As your paddling strokes are learned and your bracing skills are improved, the rescues you practice should include scenarios that take into account sea conditions that might cause an incident and the difficulties that could follow. Rescues often involve demanding conditions such as steep waves, fast current, strong wind, or cold water.
The capsized paddler, now a swimmer, is likely suffering stress, fatigue, cold, panic or injury. Problem solving and decision making are necessary during a rescue, and some prior diligent and thoughtful practice will increase the likelihood of an efficient and successful outcome.
The classic T-rescue attends to the kayak first and the swimmer second. We could characterize this rescue as two techniques: draining the cockpit by means of a bow tip-out, and returning the swimmer to the kayak with an assisted reentry.
This is a satisfactory sequence in good sea conditions but not always preferred in a dramatic rescue or in cold water. A paddler is psychologically and physically stressed by the adverse sea conditions leading up to a forced capsize, and when required to wet-exit his kayak, these stresses are amplified to a point that can greatly reduce his ability to quickly and reliably perform the necessary rescue. Sudden immersion in cold water adds an additional layer of stressors that will minimize the swimmer’s available strength and the time to complete the rescue.
In the common execution of a T-rescue, the swimmer is expected to remain immersed in the water and assist his rescuer in orienting the capsized kayak and tipping out the flooded cockpit. In rough wind waves or tidal current there is often quite a bit of noise, and communication can be difficult.
Effective communication is particularly difficult if the persons involved have not practiced together to a point where they understand the expectations and limitations of each other. During the beginning portions of this rescue, the swimmer remains in the water, continues to chill rapidly and experiences the accumulating psychological stress of being in need of help. The rescuer is also under a great deal of stress as his concern grows for the well-being of the swimmer. An effective rescue needs to consider the physical and psychological well-being of both the rescuer and the casualty.
If you are coming to the aid of a paddler swimming beside his kayak, one effective sequence is to get the paddler out of the water first, and then drain the flooded kayak second. If the swimmer is rescued first, before the kayak is tipped or pumped out, the debilitating effects of cold-water immersion are limited, and the mounting psychological stresses on both swimmer and rescuer are reduced or even reversed.
Consider a situation where the paddler has capsized, exited his kayak and remains in contact with his vacated kayak. Fortunately the swimmer’s paddling partner is close at hand. The rescue kayak approaches the swimmer and kayak and presents the bow of the rescue kayak to the swimmer. At the moment of contact, the swimmer has hold of both kayaks and within a few seconds the two kayaks are parallel.
The swimmer relinquishes control of the vacated kayak to the rescuer and keeps hold of the bow of the rescue kayak. As with any technique, some practice and mutual familiarity will go a very long way to making a smooth rescue. The rescuer must approach the swimmer with care and the swimmer must transfer his grip from the capsized kayak to the rescue kayak only when the rescuer has control of the capsized kayak. In practice it typically unfolds that the rescuer arrives on scene, grabs the capsized kayak and calls out to the swimmer to, “grab my bow and hop on!”
The first step is for the swimmer to get out of the water. Usually starting from a position opposite the capsized kayak, the swimmer pushes down on the rescuer’s bow and climbs onto it. In this technique the rescue bow goes down under the swimmer’s torso rather than a more common approach where the swimmer needs to move up onto the back deck of his own vacated kayak. With the swimmer pushing down on the rescuer’s bow, it is easily pushed closer to the surface of the water.
It is then less difficult for the weak or distressed swimmer to get up on the bow of the rescue kayak than the common alternative of getting up onto the back deck of the vacated kayak. If an elbow or shoulder is injured, the technique of mounting the rescue bow will also work with only one good arm. When the swimmer is on the bow of the kayak he can swing a leg over to come to a sitting position, straddling the foredeck and facing the rescuer, usually in a location just forward of the front hatch.
Securing the paddles from drifting away during a rescue is always a consideration. Each paddler can hold onto his own paddle but this can be cumbersome and can generally interfere with the rescue. Slipping one or both paddles under the rescuer’s deck bungees is only marginally more helpful because the paddles are likely to get in the way of pulling the flooded kayak onto the rescue deck.
My preference is to wear a PFD that includes a rescue belt with a pigtail and carabiner. The rescuer wraps the pigtail around both paddle shafts, closing the loop by clipping the carabiner back onto the pig-tail. Secured in this way the paddles can be dropped into the water to float safely and securely out of the way. Alternately, there are a variety of paddle tethers and leashes that can serve to secure the paddles from drifting away. Securing both paddles with a small paddle leash that is permanently attached to one of the paddle shafts is one option.
At this point in the rescue the swimmer’s head and torso are out of the water, greatly reducing their loss of body heat. Concurrently, the upright sitting posture suggests an improvement in the situation. The casualty is no longer a swimmer, and is now in close proximity to the rescuer; communication is vastly improved. With the rescuee’s legs hanging down into the water and with a hand on the capsized kayak, the two kayaks now form a stable raft.
Sitting up and straddling the rescuer’s bow, the rescuee can maneuver up the front deck to a position about three feet from the rescuer. All this time the rescuer has been leaning slightly with at least one hand on the vacated kayak and the stability is excellent.
In practice sessions, rescuees with the intent to be as awkward as possible have been unable to capsize the rescuer. At this point, the pair can secure paddles, pumps, launch flares, use a radio, or fetch spare paddles. The swimmer and rescuer could even remain in this position and wait for additional assistance. Emptying the flooded cockpit and returning the swimmer to his cockpit remains to be done.
The rescuer slides the vacant kayak along to take hold of its bow, where the shape and easier access to deck lines make righting the kayak easy. No effort is made to lift the kayak at this point, the rescuer is still leaning on it for support.
With the vacated kayak upright, its stern is swung away and out to 90 degrees and the bow hauled up onto the deck of the rescue kayak between the two paddlers; at this point the two kayaks form an X. I find hauling a kayak up this way is easier than the traditional cockpit-down method, even with a loaded kayak full of water. It is easier to grasp the bow, and easier to slide the smooth keel over the rescue kayak’s deck.
With four hands put to work, any additional weight of water in the cockpit is easily managed, and all the while stability is rock solid. All the hauling and emptying can be done by the rescuer without the help of the other paddler, but more hands make lighter work. The vacated kayak is rolled sideways to drain the water and then returned to a normal floating position beside the rescue kayak.
As the kayak is returned to a normal floating position parallel to the rescue kayak, the rescuer must resume a position leaning slightly with at least one hand on the vacated kayak—very easy and very important. The kayak should be returned to the water with a bow-to-stern orientation as this provides the easiest reentry access for the swimmer.
The swimmer can now reenter his kayak. It is imperative that while reentering the cockpit, the swimmer always keeps his weight on the rescue kayak. It’s just like entering a kayak from a dock, or the edge of a pool; keep your weight on the pooldeck until you are fully seated.
The rescue kayak is at the same level as the vacated kayak and is certainly not as immobile as a pool deck, but use the same “hands on the deck” approach to reentering the cockpit. Starting from a seated straddle position on the deck of the rescue kayak, the swimmer lifts his feet and rotates to a generally face-down posture with his hands on the rescue-deck and feet in their own cockpit. The hips are then turned to a sitting position, all the while at least one hand maintains weight and balance on the rescue deck. Practicing this the first time may be clumsy, but by the third repetition the technique is quick, reliable and very stable.
In a real-life capsize two paddlers are rarely so close together that the swimmer is advised to float about and passively wait for outside assistance. The swimmer should at least try to haul himself up onto the aft deck or overturned hull of his kayak and wait there as if sitting on a surfboard, torso out of the water, hand waving, whistling or radioing for help.
Once alerted to the incident, the paddling partner will approach the scene, often a few minutes later. With two kayaks rafted together, the swimmer can remain on top of the raft, swing one leg and then the other over the rescue kayak. Now sitting on the rescue kayak the rescuer can proceed to drain the capsized kayak and return the swimmer to his cockpit. The remainder of the rescue can be completed without the swimmer having to reenter the water.
Once the swimmer is recovered and is straddling the rescue deck, and after the cockpit has been emptied of water, the kayak is returned to the water in a bow-to-stern orientation. This orientation will give the swimmer the best access to reenter his cockpit.
Well-practiced paddlers can easily organize the best orientation for the kayaks and complete the rescue in a very short time. However, a rescue unfolding on a lee shore near waves breaking on rocks or other imminent hazard might require speed over convenience. Straddling the rear deck and reentering a flooded cockpit could be an alternative. Especially if the kayak is fitted with an electric bilge pump.
A different situation might have a third party tow the rafted swimmer and rescuer away from a hazard before the swimmer reenters his cockpit. These sorts of adaptations during an urgent rescue require skill and knowledge shared between the paddling partners.
The first step in an incident is usually something unexpected and unfamiliar. I have participated in assisted rescues involving loaded sea kayaks flipping end over end, paddlers with dislocated shoulders, lacerated hands, broken fingers, disabling leg cramps, overwhelming asthma, out-of-control panic attacks and steep waves that rolled both kayaks one over the other.
I have used the straddle-X rescue as my preferred technique in moderate sea conditions when rescuing swimmers that are tired or weak and have difficulty with a reentry that requires them to swim and climb up onto the back deck of their own kayak. If there is a rule for sea kayak rescues, it is that any technique that seems easy on a calm day will be very demanding during a desperate rescue, and good communication and previous practice are critically important to an efficient and successful outcome.
Rescue techniques that are expected to work in cold and rough water need to be practiced in a safe location that offers water cold enough and rough enough to challenge your skills. Practice with familiar paddling partners. On the day that an unanticipated rescue is needed, their familiar faces and well-practiced skills will be there to give you a hand.
The straddle-X rescue works effectively in a wide variety of circumstances and is probably my third choice. In sea conditions rough enough to cause me to capsize, my first choice is to roll.
Rolling is the simplest, easiest, fastest and most reliable way to recover from a capsize. If several attempts at rolling fail, I would exit the cockpit and start a solo-self rescue. My paddling partner may also be having difficulty and not be available to help me right away.
At the very least I would crawl up on my kayak to get out of the water. Try practicing rescue scenarios with one arm only, with eyes closed, or with one hand injured, and work to complete the rescue within a time limit.