Near Tragedy at Point-No-Point 1/31/11

Stirrups sound like one more thing that could add to your problems.  End up on the wrong side of your yak with your foot stuck in the rope with your yak upside down.

Yeah, I hear ya.  Note that I stopped short of endorsing them.  But in a situation like this, when you're already with someone that can't reboard and you can't physically reboard them ... I think I can rig up a stirrup pretty quickly to give it a try.

-Allen

A cam strap works pretty good and would be easy to deploy on a SOT. you could also secure to the far side of your boat, over your deck, and over the swimmers deck then bridge the boats together with the paddles to stabilize. you could also rig it to cam the person up. When it comes down to it, there are pros and cons to everything. They key is to have as many options as possible. When one thing doesn't work, you move to the next.

Stirrups are still around but generally regarded as obsolete because of the entanglement problems. That being said if you practice with it and know the problems/risks it's not a bad thing to have as an option in your assisted rescue/re-entry arsenal, but not great for solo re-entry. I've used them in flatwater situations on others a couple of times with no problems, but I think the risk of entanglement goes up the more dynamic the water becomes or more panicked the swimmer is.

I don't carry one normally now unless I have a person I know is too big for me to pull back into the boat. There are numerous ways to re-enter a boat.....if you have perimeter lines to hang onto. There's a technique for every scenario and having options is the key. 99.9% of the time these things are successful.

The kokatat outfit tour, msfit tour, guide, profit tour, and bahia tour all have a pocket specifically designed to hold a VHF....it's the long skinny one, and it has a D-ring inside to lash the strap through to tether it on. antenna sticks out of the top.

That's what I meant about the radio in the pocket. It's great if you want to stick it in a pocket, but it still should have a tether. Your manual dexterity is one of the first things to go when you get cold.

Good point.

Brings up another.

These things are always on my PFD, tethered in some form or fashion:

VHF - pocket
knife - lash tab on front of PFD
signal mirror - pocket
sighting compass - pocket
strobe/white light - lash tab on back left shoulder
whistle/horn - pocket
fire starter/magnesium striker - pocket
space blanket - pocket

some people carry pocket rocket flares as well but I don't personally on my PFD.

I'm working on a free rescue/re-entry/safety/sh*t hits the fan clinic for NWKA at Alder Creek Jantzen Beach right now, dry suits provided by Kokatat thanks to polepole. I'll post the date & time as soon as I know.

We should do it when it's still kind of cold to make it more real, or "managed" disaster as I like to call it any suggestions on dates?

J

I went into the pool today with my Gore-tex Whirlpool bibs ($550) and the Tropos anorak dry top ($250) (like the Tectour with double-skirt folding seal.)  Here's how the anorak mates with the skirt on the bibs:

    http://www.kokatat.com/documents/cserv/KokatatBibFold.pdf
   
 I was surprised to find that the velcro-sealed fold-over neck did not ship any water at all when i went in face-first. The Anorak has a fold-over rubberized neck with velcro, and there's a neck zip over that.  The suit initially held a lot of air, I was bobbing around like a rubber ball it was a bit difficult to get oriented and in proper swimming position. Eventually the air leaked out the neck vent, treading water was fine.  I was pleased with the combination, as there's versatility for warmer air and water conditions---either or both can be worn; with a  full dry suit, I imagine things can get pretty hot in the summertime.

  The combination cost me $800, between  the price of a Tropos and a Gore-tex full dry suit.  Advantage is versatility and great venting at the neck, disadvantage is the foldover time, and possibility of leakage if you don't make a good 3-fold seal.  That said, I may decide to sell the combination and go full dry suit with neoprene neck for winter fishing.

......... There's a technique for every scenario and having options is the key. 99.9% of the time these things are successful.

I was wondering about the SINK technique I was taught about crawling up the stern. I know there is fishing gear to contend with, but given being unable to hop up sideways, it might be doable.....something else for me to practice.

Going to switch from 2-piece to full dry suit, check classifieds for Gore-tex bibs and Tropos dry top.

Going to switch from 2-piece to full dry suit, check classifieds for Gore-tex bibs and Tropos dry top.

If you don't mind sharing, what were the final factors that swayed your decision?

-Allen

  KISS principle---may regret it when it's hot, but the one-piece is simpler and quicker to suit up.  I may miss the hood, though, as it's great in the drizzle.  I put the 2-piece suit on the Classifieds, if no-one takes it I'll have tested backup system.
   This might be an over-reaction to the Monday incident at Point-no-Point!

......... There's a technique for every scenario and having options is the key. 99.9% of the time these things are successful.

I was wondering about the SINK technique I was taught about crawling up the stern. I know there is fishing gear to contend with, but given being unable to hop up sideways, it might be doable.....something else for me to practice.

You mean the "cowboy" where you slide the stern between your legs, straddle the boat and shimmy back over the cockpit?

I personally think that's harder than sliding across the back deck, but I encourage you to try it. Different things pose different challenges to different people. I would think the width of the boat & gear & seat would make that re-entry hard, but it's just another technique to have in your arsenal

  KISS principle---may regret it when it's hot, but the one-piece is simpler and quicker to suit up.  I may miss the hood, though, as it's great in the drizzle.  I put the 2-piece suit on the Classifieds, if no-one takes it I'll have tested backup system.
   This might be an over-reaction to the Monday incident at Point-no-Point!

it's easy to cool off

I've had a dry suit option only for a few years now and it's not that bad up to about 75/80F as long as the water is cold and it's a typical PNW/SJ day where it's only 80 for an hour then 50 the rest of the time. hotter than that or on fresh water you probably wouldn't be wearing it anyway.

the bibs are more versatile though, but not as safe as dry suit for cold weather/water.

I'm working on a free rescue/re-entry/safety/sh*t hits the fan clinic for NWKA at Alder Creek Jantzen Beach right now, dry suits provided by Kokatat thanks to polepole. I'll post the date & time as soon as I know.

We should do it when it's still kind of cold to make it more real, or "managed" disaster as I like to call it any suggestions on dates?

J

We're going to run a 20% off kokatat dry suits coupon for attending the clinic.

here's a Pan-Pan call involving sea kayakers and kayak fisherman. Interesting to read how it all went down.

http://southwestseakayaking.co.uk/

If all kayak fisherman trained like sea kayakers, we'd have a lot less problems.

J

If all kayak fisherman trained like sea kayakers, we'd have a lot less problems.

I think I understand what you're trying to say but I think you also may be underestimating just how safety conscious most of us are.

In the PNP incident, obviously outerwear was an issue but I think the main issue was practicing the self rescue. We've got to practice it until it'd second nature and not forget to spend a day every year to make sure we're still good at it. This was a great example of just how fast frigid water saps our energy.

Z

If all kayak fisherman trained like sea kayakers, we'd have a lot less problems.

J

It sounds like he aggravated an old injury and was unable to paddle effectively. I don't see how sea kayakers are immune to this?