Yes, I jumped on TSRA’s website today and found I missed this year’s school. They do have a list of individuals that give instruction in varying categories, so I will contact some of them to see what they offer. I’ll look into all three to find the closest instructor.
What an amazing opportunity! It is doing something you really enjoy all for some seriously good causes. I’m sure there are many volunteer opportunities in my area of the state as most mountain and water rescue operations are conducted by volunteers. I used to be an EMT a long time ago and don’t lay claim to any knowledge these days, but if I though I had the physical stamina to become a volunteer, I would seek the necessary training to do so. I’m impressed!
The Noli Outdoor Learning Institute still has water and river rescue classes going on through the summer. Scott and Brad are top notch.
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It looks as if TSRA has a swiftwater rescue clinic coming up this very weekend at Gee Creek Campground on the Hiwassee River in east Tennessee that still has 7 openings.
I know and have paddled with Woody Woodall and Charlie Wilkerson who are two of the instructors. Should be a good clinic.
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I know this forum is weighted heavily to kayak users with skirts and rolling expertise etc.
Canoes and rec-kayaks are a different animal and where I live make up 99% of the paddling boats.
Added flotation here is almost unheard of and the only flotation I see is a really small percentage of the high-end rec-kayaks have one sealed compartment/hatch in the stern and a few have a foam block in the bow. Along with that I believe almost no one has practiced anything and almost no one is wearing a PFD.
We paddle together and her rec-kayak has a sealed stern area we make sure is water tight and I removed the little foam block and added a full bow floatation bladder so we know her boat will float. My canoe I added 6 cubic feet of floatation to each end and we know it will float. To reenter assuming one of us is dry I made a stirrup that attaches to the other boat with a hook and works much like @pblanc described where he holds down as the person reenters. The hook method makes my boats weight along with mine come into play and lets me remain more centered and balanced during the reentry. We are not going to be in WW so we don’t anticipate doing the rescue in WW. We are dressed for immersion and seldom are in water that’s even close to being too cold for us so time is not that critical for us.
Now the issue of coming upon an overturned rec-kayak or canoe and a swimmer in the water wearing no PFD and not a clue what to do is very real. There is also the possibility the person I’m about to rescue has been drinking and can’t swim that well. Many areas in our river and some lakes have steep edges so getting them to a bank may not be a solution. I’m going to look out for myself first as I don’t want to go for a swim with the panicked person in the water. From my rafting days the guides in kayaks always told us they would pick us up in the water by having us grab the bow loop and back float under their boat as they paddle to safety. Their boat is the least of my concern once they are ok I will fetch their boat and get it back to them to drain on shore or my partner can get the boat while I get them in.
So where we may do a wet reentry between the two of us I’m not going to try teaching one on the fly.
On the topic of floatation and all paddle boaters are doing different water conditions I strongly advise adding additional floatation over what most rec-kayaks and canoes have. Bow and stern is the easiest, but side floatation if you can do it is the trick for easy reentry. I’m still thinking about adding side floatation and for those that paddle calm water I’m more and more liking the idea of sponsons. Oddly very few manufactures offer sponsons. The people I know that have them tell me when you lean over and try and roll once the sponsons hit the water its really hard to go past that point. If you do go over when you flip the empty canoe back it is almost dry.
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That is tempting. They have a flatwater rescue class on the 26th of August. It’s a long haul, though, and would require two nights in a hotel/motel. I wish I knew if I could handle the physical fitness end. I’m hanging onto this info. This might be doable. I will give them a call.
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I saw that on their calendar. I’m afraid I need to see if I can handle flatwater physical requirements before I even think of swiftwater. 
But I sure could get into swiftwater if I was in better shape. Three years of major surgeries slowed me way down. Working on slowly fixing that.
I’m going to have my daughter join me in trying to learn some of the rescue techniques as she is in a 12 foot Hurricane Santee 126, and most of the places we kayak are next to impossible to go ashore. The terrain is too steep with heavy vegetation. She has never tried to learn to self-rescue or T-rescue. As you point out, she only has an aft compartment, and her cockpit is as large as a bath tub. She flipped one time but was lucky enough to be in shallow water.
As for myself, I have an Eddyline Fathom and a Delta 15.5 GT, both sea kayaks. The Delta has two bulkheads, and the Eddyline has three, so I’m not as concerned about the kayak sinking as I am being able to get back in.
This entire past two weeks have been both busy and severe storms. Hopefully I will be able to make it to Johnson Chapel where I can try some of what I have seen in many training videos. Especially with the Fathom, I need to play with balance and learn to edge, then try bracing, all after I learn to get back in. I have a paddle float and a rescue strap, so fingers are crossed.
Seeing anyone on the water without a PFD is unnerving. I had a jet ski accident at 70 MPH and the PFD saved my life. I won’t go near water without one. I thank you for the advice on how to handle someone in the water, especially someone who has been drinking.
Safe paddling to you and yours!
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Here is what we did to her OT 10’ rec-kayak with a large cockpit opening like your daughters.
I removed the little foam block and made sure there were no sharp edges or screws under the bow deck area. I got a cheap 8” play ball out of the cage at Wal-Mart and stuck it in the nose and then put a partial deflated 15” yoga ball in and blew it up. The yoga ball somewhat conformed to the hull and deck shape and the shape of the kayak locked it in place. She still has use of the foot pegs and often uses the ball as a center foot position as they are very flexible and soft, but also very tough. Added a pound or so and cost under 15 bucks.
Sounds like your shorelines are a lot like around here. I hear people say a lot that they hug the shoreline for safety and I ask them if they ever tried climbing one of those steep banks covered in prickly bushes. If you do make it out you might have a long hike thru the same stuff getting to help. The idea of dressing for immersion or waiting till the water temp is ok is major. On our river if you have a PFD and can wait out a float for maybe a half mile you will normally find a good place to exit the water. That would be a worst case. Being able to empty your boat and reenter is even better.
As we get older or have some health issues we need to modify our plans for how to keep going some of it happens in the water and some can happen before we ever get to the water in how we prepare our gear. I found it really hard getting advice as everyone has a different level of abilities. 40 years ago just about everything I did was pretty much effortless not so much these days.
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Here is the stirrup device I made for canoes and open cockpit rec-kayaks for assisted rescues.
If someone wants to make one it is pretty easy and it folds up small and stores easy.
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The problem with many rec boats is that they do not have enough or any floatation in both the bow and stern. Even if the material the boat is constructed of has some minimal buoyancy, if swamped or capsized they do not float high enough to allow a self rescue. Any attempt to reenter the boat just puts the cockpit rim below the waterline… All you can do is attempt to laboriously tow the boat to shore where you can empty it. Some boats that are not inherently buoyant but depend entirely on a rear bulkheaded compartment will end up vertically in the water (Cleopatra’s needle). With a situation like this the boat will be extremally difficult even to tow to shore.
A swamped or capsized rec boat without fore and aft floatation is even very difficult to do an assisted rescue on as water weighs over 62 lbs./cubic foot and so the boat can contain hundreds of pounds of water in addition to the weight of the boat itself. With my boat having only moderate primary and secondary stability and being fairly narrow, I’ve had rather poor results attempting an assisted rescue of a swamped rec boat by myself. Fore and aft bulkheads significantly reduces the amount of water in the boat as can purchased or homemade flotation devices.
While I’ve frequently admired people that thought so highly of their boats that they were willing to sacrifice themselves by strapping their PFDs to the deck or jamming them behind their seats to save the boat, most people soon find that putting a PFD on while in the water and trying to keep hold of their boat, paddle and any loose gear is very difficult.
Canoes are a whole different topic and most people just elect to stay near shore when conditions deteriorate on big water. Not my area of expertise. My time in canoes has been mainly on relatively narrow rivers.
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Nothing like large stretches of scenic flat water.
Paddling Maryland’s Rhode River where it merges with the Chesapeake Bay.
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That is an excellent idea. I’ll take a close look at my daughter’s Santee 126 and see if I can do the same.
Yes, our shoreline on Center Hill Lake is so steep it would be almost impossible to climb up. Even if one were to go ashore, there’s poison ivy and oak everywhere. Paddling on Center Hill could leave us swimming for miles to get back to our launch point. That’s why I’m so bent on being able to self-rescue. I no longer have the physical stamina to have to swim very far let alone tow a kayak in the process. I take ropes with me in case the daughter has to give a tow.
I am also going to look into a dry suit for colder ambient and water temperatures as things cool down.
That’s nice! I thought about trying to make something to assist rescuing, but it’s difficult not having tried to self-rescue. The daughter keeps wanting to paddle when I keep wanting to practice some techniques. I bought a North Water Rescue Stirrup and want to give it a try. So that’s all one section of rope with the hook in the center with yours? I could have used that when I had a jet ski.
You might want to try the hook stirrup idea as well for assisted rescues. Try it out close to your launch and figure out how much help you need getting back in.
As to water temp I believe the rule is 70 degrees and above your risk is minimal. We push it to 65 degrees as growing up on Lake Erie we are no stranger to colder water. That though gives you a limited amount of time before the colder water takes it toll hindering what you are trying to accomplish. Any water below 70 we are planning our course carefully.
What make me cringe is the early birds in the spring when we get those early really warm days. I go down to our river launch the water is 45-50 and people start showing up with Wal-mart rec-kayaks with no floatation, in swimsuits only and PFD behind the seat or under a bungee. A few times I mentioned how cold the water still is the reply is always the same they don’t plan on being in the water.
It is tempting to get out in early spring but we hold back till it is safe. If you want in sooner a dry suit should be a must. I have never once seen anyone on our river in a dry suit.
When you look at her boat for adding floatation keep in mind yoga balls come in different sizes and they also have what is called a peanut yoga ball in different sizes. If her hull is longer and not as high one of those might work.
All excellent information. I can easily see what you say when it comes to my daughter’s Santee 126. She only has an aft compartment bulkhead, and her cockpit is exactly the same size as the bathtub in my guest bathroom. That kayak would fill in a hurry if she were to capsize, and bow down would easily be the result.
I have tried to put a life vest on while in the water just as an exercise when I was out on my boat, and I’m here to say it’s almost impossible for us older individuals who no longer have the stamina for keeping our heads above water. As I have said before, I do not go near water without my PFD on, and I cringe when I see others without one.
Thank you for your input.
I meant to post a link to the North Water rescue Stirrup.
Your setup would be more effective with a second kayak to assist, especially a rec kayak. I’ll make one of those if I find the Rescue Stirrup too difficult. But seriously, I sold my jet ski because I was having too much difficulty getting back on after I went for a swim (a deliberate swim), and I did make a PVC pipe handle to hang lower than the grab handle on the back of the seat. I never thought to make a ladder.
I have found being out on the boat swimming that water temps in the upper 70s feel plenty cold let alone anything in the 60s. I don’t usually swim until the water temp is at least 80º. Anyone that flips into 45-50º water will be lucky to survive without the proper gear, PFDs included. They must now be all that smart. I had a buddy that was a walkin’/talkin’ accident waiting to happen all the time. That was Mike’s whole personality.
I have worn a wet suit many years ago, but have no idea what a dry suit would be like today. They are pretty skin tight would be my guess. I wouldn’t go near a kayak in the water without one if the water temperature is in the low 70s or below.
These are some pictures of her boats. She has a lot of bow ahead of that huge cockpit. I’ll try to get some measurements and see what I can find.
EDIT: She just told me she has a bulkhead ahead of her cockpit with no access to her bow area.
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