Jens, How is it going with the rescued paddlers? Chuck Sutherland *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
Hello Chuck, apart from the missing teacher all are now alive and breathing. Their prospects of the seven that were in coma will be unknown for some time. It took 5 days before the last was breathing on their own. The psychological backlash is now a fact but little is told. Information has been very difficult to collect. Media attention has been overwhelming since this has been the largest and most competent and complex rescue operation for decades. Yet it is more or less the same information that is repeated. There is also some contradiction in information. I am recording everything I can get hold on from newspapers and tv. I expect to sort out and compile what is available in something like 2 weeks. The investigations from the police and naval authorities will not be available then. That will have to come later. Of the 13 young only 4 have been interviewed and this has been with the support of their parents and a very decent behaviour from the hostesses at TV. The responsible school has now shut down all information and refer to their legal advisors. Which is very wise considering their apparent negligence. Seeing and listening for 20 minutes to the four interviewed I have come to some preliminary conclusions (which are totally my own !): All the young had been wearing whatever they had in the closet of rain clothes, warm clothes, necklaces, gloves, boots and "old socks" because the tour was improvised with short notice. There is no mentioning of clothes intended for the sea as we know as kayakers. The pfd's were navy-blue and the rescuers now complain that it was very difficult to locate the victims in the rough sea. The 2 that swam to shore were a girl and a boy. I have only seen them sitting but from their facial appearance I would say that the girl with her round cheeks is in the upper range of BMI without in any way being fat or overweight. The boy was not skinny. I should estimate him to have average BMI. Although I'm not sure. They tell that they turned around and swam on their backs to avoid wind and waves. When they reach shore they had lost all feeling of hand and feet. When I saw them their hands were bruised from ice which they crawling and swimming had to make their way though as they approached land. The other two were girls. One girl appears slim but not meagre. She tells that she got rid of gloves, necklace and boot immediately after the capsize. On her way in she became dizzy and more or less passed out several times until she almost lost conscience laying in water. The same girl also tells that her pfd was fitting badly al the time slipping up under her armpits so that it was difficult to keep the head over water. I know that kind of pfd from teaching kayak rescues. It's cheep, it's approved, and it should not be sold. The second girl has healthy round cheeks and I expect a BMI in the upper range without being overweight. A strong, all-round and healthy girl. She chose to rescue the other girl instead of swimming to the coast. She dragged her up on an ice-slab and do what was possible to keep her alive and awake using her body heat and slapping to keep conscious. They were later located by a helicopter and then picked up by a rescue vessel. The fact that these 4 now have the mental strength to face the press - being supported by psychologists and family - may also indicate a necessary natural mental robustness that added to their physical possibilities. They tell that they all the time knew they were facing death and yet they mechanically went on. A fantastic deed of the four which can only claim a deep respect. A local doctor and at the same time competent sailor has afterwards told the press that all ought to have used the higher class pfd that keeps the heads of unconscious persons above the water. I don't know what to say about that. Maybe such a pfd would have made it impossible to swim to shore and get help. Resulting in the death of all. I can't tell. regards Jens Viggo Moesmand Denmark ________________________________ Fra: skimmer [mailto:skimmer_at_enter.net] Sendt: 17. februar 2011 20:38 Til: Jens Viggo Moesmand; paddlewise Emne: Danish paddlers Jens, How is it going with the rescued paddlers? Chuck Sutherland ________________________________ No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 10.0.1204 / Virus Database: 1435/3447 - Release Date: 02/16/11 *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
On Saturday, 19 February 2011 00:15 Jens said: ' I have come to some preliminary conclusions' Jens Thanks for the reporting and the analysis. It is rare that reporters in the media have any ideas of what questions to ask - or what details to report on. You are doing a fine job and have given some answers on clothing, body type and preparedness. Could you double-check that 4.5m length - it seems awfully short. Full sized dragon boats (for 20-odd crew) are 12-16m - so the scaling down to 2/3 that crew number would indicate a longer boat than 4.5m (plus, to my eye, it just looks longer in the picture - even with camera angle taken into account). I looked it up and the IDBF international standard boat (for 12 crew or less) is 9m long (www.idbf.org/dragonboats.php). Best Regards Paul Hayward, Auckland, New Zealand *************************************************************************** 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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