RE: [Paddlewise] Hand of God rescue, sharks and dolphins

Scott Hilliard said
> In twenty years of teaching sea kayaking I have probably performed every
> conceivable variation of rescue countless times. But I don't really
> consider the instructional environment to be the same thing as doing it
> in "real" conditions. Just my opinion. That said, I'm all about the
> practice :-)
> 

Scott,

I agree with you completely. Most of my real life rescues have been at
practice sessions. When we're out in rough conditions, the paddlers who are
out with us, are the ones who can handle the conditions. It's the noobies in
the practice sessions that always scare me.

At one session, we had a couple of guys show up after everybody was already
on the water. I didn't get a chance to check their boat for floatation bags
(it didn't have bulkheads) before they started practicing wet exits. The
next thing I know, I looked their way and saw the boat in a Cleopatra's
Needles position. I never had to perform a rescue on one in that position
before, and it was a real education for me. It took two of us to get the
boat emptied and floating again. By this time, there was no argument when I
suggested they observe from the beach until they installed float bags.

Steve Holtzman
 

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