit by 
daisy chaining the 35 foot line down to 15-20 and have a non  corrosive quick 
release clip on the line to release the daisy chain. Also, *S*  should have 
the clip out of the bag clipped onto a D ring on the belt so it can  be had fast 
when needed.
 
I suggested skipping the T part of the rescue and getting *K* back in fast  
and scooting *K* out to cleaner water then pumping out. *K's* boat, a Mariner  
Coaster with no bulkheads and 2 large fixed floatbags was adequate to allow  
that, though pumping would possibly be more arduous later.
 
I suggested I did not like clipping onto *J's* kayak to pull them off rocks  
but was all I could do at the time. *K* did not get back in the boat nearly  
as fast as needed. I think the delay was their not making the connection to  
reenter while I was pulling them off the rocks. *J* might have had better luck  
if *J* was in position to hold coaming and get *K* onto back deck and reenter  
while I was pulling. That is pure speculation, though.
 
The tow worked but was not pretty. *K* ended up slightly behind *J* and the  
line went under *J's* boat a bit. *K* held on to *J's* boat gamely by gripping 
 deck lines in back and draping over so *J* could paddle. *J* used a GP and I 
do  not know what effect it had in our forward momentum. (CONTROVERSIAL 
STATEMENT  ALERT:) I was very glad I did not have my GP as the concussive power of 
my  big blades were exactly what I needed when I need them. The GP, in my 
hands, may  not have been enough.
 
BOATER OVER rhymes with Motor Voter, Snow Blower, Body Odor, etc. CAPSIZE,  
seems less confusing to me.SWIMMER is unmistakeable.
 
I coded the names and de-gendered the text in case anyone involved wants  to 
get uninvolved. It makes for clumsier reading to which I apologize. Your  
comments appreciated.
 
Rob G
***************************************************************************
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/
***************************************************************************