Recently I’ve been developing and teaching a rescue technique for righting a capsized kayaker who hasn’t been able to perform a wet exit and needs help getting upright for air. Dubbed the Bow Roll Rescue, it addresses many of the shortcomings of other common rescue methods. The technique was discovered during a pool practice session and has been refined over more than a year of application and introduction to others in the incident management and rescue courses I teach.
Conventional Rescue Techniques
For many years, I’ve been dissatisfied with some aspects of several well-known rescue techniques for assisting capsized kayakers who, for whatever reason, remain underwater. I believe a rescue technique should work for paddlers of all sizes, strengths and levels of experience. It should also be effective even if the rescuee is panicking or otherwise unable to cooperate. Some common rescue methods have presented difficulties to the students in my rescue courses:
- Hand-of-god: This rescue method assumes an inverted and unconscious or panicked paddler. You place your boat parallel and adjacent to the rescuee’s inverted boat, then by reaching over the inverted hull, in stages, roll the rescuees boat upright. In cases where you’re smaller than the rescuee and have shorter arms or lack sufficient strength, righting a beamy boat or a heavy paddler can be almost impossible. The struggling may lead to partial success followed by the re-immersion of the rescuee. That could be fatal if the rescuee is gasping for breath at the instant of re-immersion and aspirates water. The hand-of-god rescue also places you immediately next to a panicked rescuee who may be thrashing wildly. Again, in the case of a larger, stronger rescuee, this may not bode well for you.
- Spraydeck Release, Float and Scoop: This rescue method also assumes an inverted and unconscious or panicked paddler. It may be utilized when you know that you likely won’t be able to perform a hand-of-god rescue. You reach down to release the spraydeck of the inverted paddler, then grab the paddler to float him out of the cockpit and to the surface. After ensuring that the rescuee is breathing and relaxed, a scoop rescue slides the rescuee back into his kayak. This rescue can be challenging in rough water. Its several stages are labor intensive for you and expose the rescuee to full immersion, which, in cold water, can take its toll. This method also places you immediately adjacent to a panicked and potentially dangerous rescuee.
- Bow Presentation: The inverted paddler signals that he needs help, usually by slapping the hull and/or waving his hands. You place the bow of your boat near the hands of the inverted paddler, and he uses your bow to right himself. This rescue only works for conscious paddlers who are familiar with the technique. In rough water, your bow may run into and cross over the hull of the rescuee’s boat, or the rescuee may have difficulty locating and getting a hold on the bow in heaving seas.
- Paddle-Across: This variation on the bow presentation rescue places your boat parallel and almost adjacent to the inverted paddler’s boat. You place a paddle across the deck of your boat and the hull of the inverted boat, then grasp the inverted paddler’s wrist and guide his hand to the paddle shaft. The inverted paddler can then right himself. This rescue method works fairly well for conscious paddlers who are familiar with the technique. It can put some stress on paddle shafts and blades, so care must be used to place the paddle safely and keep the boats properly spaced during the rescue. There is some risk, especially in rough water, of the rescuee hitting his head on your boat. Here, too, the close proximity to the rescuee leads to risk if he is panicked. You also have lost some control of your own paddle as it has been placed directly in the hand or hands of the rescuee.