Swim First, Y
Kayak Later by Eric Soares
ou are kayaking down the rapids in the upper Sacramento River south of Castle Crags and crash into a rock, capsize, and fail to roll. The cold water makes you gasp
for breath. Your boat gets away from you and heads downstream. Your friends are a hundred yards or so downriver, waiting for you. What do you do?
If you are a good swimmer, this is no big deal. While in the shallows, you turn on to your back, put your feet up, and look downstream for obstacles. You are ensur- ing that your feet do not get trapped in rocks. Once you reach a deep pool, you breast stroke over to the easiest side of the river and scramble up the bank. You then walk on shore down the river and join your friends, who have retrieved your boat. A happy ending.
But here’s another scenario. You and your friends have kayaked from Princeton Harbor near Half Moon Bay, have easily made it around Pillar Point in three-foot waves and are heading north at Ross’ Cove. You are all
Swimming in a cool creek on a hot summer day Photo by Eric Soares
enjoying the view just close to the surf zone. Suddenly, a seven-foot wave forms up outside. One person yells and everyone turns seaward to get to safety before the wave breaks. Everyone makes it through but you. The wave dumps on top of you. You know how to brace and stay with the wave as it bounces you all over the place. Then it flips you over and you fail to roll up. Next thing you know, your boat is sitting serenely on the beach a hundred yards away while you bob around inside the surf zone. What do you do?
If you are a good swimmer, this is no big deal. You signal to your friends that you are okay and, clutching your pad- dle, smoothly swim sidestroke to the shore and retrieve your boat. You wait for another small set and then paddle out and rejoin your friends. All’s well that ends well.
I’ve been canoeing and kayaking for 50 years. This does not make me an expert, but I have learned valuable les- sons over the years. One essential lesson I have learned is that swimming skills are more important than kayaking skills. Let’s see why.
Back in 1972, the movie Deliverance sparked the river running craze. Every yahoo I knew crunched their canoes in their local rivers. We all wore cotton, no lifejackets, and many of us could not swim. A week after I capsized and destroyed my canoe, one of my high school buddies drowned in the cold water of the upper Sacramento River, near where I wrecked my boat. He could swim in a pool, but not in a raging river.
A dozen years later I taught myself how to kayak in the surf in lovely Santa Barbara. When I moved to Half Moon Bay, I played in all the local waters. I was amazed to learn that many boaters were not proficient swimmers in swells at sea or in surf. A few years ago, two hours after I left the surf, a kayaker died at Pillar Point in three-foot waves, with occasional seven footers coming in. Nobody saw him die, so we don’t know for sure what happened.
The author practices swimming with his paddle. He doesn’t just carry the paddle, but uses it to help him move through the water. Photo by John Lull
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www.calkayakermag.com Summer 2011
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