kayaker’s
journal
teChnIque BY COnOr miHeLL
rescue Me
tHe youtube ASSiSteD reSCUe
YouTube has changed the world of pro- rescuer grabs onto the bow, forming
crastination. Countless Ali G, Borat and a T-shaped raft. The swimmer then
Trailer Park Boys skits, whitewater wipe- pushes down on the stern of the over-
outs and stupid human tricks stream its turned boat while the rescuer slides it
bandwidth, just waiting to waste your upside-down onto her coaming and
time. But recently, YouTube has become a spray deck. Sliding the capsized kayak
bit more practical. Sift through the shock, across the coaming as far as its front
awe and laughs and you’ll find stuff that’s hatch lifts the cockpit out of the water
useful—like this clever modification that and empties it.
combines the classic assisted sea kayak res-
cue with the reentry technique known as
2. The rescuer now rolls the swimmer’s
the cowboy scramble.
kayak to an upright position and
An effective assisted rescue gets the
clamps it to her coaming, draping her
paddler out of the water and into a dry
arms around its bow. This position is
kayak as quickly as possible. To this end,
surprisingly stable for both the rescuer
the T-rescue has long been the standard.
and the swimmer. In wind and waves,
It’s stable, efficient and, because of various
the rescuer’s kayak will naturally drift
reentry options, practical for a wide range
to form a right angle to the wind,
of paddler sizes, shapes and abilities. As-
increasing the stability of the raft.
sisted rescue involves three steps: Securing
3. Next, the swimmer scrambles aboard
the swimmer, emptying the water from the
his boat, straddling it at the stern,
capsized kayak and assisting the swimmer
keeping his weight low and sliding to-
with reentry. For more advanced paddlers,
wards the cockpit. The swimmer drops
reentering using the cowboy scramble ex-
butt-first into the seat and then folds
pedites the process.
his legs into the cockpit.
1. The first step is the same as that of the
4. After the swimmer fastens his spray
classic T-rescue. In the event of capsize,
skirt, the rescuer lowers his boat back
it’s imperative that the swimmer holds
into the water.
onto his boat and paddle. From here,
COMING SOON the swimmer works his way to the
COnOr miHeLL is a freelance writer and a paddle
Canada Level iii instructor based in Wawa, Ontario.
stern of his overturned kayak while the
1 2
3 4
photo
For a complete tour schedule, check out
S
:
c
onor mihell
reelpaddlingfilmfestival.com
24 adventure KayaK | SprinG 2009
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