Surfski Knowledge Base

glenn biernacki
May 21 #29221

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKz8gSKwZ7o

Woman Rushes to Save Capsized Kayaker
This woman saved a capsized kayaker just as he was about to lose consciousness.

David Scherrer
May 21 #29222

Way to go Sally….

Jon Denham
May 21 #29223

She did a great job considering the circumstances.

It appears his kayak was doing what's called a Cleopatra's Needle, which most commonly occurs in a category of cheap plastic kayaks (rec boats) sold 'everywhere' that have no flotation fore and aft. (Most folks that use these don't have a spray skirt and it's likely their knowledge and skill is not great–we all had/have a big learning curve and had to start somewhere in the sport. These 'rec boats' are not meant for much more than absolutely flat water and close to shore.) Probably singing to the choir here, but the Cleopatra's Needle occurs when a little bit of water (or a lot) gets in the cockpit and sloshes to one end, then that end starts sinking, the other end comes up out of the water and the situation snowballs to a Cleopatra's Needle. Adequate flotation in both ends of the boat is key.

Who knows what kind of immersion protection the victim had on. Hard to say.

Surfskis are not super good rescue boats, obviously. But she held it together and remained calm.

If the victim has adequate strength still, having them wrap their arms and legs around the bow (body in the water, legs aft of arms) works pretty well to make the victim more streamlined for making headway and keep their weight low for stability. Have done this before and it works. This victim may not have been able to do that.

Paddle with a marine radio that's functional at all times, or a completely waterproof phone (that you can actually use when everything is wet) in inland areas where no one may be monitoring marine channel 16 or 9.

There's a book that's been around awhile that is fairly well known called 'Sea Kayaker Deep Trouble': https://www.amazon.com/Sea-Kayakers-Deep-Trouble-Magazine/dp/0070084998 It's a bunch of reviews of incidents that occured and picks out the usually several things that occured that contributed to the incident or tragedy. Make you think. The one item throughout the book that seems like it would've changed the incident for the better quickest or saved lives? A working marine handheld radio.

Paul Reavley
May 21 #29224

Speculation and questions -

The fellow being helped in the video does not look like he is quite to the desperation point yet where he would be a serious danger to Sally, but he does look and sound like he has been affected by the cold and is having trouble responding. My impression about the initial attempt to have him hold onto the boat front is that he is basically on one side of Sally's surfski and in kicking with his feet to help keep his head up, he creates a strong turning force to the left. You can see Sally's surfski turning left and even though she is a very strong paddler and at one point tries to paddle just on her left side, she cannot turn her surfski back to the right. She then asks him to hug the boat but he does not seem to respond. I have my doubts about whether he could have maintained a wrap around hold on the front of her boat as Jon mentions - it would probably have interfered with the steering less, but he would have still been mostly immersed in the cold water. At that point Sally says she wants to try a different approach and I suspect that she was trying to move him back to the back of her surfski.(Earlier on she had asked him to grab the back of her boat, but he did not get that and his non-responsiveness may have inclined her to just have him grab the front so she could keep an eye on him)

There has been plenty of discussion on Whatcom Paddlers about the limitations of carrying a paddler on a surfski , but within those significant limitations (rescuer skill, water roughness, condition of rescuee…) there is some potential for success. If we practice with each other, at least we have some experience with things like keeping our heads down and center of gravity low. But rescuing a non-surfskier is probably going to involve no such experience on the part of the rescuee and more coaching required of the rescuer - which will only work if the rescuee is adequately responsive.

Communication devices are critically important as Jon says. But we have to practice using them too (note to self here). They also have their usability limitations and experience in rough weather can be an eye opener. The video says that Sally did phone for help but given the way he looked she felt that she needed to get him to shore rather than just waiting. I do wonder about what the response time might have been from the rescuers who were phoned. Having a boat come nearby was indeed fortunate. Was this one of those situations where flares or a compressed air horn could have been helpful for getting attention from boats farther away? How many of us carry signaling equipment on a day that looks to me in the video like a fairly benign (wave wise, not water temp wise) day for our local downwinding folk?

If she winds up not being able to paddle him to shore, is the best approach (if she is dressed for immersion) to get him draped over her boat, torso out of the water as much as possible, and hold him there waiting for her phone call responders and trying to flag down anyone who comes near? Could she hold him draped over her boat while she is sitting on it with her legs out?

Dennis Mowry
May 21 #29225

Another term for a boat sinking like this is called “Tombstoning”.

The guy seemed pretty concerned for his boat, which could be understood, while it was a distraction from what is the real problem. Sally did a good job getting him to focus on rescuing himself rather than his boat.
Promising is a powerful statement. If help didn't come she could of been in a position to ditch him to save herself, if things got to far out of hand. If he started to panick, or become to disoriented. All could of been lost. Thankfully not this time.

Great job Sally,
:D'Mow

David Scherrer

May 21 #29227

Good question Paul, what is the smartest thing to do with a rescued person who is experiencing the stages of Hypothermia? Not too sure if hanging on to the boat while trying to paddle really is the most logical.
Esp. when the cold person is loosing strength. The small gains in distance don't really pan out in relation to the great continued loss of body heat. I wonder if it makes more sense to simply have the Hypo person immediate drape themselves over your boat asap to get the body's core out of the water. If that means the paddler needs to jump in temporarily then that may be OK as long as they can join the recovered person on the boat( both draped, next to each other) In that stable and relatively warm(er) position one could then contact or wave for help.

Reivers Dustin
May 21 #29228

Paul broke it down pretty well. I feel he was diplomatic about “condition of rescuee”. I will say it plain: a person in real distress will kill you. There is no awareness. The person will climb as far out of the water as possible on anything that sticks up. Maybe the boat, maybe something floating in the water, or your head. Ask anyone who has taken water rescue courses or been certified as a life saver. A panicked person has great strength and no reasoning or understanding.

I have a story about this, but maybe over a beer sometime. Very important to stand off and carefully assess the person. This is not easy, because there is no obvious signs of danger. Best plan: call for the professionals.

As far as towing someone, a bunch of us did a race out to Poe's Point buoy and back with a person riding on the back of the surfski. We could get decent speed, but the rider had to be really good - the paddler had less control than the rider.

Paul Reavley
May 22 #29229

For those of us who don't mind reviewing this topic ad nauseum:

WestCoastPaddler discussion of rescue

I believe these folks are mostly sea kayakers (and as such some are maybe too focused on sea kayak style rescues), but their comments are generally a whole lot better informed (and more humble) than comments on youtube. Some echo Reiver's warning about caution in approaching and assessing someone in trouble. Another possibly important point that is made concerns proximity to a highly populated shoreline and that if Sally is only able to get him closer rather than all the way to shore, their likelihood of being seen increases (but transporting him any distance was not obvious to succeed if no boat had come along and Sally had continued to try to get him onto or at least holding the back of her surfski.) I haven't seen any indication anywhere that there was much power boat traffic nearby on Lake Okanagan that day.

Reivers Dustin
May 22 #29230

Oh yeah. Sally is an elite athlete. Most of us in surfski/OC world know about her. I see lots of totally worthy compliments, but not seeing how her unusual skill and strength is acknowledged in the discussion. One of those commenters mentioned that she likely downplayed the part about 'getting in the water with him'… that in fact the swimmer probably forced her out of the boat as he gripped and tilted the 'ski.

As paddlesport becomes more popular, expect more weird stuff.

beau whitehead
May 22 #29231

I'll quickly jump in here but only to reiterate that a panicked drowning man/woman will try to climb you like a ladder, and if you can't control them, you too may need rescuing.

During the rescue of the canoeist on Lake Padden in January 2010 (his partner was found the next day at the bottom of the lake in 40' of water)…. I witnessed the drive that one gets to stay alive. Approaching the man, who had gone under three times as I paddled to him, I stopped 20 feet short and called to him. Upon realizing I was there, he immediately was recharged with enough energy to start quickly swimming toward me and my SUP. The look in his eyes was alarming enough to for me to back-paddle enough to keep that 20' safety margin between us until he was again too tired to swim. I don't remember exactly what I said, but it was along the lines of instructions to lay over the bow of my board, and that if he tried to grab me, I would hit him with my paddle. And I meant it. I could see the lightbulb click in his eyes, and he answered “yes sir.” As we paddled back to the police officer who had grabbed my 2nd SUP, he just kept repeating “go get my friend” over and over.

That's a long winded way to reinforce that rescuing somebody in the water can go well, or totally sideways. Have a plan in your head before you go straight up to the victim.

allipp@…
May 23 #29235

“Reach or throw, don't go” was the motto I learned when I took a lifesaving class back in the early 90s. The irony being the class was taught by Myra Aikau, sister of legend Eddie Aikau, and, um, in Hawaiian pidgen vernacular, he went go. Though in his defense, unlike the demi-god Maui, I doubt he could have reached or thrown anything and magically pulled the Hokulea back to land.

But I digress, so back to the point. How would you “reach or throw”? One could take off their PFD and throw it to a person in distress, or, unclip a waist leash and allow it to drag behind far enough for someone to hold onto. Both of these however have the drawback of putting the rescuer at risk, though probably much lower than having a panicked person grab on to you or your craft.

Any other thoughts? Bring a rescue throw bag? A giant inflatable unicorn?