I agree 1000% w. Kris's comment on fitness to paddle. It is not harsh to be realistic. It can be lifesaving, or avoid putting others at risk to rescue a person who is - literally and figuratively - in over their head.
The water doesn't care whose feelings are hurt or who is disappointed if they are not fit enough to take care of themselves on the water. The water and the conditions it creates just "is" and each individual is either equipped to deal w. that or not.
Don't misunderstand: I am all for overcoming challenges, physical and otherwise, and for learning new techniques, including variants of standard rescues.
I've been at pool sessions when instructors help wheelchaired people take pool practice and helped visually disabled people kayak. They - students and instructors - have my full respect.
I understand that guides or instructors, being skilled paddlers w. a higher responsibility, provide that extra layer of assurance and use techniques like the sling w. ease.
BUT for someone who chooses to paddle alone, or chooses to paddle w. other everyday folks, who has to make their first line of assistance an assortment of gimmicky devices which may not work in the conditions they are most needed, then it is time to put limitations on where and whether one paddles.
P.S. My special soapbox: To women who say they lack enough upper body strength, say, to lift a 37 lb kayak up on their car, or to boost themselves onto the back of their boat, or to lift it in deep water and empty it out, I respectfully and encouragingly say do some pushups. Do military presses and butterflies. Ditto tricep rows, bicep curls. Do some lat raises. Etc. Get stronger. You can.
15 minutes a day improves not just your kayaking skills but your overall fitness, posture, heart rate, balance. Studies have shown that even people in their 80s and beyond can and do improve their upper body strength w. regular exercise.
Now, if someone has a certain medical limitation that precludes a simple workout, that is one thing. But then again, someone who is incapable of basic fitness routines should probably rethink kayaking in their choices of outdoor activities.
Entering from between the kayak danger! Yes i can see how dangerous that could be now that it was mentioned. I saw this technique on a dvd (popular one) and it worked well but again it was an on purpose wet exit on a calm beautiful day on a lake. I do need to learn more and practice more - I will try the heel hook as my legs are strong - my arms have injuries but are not weak but they so limit what i can do to some extent. I want to learn how to reenter and roll as this one seems to be the one that makes the most sense to me (for now!). Thanks for the heads up and suggestions.
I am with BNystrom while often gadgets seem to be fine in millpond conditions they don’t work in rough waters, as mentioned.
While some might defend those gadgets with evidence (youtube) that they actually work do we forget that the person domonstrating is very skilled at using those gadgets (that person probably will get back in the kayak without the gadgets)? just like paddle floats seem like a brilliant idea for rescues they hardly work for the average klutz that can’t work them out on a calm lake, let alone in real rescues in waves. Good luck to the person that thinking he/she will be able to get his/her sorry ass back on board with a sling.
‘real’ conditions and ‘real’ rescues I understand what people usually intend to mean when they reference ‘real’ conditions. However, ‘real’ conditions are subjective and based on experience, skill, and comfort level. My ‘real’ conditions could be far different than another person’s ‘real’ conditions.
It is also important to remember that ‘real’ rescues happen in a wide range of ‘real’ conditions, from flat water to 10 foot swells (and beyond). There is a local Meetup group that seems to have a swimmer on every trip they organize. Each of those swims results in ‘real’ rescues which take place in ‘real’ conditions. In more quantifiable terms, the Meetup group rescues have always happened in less than 1 foot of swell and winds below 15 mph. Certainly, not the ‘real’ conditions BNystrom was referencing, but still ‘real’ enough to cause a paddler to capsize.
Just because a rescue technique/device doesn’t fit how I think I would need it does not meet it won’t fit how someone else will need it.
Slings do work. A sling may be a bad idea for someone who paddles a pintail, who is in great shape, and has practiced techniques for many years. If you ever teach, you will run into people who arrive with very high, round kayaks and they are not in great physical shape. For many of them, their only hope of getting back into their own boat is a sling and paddle float. I have seen it used many times and it’s easy, and will never break a paddle. The sling wraps from one side of the boat, under it and over the other side of the paddle right next to the kayak. It works perfectly but like many things, needs practice. If you can come up with a better way for some of these paddlers who are totally out of shape and own high round kayaks to reenter, do an article in Sea Kayaker because the kayaking world needs that.
I’ve come to the conclusion that for me and my wife, a re-enter and roll is the rescue of last resort. It’s a rescue that is nearly as easy in conditions as on flat water, it’s very fast, and it can be done with paddle alone, paddle float, or on another boat’s bow.
In a solo rescue where I’ve missed my roll, I hop back in and roll up.
In an assisted rescue I’ll still use a heel-hook first, to avoid some pumping, but if that ever becomes difficult, my second attempt isn’t going to be another dry-boat rescue, I’ll just go straight to a re-enter and roll.
That's a good point. The R & R with a paddle float is almost impossible to fail with as long as the paddler is not phobic about going under water. I tried to do an R & R with the paddle float and not submerge my face and it's really hard to do. The R & R w/ the PF is a good example of why I discourage beginners who have the foam pad to go for a PF. There's just not enough reserve buoyancy to hold up the extra weight that a beginner may need for that maneuver.
two floats For those folks who simply cannot make themselves stay under to get into their boats, I found that using two PFs one on each blade allows one to get in without head underwater. Downside is that somewhat more water gets into cockpit.
“Needing” them is the problem Let’s get real: Folks that this stuff really appeals to have issues getting back in on dead flat water with no wind (and they’d be using it every time). The slings are sold as a fix, and they buy it.
Pointing out that “real” conditions add serious complications to sling use isn’t really even needed. That just takes it from from slim chance to no chance in hell for these sorts of paddlers. Probably more important to stress that FLAT water is dangerous for them! there are a hell of a lot of paddlers with ZERO self rescue ability (and many don’t even know it). Scary stuff.
Sure, there are some limited times/places where a sling can be useful. Needing them on a regular basis is the real issue.
Not solely a strength issue You are absolutely right about doing some upper body weight training. But the difficulty for many women vs. men getting back into a kayak is not just a matter of upper body strength but where the center of gravity is located. For most men, their center of gravity is higher, so it doesn’t take as much effort to get the greatest part of the mass on the back deck. A woman of equal strength to a man but with a lower center of gravity is still likely to have a more difficult time. On the positive side, the lower center of gravity makes us less prone to tipping over in the first place.
I disagree With proper technique, it should be EASIER for someone with a lower CG get get up on the deck. The problem most people have is in getting enough of their chest up on the deck to enable them to use their arms effectively for the rest of the process. A lower CG would make getting one’s chest onto the deck easier. Once you accomplish that, it’s a matter of kicking with your legs and pulling/pushing the rest of yourself onto the deck.
To try again I don’t agree. Some silliness followed which I just had a poor reaction to when I came back and checked in - summary is that all of this would be a useful argument if we could switch bodies and try it out for a day.
But we can’t, so those who have tried but find they do need extra help will have to look for it between those who say they are wrong.
self and assisted rescue 25 years ago I learned from a paddle and kayak builder in Coquitlam a rescue technique that, despite the efforts of a few paddlers since then, did not become popularly taught or well known. The technique applies to assisted or unassisted rescues, and works as well in deteriorated conditions as in ideal.
I’d like to know what experience anyone has had with this method that i have sworn by since first learning it. It takes learning, it provides no gimmicks or opportunities for specialty equipment marketing, and you have to put your face in the water to do it. But the alternative to successful rescue is to become crab bait and feed the sea lice. That’s even less appealing.
Re-enter and roll is quite well known… … actually. Both the side entry version AND the inverted entry with and without the somersault, and everything in between (paddle float version too) have been discussed and described here (and in many other places) many times.
Not to steal you thunder or anything, and I agree with you overall attitude toward this stuff as basic a part of kayaking, but you sort of made it sound like this was some sort of little known/special thing. Teaser style copy to drive blog traffic?
The blog entry while a good enough read was a long road to get to a simple technique description. Again I’m left wondering if the point is the spread of technique and safety info here, or your blog traffic/writing skills. Safest answer I suppose is: Both.
thank god the above reality check was written by a woman.
Thank you friendlyfire!
I could hear the outcry if a “heartless” guy would have attacked the “gentle sex” this way.
However water does not take prisoners.
In my Club the policy is: if you can’t perform a self rescue in calm waters (and can’t assist somebody else in case they can’t self rescue) you ain’t going on paddles in non sheltered waters (rivers)
I’ve taught a fair number of people… …of all sizes how to self-rescue. Technique is BY FAR the most important element of a successful self-rescue. If someone cannot master either the “standard” prone technique or the heel hook - neither of which is difficult - I agree with Greyak and other that paddling is the wrong choice of sport for them. Having one’s safety depend on equipment that won’t work under anything other than ideal conditions is foolhardy and irresponsible. This gear provides a false sense of security that is bound to get people in trouble. There are already too many rescues and deaths of kayakers every year, we don’t need to create more.
I agree with the value of being self-sufficient in rescues, and that no one should rely tools that may be unsafe for the environment. I paddle often with one other person, so all it'd take is for them to have a serious problem and I'd be SOL if I couldn't handle things myself.
It's the assumption that everyone has to be able to do a full out self-rescue to be safe. For those who paddle quiet waters inland in a decent group, assisted rescues are likely to be enough. I know of paddlers who will never end up in the bigger waters that many in this thread are talking about, at least in anything less protective than a tandem in a guided group.
I know a couple of older women who really can't get back into their boat without use of a stirrup due to issues with post-replacement knees or shoulder problems combined with a some weight gain. That's not just me, it's been the experience of a couple of people who have been instructing newbies for many years with good success.
Before the chastisement starts - these women only paddle rivers, creeks and small lakes, in better weather when the water is on the warmer side and never in groups of less a few. They could swim to shore in the environments they paddle. Most of them have come out to rescue sessions and are solid on doing an assisted rescues. (and have done the real thing)
So - I just don't buy that these folks should stay off the water because they may need assistance.
That said, of the OPer in this one is messing around in any less safe environments, and without at least two other paddlers, I'd go with some of the harsher judgments here. But much of the above is specific to someone's personal paddling. bnystrom is a big water paddler, friendlyfire is an aggressive paddler as well... what is a safe minimum for them may not be the same as for some who are less aggressive and mind their paddling environment.
Re-enter and roll Seems to me that putting your head inside the cockpit of a capsized boat is asking for trouble, especially in rough conditions.
I prefer to slide my legs in, take a breath, and invert into the seat in one motion. Setup and roll as quickly as possible. I also wouldn’t bother screwing around with aligning your boat this way or that with the waves. IMHO.
well known - how nice As I indicated elsewhere, despite being one of those infamous “avid paddlers” and having taught and disseminated information (sometimes successfully, sometimes not so) about paddlesports, I have been out of the loop for a long time. I learned how to re-enter and roll a quarter century ago, and at the time, it was not well known, by any means. I tried to spread the word, but seemingly to no avail, as formal instruction continued to proceed along other lines.
I am gratified and relieved to learn that re-enter and roll is widely and well known now. Hope no harm was done by my mentioning it again in public in a thread on ladders, steps, ropes, straps, and paddlefloats.
