Sea Kayaker’s Deep Trouble and More Deep Trouble are true stories of paddling mishaps (some fatal) followed by expert analysis of what went wrong and how to avoid a similar situation.
The books are available at various booksellers.
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Why are you trying to looks so expert and God Like?
Lots of wrong here. In my mind, the first rule of Surfski was violated and all problems cascaded from this - he could not remount.
You have NO business downwinding a Ski unless you have a bomber remount. Like, you can remount in 3’ 3 second reflected waves with a 30mph wind. Whatever conditions you’re in, if you cant remount you’re done.
Carter Johnson, the organizer of the gorge describes downwinding without a bomber remount the same as jumping out of an airplane with no parachute for this exact reason… what’s your plan when you fall out? (its when you fall out, not if. Swimming is a given sooner or later, especially on a ski, especially downwind)
The V9 is an intermediate ski at 19" beam, but a 19" ski in short period, chaotic downwind conditions requires advanced level balance. This type of balance is built up to, and nothing short of K1 type boats would well prepare you for it. I paddle an 18.5" ski (Kai Wa’a Vega Flex and it requires near elite level balance to handle haystacked ocean conditions outside our breakwall with multiple directions of swell, wind waves, wind, and reflected waves)
I paddled 3x27 pro canoes extensively. They are stable as a barge compared to a 19" ski in sloppy downwind so his 90 miler experience effectively means nothing in this context. Its like saying a Formula 1 driver would be great at Super Moto GP - they wouldnt. Sure, they’re both race vehicles, but completely different in how you race them and the skills needed.
Yes, he made a bad decision with no immersion protection, but if he had been able to remount we likely would have never heard this story.
Rules of Ski -
- Wear a Leash - ALWAYS. (i do even in the harbor on glass-calm days to reinforce the habit)
- Be able to remount in ANY conditions. If you’re not sure, go try near shore and find out. Do this at the end of every session
- Expect to swim and plan accordingly (even if you dont swim, a good downwind will soak you head to toe and can lead to non-swimming hypothermia if its cold and you planned your thermal management poorly)
- In big conditions, have multiple layers of redundancy built into your bail out plan (i.e. good brace prevents swims, a leask keeps you attached to boat, bomber remount avoids the need for most rescues, have enough immersion gear on that you could concieveably swim to shore, have signaling devices that are useful in gale force winds (which isnt many))
Of the things he did right, they almost certainly combined into the only reason hes alive -
- Wore PFD. This prevented him from drowning much earlier.
- Used a boat leash and stayed with boat (it sounds like, considering he mentions being tethered to his boat) This likely made finding him much easier for a passing boat
So his decision to forego immersion protection was a secondary issue compared to his inability to remount, IMO. Practice. Remounts. Always. In the worst conditions. When you are tired. Because you never fall off in flat conditions when you’re fresh…
Nice this story had a happy ending
Edits -
This made me think, his unpracticed remount and completely inadequate immersion protection left him with basically zero margin-to-death, but his pfd+leash/stayed with boat + a little luck tipped the scale in the favor of living.
That made me think, if you wear a PFD you gain a huge; huge “margin to death” enhancer (ill call it MTD). Or conversely not using a PFD is a massive MTD penalty. Likewise not being able to remount is also a massive MTD penalty.
I try to be conscious of my Margin to Rescue, the point at which I push the SOS button, or my Margin to Death, self explanatory. As soon as the equation goes negative something bad happens.
It’s important for us all to keep a situational clear head and analyze in real time how far away is my Margin to rescue and keep that equation positive. This means saying no, bailing out early, adequately preparing, testing your skills and gear in low consequence situations, and realistically assessing your abilities and the consequences of failure.
2nd, here’s the epic v9. Anyone unfamiliar with surfski should youtube Miller’s Run Record
3rd, again, it’s pretty hard to die in a PFD. Not impossible, but as this shows you can get away with some serious shenanigans in a PFD and live to tell about it. It’s the #1 tool to increase your Margin To Death
- Remounting is central to surfski. You should be swimming amd Remounting regularly if you’re pushing yourself to be good or competent in fun/big waves. Remounting is God. There is no surfski without remount. It is ill advised to treat it as an optional skill
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Great post, thx for taking the time. We raced down Lake labarge during the Yukon River Quest a few years ago with Carter, heck of a paddler
This is a worthwhile read for those interested in more on this subject:
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Agreed. Remount is everything. I’d sooner go without a PFD than not be able to remount or have a tether.
Weather and skills, everything else was secondary. And as I said above, the poor choice in weather was made before they launched.
Weather can change quickly but this person said they had chosen to paddle downwind. So they knew before they launched that there was going to be some amount of wind, I would guess that they were actually trying to get a bit of a free ride.
What they clearly did not account for was the waves that would result from that wind blowing over the water for a certain amount of time. A better move in a new boat would have been to pick another day, or at the least to take off very early in the day and be at their destination before 10am.
Instead they went out in conditions that were beyond what they could handle, maybe in any boat. We don’t know from this article whether this person really has bumpy water experience.
The article says they were unable to stay closer to shore because they could not turn the boat that way in the waves. That is pure paddling skill. This person is probably a way way better canoeist than I am. Anyone who does the Adirondack 90 miler would be. But I would wager I am much more comfortable managing waves than they are.
The rest of it - lack of dressing for immersion, some at least curious decisions about prep for handling problems or signaling other boats… none of this would have been an issue if they had chosen a more prudent weather forecast to launch in. Or if they had been able to control the boat well enough to stay near shore and land as soon as they realized they were in trouble.
And as Pru says, really understanding the water you paddle in. I am a safer paddler in Muscongus Bay in Maine than many surrounding areas because I know it so well. The weather and the water may be similar, but in Muscongus I know best how to hide from weather if need be and still make it home (eventually), or where to bail out and wait. In other bays I have to consult a chart.
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I think he was alone , no?
While thread discussions can be informative, there is plenty to be gleaned from articles and books without having to wade through the dross. The “Learn” section of this website has a number of articles and tips. Like 12 things beginners should know, most of it is there: life jacket, communication, signal, knowledge and practice of capsize recovery, weather, float plan, etc. There are also some disaster and near disaster articles that are informative.
Ages ago I read a book, something like complete book of sea kayaking or similar and had gone to a cold water seminar. Everything I’ve learned since then has been about honing or alternative techniques and practices. But the mistakes that can hurt you are pretty much all kayaking 101.
It seems to me with any of these episodes, there are a very limited number of things that go wrong to initiate the failure cascade or included within it. And it’s going to be one of the dozen or so things that beginners should know. I’d wager that poor judgment is possibly number one much of the time.
It’s always convenient to blame alcohol on poor judgment but, how do stone cold sober people with years of experience and knowledge still manage to ignore it. It’s fascinating how some part of our brains can block out everything we know and follow a different and wrong path for some other compelling reason. Why did I grab the obviously hot pan? Why did I touch my tongue to the frozen flagpole?
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Yes he was alone
Yes, paddling solo was also a problem here. But this person does that not infrequently.
So I have to go back to the judgement on weather and ability to manage the craft in conditions. It appears that in more benign conditions in a boat he was more comfortable with, this has not been a problem.
Should being in a boat that may be unduly challenging be a reason to paddle with someone else? Yes but only if the someone else can help with a rescue or getting help. Otherwise you could end up with two swimmers.
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In my experience, many surf skis are worthless when it comes to assisted rescues. The is nothing to hold onto for the person trying to remount or get back in a boat.
However if he was with someone else he probably could have been towed back to shore and he would have had someone still upright who might have been able to call for help.
It’s a mystery to me that some people bring a cell phone as their primary means of summoning help, yet they will not use it for fear of getting it wet. What’s your life worth compared to a phone? Maybe it’s a result of the effects of hypothermia where clear thinking begins to degrade.
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In a rowdy downwind, a partner will do almost no good. If it’s capsizing conditions, they’re not going to call on a phone (vhf maybe). They’re not stabilizing your boat. They’re not towing you back to shore. Regardless of their skill or desire, big, wavy, windy conditions that make for a great downwind almost explicitly prevent people from helping you in a meaningful way.
A friend of a friend famously died during a big, cold downwind surfski after he capsized and his leash broke. His partner was next to him and could do nothing of use. Eventually he left and made a break for help, but to no avail.
In big downwind conditions, you’re on your own regardless of how many people you’re “with”. Paddling in a group in big/steep/rowdy conditions is largely a false sense of security and I don’t think would have helped him much, other than to paddle to the marina and rally some boats to search
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But he said this about the phone after his rescue no?
Surf ski’s be are built so light many times I think if they banged together they break.
They’re not that fragile that they would suffer damage just from floating next to each other and having waves bump them around.
They are very susceptible to sharp object impacts though, such as if a boat spears another one, you hit a submerged log or rock, or you drop it on some rocks. In that case damage is almost guaranteed.
Layup makes a big difference too. Nomex honeycomb core is highly susceptible to puncture because the honeycomb structure has mostly open space in it.
A foam core sheet or fiberglass mat is still soft but does not have an open structure so is somewhat more puncture resistant.
My Kai Wa’a ski is a 20lb carbon masterpiece that uses prepreg carbon with a high pressure/high temp autoclave cure. a boat repairer was fixing my friend’s same boat and he said the Ozone prepreg carbon layup was the stiffest/strongest carbon layup he’s fixed. But everything ultralight has its limitations. I dont baby it too much and bump it around plenty, but I am very keen to avoid sharp things.
Rafting together on a ski is supposedly possible to help a paddler get back in, but if they cant stay in the point is somewhat moot.
I see many break apart from use never mind slamming each other in rough water. I doubt they’ll be bumping.
Here is a list of bullet points from our discussion as i read through. Im going to keep it simple, refer to the discussion above for the commentary:
Im also going to assume that the reader is familiar with the story at this point
1- used unfamiliar boat
2-brought a single communication device that was inaccessible for quick access/use
3-went solo on unfamiliar water
4-didn’t research condition possibilities, weather, waves, fetch etc… vs time of day
5-not dressed for immersion
6-no signaling devices(whistle, etc)
7- poor remount skills in adverse conditions
8-Situational awareness: didn’t maintain vigilance and control regarding position and heading
This is a basic summary as requested, please let me know if I forgot anything, which brings up another point: as prepared as we are, it’s still possible to forget something. We are all human regardless of experience level and rely on each other to check and balance ourselves through life. Sometimes a simple oversight(whistle?) can make the difference…
Thanks for the great discussion, and thanks Bob for sharing the story with us, glad you are safe
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Didn’t know swimming makes you colder. When you burn your finger in the kitchen your run it under the water.
Did one thing right he had a float plan with his wife.
If you’re so cold you can’t talk you’re probably not long from your last stroll on land. Lucky Bob!
Darkstar, this was one of the big things that struck me when reading it.
“He was struggling to stay close to the shore as waves were beginning to push him to the middle of the lake. At times he was more than a mile away from shore, he said in a Facebook post.”
Celia addressed this, and I think it’s a big one. When paddlers get uncomfortable about the possibility of capsize, the natural reaction is to over-focus on keeping the boat upright, and the result is often ignoring directional control. They start going where the weather is allowing them to go. In offshore winds, including mostly alongshore winds where a person is moving further from the shoreline, they end up continuing to let themselves drift further from shore into even more difficult conditions. Or even paddling against wind, waves, and current, I’ve many times had people paddling directly into the wind and waves coming at an angle to the current flow, and unknowingly as a result, ferry gliding further from shore and further from where we were meaning to go. I think it’s important to recognize this phenomenon as soon as you feel uncomfortable. If the overall situation reads that you would be less likely to capsize now, and it would be less dangerous to capsize now, and that conditions are likely to become more challenging for you if you don’t take action, overcome your trepidation, quit doing what feels best in the moment, and make the move to maintain or better your position while the odds are at least a little more in your favor. I have helped people to pop out of their “surviving the moment” trance many times to pay attention to where the weather/current is taking them and instead go where we needed to go. I’ve popped myself out of that trance a few times over the years. I can’t remember a time where it caused a capsize, but it has definitely prevented drifting into bigger conditions. I’m not sure how to word this for the list, but it’s one of the things that stood out to me. Perhaps “Maintain vigilance and control regarding your position and heading.” As Celia pointed out, this is a paddling skill. And as I have experienced, often times the skill to accomplish it is there, but trepidation and that “capsize trance” is preventing the person from exercising that skill.
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This is a good thought as well. Basically, its maintain situational awareness and expect conditions to be constantly changing.
On small-medium lakes and rivers you can get lazy and not worry too much about currents or building waves, but on the ocean or large lakes you must be vigilant, expect change, and react/reassess when you see change.
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