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Re: Safety
Erik Borgnes
11/02/09 #7285
Each “district” has to establish its own protocol for how to be safe on the water and “what to do when everything goes to hell in a handbasket”.
When I was making trips to Maui to paddle on the north coast in the big downwinds, it struck me how loose their attitude was with regards to what I perceived as paddler safety and group responsibility. The unwritten rule there was that if you lose your ski and are a mile out, you simply swim in and use your waterman skills to negotiate the surf and the reefs - something I sorely lacked. Everyone was on their own and was aware of it. To a Hawaiian paddler, you don't go paddling offshore unless you've first acquired the skills of how to take care of yourself first. It's kind of a personal responsibility thing as well as almost a rite of passage. You first learn the ocean, the waves, the skills to save your hide, then you have earned the right to become a paddler. Of course, they're not dealing with cold like we are, so the loose-appearing Hawaiian rules don't apply to us.
In the PNW, you don't have a long history or culture of what works and what doesn't. You ski paddlers are the first ones in (hopefully) a long chain to come up with a plan and put it into action for yourselves and to informally “train” the newcomers. Emphasizing vhf's, buddy system, dressing appropriately are all part of that history which you are cultivating. It will come with time and years of discussions. And, it's vital for the “silverbacks” to disseminate the info throughout the group and to the newer paddlers. Maybe one person should be the designated intervention-guy who confronts paddlers and makes sure that everyone is appropriately skilled, prepared, and knowledgeable?
It would also be a good idea to have a designated safety-check downwind session every once in awhile. Put someone in charge of a powerboat escort. Do a downwind run in rough water as a group. Every 5 / 10 min (maybe at the sound of a whistle) everyone capsizes and remounts. The key here is that the paddlers would purposely be wearing only what they usually wear, i.e. no overdressing. It will become clear immediately who is a liability, who needs remount practice, and who is paddling a ski that's inappropriate for their remounting skills. Even though I'd cringe at the thought of having to purposefully fall off my ski in cold rough water, being certain that I either can or cannot get back on my ski quickly, over and over again is something I'd want to know. Guessing at this just doesn't cut it. Plus, if I know that I've got a bombproof remount then I'm confident when I go searching for someone who's missing and don't become a second needless victim. Conversely, if I know that I'm good for only a couple of remounts, then I know I will be of more help from shore if someone is missing. I found that out with the Elite I used last season. Great, fast, stable ski, but I couldn't get back onto the damn thing routinely on rough water, which surprised me. So out it went. Some of these new generation high gunwale skis are not a good idea. Might as well be in a cockpit kayak if getting back on is any trouble at all, right?
Does anybody know of a hand/paddle signal system that can be applied to paddling? I assume that the sea kayakers have come up with something. That should be pretty standard for groups to learn. Does everyone carry something to jam underneath their rudder to keep it centered in the event of a cable break? Does everyone know how quick and easy that is to do? Is everyone certain that they would be comfortable swimming or treading water in the conditions that they're paddling in when waves will be crashing over your head every few seconds? Hypothermia isn't the problem usually. It's panic taking in a mouthful of saltwater and loss of the ability to use your hands and swim and operate a vhf - that will drown you in the first 30 minutes. If you can remove the panic and find out what works and what doesn't then you'll know what to carry with you and when to call for help and when and how to swim.
Back to the original point: since there is resistance to a formal club that formally teaches these things, a group or individual decision should be made to either 1) Let an individual's common sense and random connectedness to safety discussions dictate whether they get into trouble vs stay safe, or 2) purposefully establish the culture of safety that you would like to see, arrive at a common ground that everyone agrees with, and take the initiative to hammer it home to all the paddlers in the local ski community. The key in number 2 was that it would be formal and purposeful. Leaving things grey and keeping the fingers crossed is taking chances.
Erik
Re: safety
Dale McKinnon
11/02/09 #7286
Hypothermia isn't the problem usually.
Really? Cold Shock (the body's response to cold water by gasping) and hand numbness are the start of the hypothermic response. Hypothermia IS the problem and needs to be clearly defined, understood, and respected.
Re: safety
Erik Borgnes
11/02/09 #7287
semantics. Core temp defines hypothermia - and it will usually be normal when you drown from cold shock / exposure. If you get past the initial panic / cold shock / heart attack, you're next next most likely to drown from the inability to swim because your arm and leg muscles no longer work very well. Thus the value in wearing a pfd when on cold water. Core temp drops long afterwards.
ERik
Re: safety
Michael Gregory
11/02/09 #7288
- Cold shock is easily blunted by wetsuit or drysuit.
- Policing the group should probably be done by the group rather than an individual - spread the potential ill-will around.
- No matter how safety-conscious and well prepared one is - situations arise that can put any/all of us in tight spots. ANY of us can get bucked from a ski in the right conditions. Self-rescue skills, most prominently the ability to remount ones ski, are of paramount importance. Remounts in calm conditions are a good way to start but remounts in adverse conditions are more difficult, practice takes some of the scariness out of it. Panic in such conditions is not a very good option.
- There's a stout 22ft. Boston Whaler around that is purposely fit-out, solid kayak racks and a durable 10ft Achilles inflatable with hard floor, for paddle adventures. Tie the Achilles, by bow and stern, along side the Whaler, and load skis from the Achilles to the racks - voila! Neoprene gloves are recomended in winter, see NRS.
- Let's go figure it out! We should not have to go far from Marine Park to find nasty conditions this winter. EB, apparently you are gonna be in the neighborhood soon, so you are invited too.
Mike.
From: “Morris Arthur” <marthur@…>
To: whatcompaddlers@…
Sent: Monday, November 2, 2009 2:13:04 PM GMT -08:00 US/Canada Pacific
Subject: Re: [whatcompaddlers] Re: safety
Powerboat escort?
What kind of powerboat do you suggest?
It seems that a craft large enough to handle the seas (e.g. tug or fishing boat) would be dangerous.…and how many folks feel comfortable handling a 12' Zodiac in 6' breaking seas?
What's the limit of your boat, Dale?
Re: safety
Dale McKinnon
11/02/09 #7290
I turned around and headed home in 6' seas out at #2 when I was out with my English Channel swimmer several months ago. That was out of extreme caution. I was barely getting wet, but I knew it was getting bigger if we headed further south. I'm available anytime before 4 p.m. when you guys want to go out and practice self-rescue. Just give me a couple days headzup.
Re: safety
Dale McKinnon
11/02/09 #7291
We live in a one-liner world. My concern is that relatively new 'skiers would read that line and think “oh” if I learn to handle that first minute I'm okay. Not. Hypothermia is a continuity that leads to an end state. Read my next post.
Re: safety
Dale McKinnon
11/02/09 #7292
Mike, I have questions about your rescue boat arrangement. How does a person in the water gets into the boat? Is there a ladder on the boat? What if they are too numb to hang on? How many people are in the rescue boat? What do you do for the rescued person once in the boat? What size seas are you envisioning… 3'? And what wind tolerance does the whaler have (how easily does it go broadside in a 15 knot breeze when at a dead stop)? What is the purpose of the inflatable other than as a way to load skis? How would two people load skis in a 15 or 20 knot breeze, AND maintain control of the whaler? If in difficult conditions, I see a disaster in the making with that arrangement…
And how do you specifically “police” by group, rather than by individual? An inquiring mind would like to know that one…
Re: safety
Erik Borgnes
11/02/09 #7293
How about this clarification:
The most common cause of hypothermia is when my wife catches me staring at an attractive lady at the mall. The result is predictably a long cold night in hell.
Re: safety
Michael Gregory
11/02/09 #7294
-Whoa we're not talking exhausted paddlers that have been paddling for hours here. Intention is to go out by Post Pt bouy and practice remounts on a bumpy day with well found back-up nearby.
-I picked the whaler 'cause it's among the most seaworthy craft anywhere. Ask the USMC they used these exclusively for such purposes for years. It's got inboard fuel tanks mounted below decks which makes it even more stable. 15-20 kts of breeze and even 4-5ft seas on the beam is not much for this rig. If any doubts are lurking about please let me know and we can get ya a little demo.
-The whaler has two people - boat operator and deck hand.
-Deck hand in the inflatable takes the ski and places it on the rack.
-If the paddler is too pooped to scramble on the inflatable the deck hand secures the ski and hauls the paddler into the inflatable. The paddler can go right into the forward cabin and warm up.
-The intent here is to avoid disaster by practicing in a controlled setting.
-BTW, Dale have you read the little foot-note on your page.
Re: safety
Dale McKinnon
11/03/09 #7296
Thanks, Mike. I'd love a demo. Let me know when and where. Ever since flipping in a whaler in Boston harbor as the result of a wake (38 years ago), I've never trusted whalers. Below-deck fuel tanks will obviously add to stability. And to which sig line (footnote) are you referring? I have four that rotate…
