Whoops, that should have been a search box of 300m not 30m All the best, PeterO ________________________________ From: owner-paddlewise_at_paddlewise.net on behalf of rebyl_kayak Sent: Thu 2/07/2009 9:02 PM To: pdh_at_mmcl.co.nz; PaddleWise_at_paddlewise.net Cc: Craig Jungers Subject: RE: [Paddlewise] How long would you wait - (was Kayaks and Visibility) Peter >In response to your 'a scenario and a question' - great exercise. >May I try it on our club leaders sometime ? G'Day Paul, Craig, Doug and Paddlewise. Paul please do and I'd love to hear what they come up with. Impressed with the quick response. Just returned from work and put together my version. Quickly scanned the three plans so far submitted but haven't read in detail and haven't incorporated ideas from them yet. I'm sure I will later though. I just wanted to see how my own knowledge would hold up in this situation. Also to make it clear that I'm not competent to lead or advise on such a trip. I only trust about three kayakers that I have paddled with who could lead it. BASIC EQUIPMENT Well maintained sea kayak with secondary buoyancy and at least 2 bulkheads, or a fitted sea-sock Fitted deck lines, paddle and paddle leash, spray skirt, sponge, bailer and pump system, PFD with a suitable whistle attached by a lanyard, Cag or paddle jacket, warm clothing, all accessible from the cockpit, Food and two litres of water - all accessible from the cockpit, Footwear suitable for paddling, swimming and walking on rocks, Further warm clothing, waterproof clothing, footwear, food, water and a day pack, secured in dry storage in the kayak, Tow rope - with suitable bag and fittings for quick deployment Hands-free bailing pump system (i.e. electric or foot pump), Spare paddle, Personal first aid kit, garbage bags and/or 'space blanket', Personal medication as required Compass and charts mouinted on deck with key names marked in larger print GPS Instantly accessible knife, Kayak plumbers patch repair kit Personal tether attached to PFD for connection if necessary to boat - not mandatory but I would have one Emergency energy bars in pocket of PFD SIGNAL EQUIPMENT equivalent to Flares in day hatch and minirocket flares in waterproof pack tethered inside back pack of PFD 406 MHz PLB incorporating GPS in waterproof pack tethered inside backpack of PFD VHF radio Boat or person mounted low intensity lights as described in previous posts capable of being seen over 360 degrees and normally on all the time Waterproof head torch, normally off, but for use for reading GPS phone etc Shoulder mounted high intensity strobe or steady light capable of lasting 12 hours only for emergency Mobile phone with each paddlers number and the SAR number preprogrammed for easy dialling NOTES ON EQUIPMENT All electronic equipment to be freshly charged Personal tether is not mandatory I would carry one ready to be deployed if I was lost The mobile phone may sound odd, but in Oz its often more reliable than the VHF and the Coast guard invariably ask if you have one when you make a VHF call PREPARATION I would require that all paddlers be very familiar with the route having frequently paddled it in day time and in the conditions expected. The only novelty for three of the paddlers is that they are doing it at night. All five paddlers should be experienced at night paddling, but three will not have paddled at night on the open sea in conditions like this. Rendezvous points should be established en route for use as a last resort in the event of a multiple separation. En route this could be just prior to reaching a headland ie not so close as to be hazardous (bommies excessive rebound). All of this to be on the trip plan and the coast guard notified. An appropriate VHF communication channel to be agreed beforehand for use within the group and the coastguard notified of this when presenting the trip plan. The coastguard should be familiar with kayaks carrying out this kind of exercise i.e the group or at least the leader should be registered with the coastguard and know them well. The leader should be familiar with the communications difficulties en route and have at least one mode of communication available (mobile or VHF). The leader should check with the Coastguard that SAR is available on the night, if not the trip to be called off. Days beforehand everyone should have programmed and tested their mobiles with quick dial telephone numbers for the group and for SAR. This is not to be done on the day. Days beforehand the trip plan and on water protocols should have been circulated and discussed by the group. The group should have a history of doing significant exercises together (rescues tows rolling etc) under the sea conditions expected. Evening before the leader to ring each participant and check if they are ready and OK to go. Its understood that the trip will be cancelled if weather is in excess of that planned, any sign of sickness and it's a no go for the participant. Likewise if the leader or 2IC is sick the trip is called off. Absolutely no moral or peer pressure to be used on a participant to continue with the trip if they are hesitant. Set up half the cars at the beach if possible so that it isn't necessary to paddle back During the day and at the trip briefing - usual checks weather, route, coastguard etc. Trip briefing before the trip to include equipment count and : - 1. Remind everyone that if they separate from the group and from their boat their chances of survival are remote unless they use their PLB. (For a trip like this they would be expected to know this already). 2. Mandatory instruction that the group stay within formation and within easy talking distance of each other all the time. The skill level of all paddlers should be such that they can easily manoeuvre and rove between boats in the conditions expected even though that is not what is being asked for. I would place the three less experienced paddlers together in a row as buddies looking out for each other. The leader and 2IC are just behind them and rove forward regularly to communicate with the three. The role of the 2IC's job is to pre-empt any hint of group spread. The leader's job is to maintain the group on course. Both the 2IC and the leader are keeping an eye on the three paddlers for signs of difficulty. DESPITE THIS SOMETHING HAPPENS Group up the remaining kayakers. Strictly no searching as separate groups Instruct 2IC and Paddlers to each make a note of the GPS position either electronically or with grease pencil on hull of boat. Use whistle three short blasts wait for reply No reply - Repeat Radio the missing kayaker No reply Call coastguard and request SAR for missing kayaker If communication with coastguard fails call Mayday immediately. At this point I would not attempt to search outside a box of about 30 meters square. but would maintain position and group as a priority, searching within the box as a second priority and continue to use the whistle and the VHF radio to call for the boat until arrival of SAR or other rescue craft. Making sure that the group remains centred on the GPS position awaiting arrival of SAR. I don't pretend this is an adequate plan. It usually takes me days to work out such a plan and the one I was originally going to put to Paddlewise was simpler for a day time trip. Hopefully it gives enough idea of key elements I'm using that it can be critiqued. Thanks for all the responses so far. All the best, PeterO *************************************************************************** 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. 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G'Day Doug, You're right 80% of what I listed I would carry all the time, if it was a distraction sorry, in fact its loosely based on a club list and my own preferences. Have to say my post was a bit too rushed. Thanks for the feedback. I was a bit concerned that you might be generalising from me to the very few paddlers in NSW who would do this sort of thing well in a group context. Remember I described myself as incompetent to carry out this kind of paddle or to give advice. I certainly didn't mean to imply Australians did this sort of thing all the time. I know a great many paddlers in NSW and can think of three who would lead such a trip well. What are they doing losing a paddler out there in those conditions? To some extent because I forced the scenario so that a paddler would be lost and very difficult to find. I was trying to understand how a leader faced with this sort of situation would think, particularly on how long to wait before making a call for help. I've been told by a very senior instructor three minutes tops, which startled me at first but the more I think about it the more it seems to make sense. I don't know of an instance when a lost kayaker out of their boat on the water has been found by another kayaker. Does it happen? I was also trying to understand better what kind of lighting people would use at night based on the previous thread and in that regard I think the very consistent preference for a cyalume sounded like a good option though I'd like to test whether it would stay attached to headgear and working after a roll. Why would anyone do such a trip? It wouldn't be much fun being so regimented. I'd do it as training for long crossings where I might expect to set off before dawn or arrive after nightfall. The preparation in which there was a lot of pretraining reflected that kind of motivation and perhaps I should have said so. Also I'd want to become familiar with a route and what works on that route before leading other people or trying anything radical. As for regimentation I agree the people who run these trips well don't do it like that at all. For this scenario its the only way I knew how, which is why I'm appreciating the broader view. Am I using the name "Coast Guard" appropriately in an American context? Our Volunteer Coastguard and Volunteer Coastal Patrol (VCP) are both set up to carry out rescues and very much prefer to be in the loop. In fact the VCP seems to like the idea of participating in exercises with us so long as we make the appropriate donation. In this regard I was particularly taken by Craig's approach of using a boat backup, I've done this on three occasion's, One was a tinny many years ago, when a friend suggested and organised the boat, one was a VCP boat for a kayak race in Sydney harbour a couple of years ago, and the last was a VCP boat when we were practising some offshore rescues a few months ago. Gungho paddlers? I guess there are some who are and others who take a different approach, and some who are gungho depending on the circumstances. Hope its nothing to do with nationality. Same the world over I imagine. Don't think theres anything special about Australia or anywhere else. PAM, DOUG and GARBAGE BAGS Doug, Pam asked about garbage bags and using them in a way that I think was similar to your sea seat. I hadn't intended to use them in that way although the sea seat sounds like a useful device, and you said years ago it was no longer available. I'd like to ask if you would answer Pam's question for me? Do you think an industrial garbage bag woud be a substitute? Would it be a hazard used that way? Pam I use the garbage bags as a substitute for reflective blankets in electrical storms when I've had to get off the water, that is to say hardly ever, though I've been caught out a couple of times. There was a controversy about this a few years ago and I bit my tongue and provided my explanations back channel. The explanation was subsequently confirmed by our national physics lab but I never did continue the discussion on Paddlewise. But in terms of keeping warm the foil blanket would be much better as it tends not to radiate so much heat from the body. PAUL, BOB and CRAIG Still thinking about your responses because the issue of searching effectively is something I'd like to know more about. I'll ask questions a bit later. You and Craig commented about the shifting weather. I really was trying to make it a static scenario so that the focus was on someone lost. Should have explained that the wind shifting was an attempt to account for a land breeze so you woud know how strong the land breeze was without having to include it in your thinking. This was too specific to a hot climate and I should have just said expect a land breeze to affect the wind direction slightly.or else not mentioned it at all. Thanks again for all the ideas and feedback - even the tough feedback~) All the best, PeterO *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
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