“Where’s Haruo?” Jim Kakuk, lined up just outside the breakers and next to me, shrugged. I scanned the surf zone again at Pillar Point and counted the boaters…one, two, three, four, five. No Haruo. “We’ve got to find him.”
We were surfing at Microwave on a blustery day with good-sized swells crashing through every few seconds. We were trying out a prototype of a washdeck slalom kayak in the surf, and it was Haruo Hasegawa’s turn to play in it. He had taken a wave a couple of minutes ago, but now was gone. Jim and I told the other guys that we were going to find Haruo, and we took off in the likely direction—down wave along the wind path.
Ten minutes later we spotted him about 100 meters off the southwest end of the jetty, swimming feebly, sans kayak. As we approached him, we saw that he was exhausted. I helped Haruo climb on to the stern of Jim’s kayak, and Jim paddled him to the inside of the jetty, where we helped Haruo onto the rocks. From there, he walked back to the put-in at the harbor. The boat and Haruo’s paddle were lost for good, swallowed by the sea. Later, safe and sound, Haruo told us he came out of his boat on a dumping wave and the wind blew it away. He started swimming to shore 400 meters away, but tired after 20 minutes of slow progress in the 52F water.
Fortunately, Jim and I were able to rescue Haruo using a relatively easy stern deck rescue as illustrated and described in John Lull’s book, SEA KAYAKING SAFETY AND RESCUE. But what if he had been too weak or injured to hold on to Jim’s deck or bow? What if he was still in the surfzone when he lost his boat, and needed rescue? Then we would have had to swim over and rescue him. That was 20 years ago, but got me thinking about efficient ways to rescue kayakers who had lost their boats, especially in surf or rocks.
A swim rescue story in surf
Years after the Haruo incident, a pod of us Tsunami Rangers paddled six miles down the Oregon coast to a beach for a week-long retreat. Michael Powers paddled a river kayak laden with all his camping gear and photography equipment. He could barely progress at sea and was the last guy to arrive. He hesitated outside the six-foot surf, started in on a big wave, changed his mind, then tipped over in the slosh. With his camera around his neck, he couldn’t roll up properly. Next thing you know, he’s bobbing and waving his arm just outside the surf, and his boat and all his gear are being washed through the surf and into some sharp rocks.
Andy Taylor of Force Ten, who was our guest on this trip, put on his fins and swam out to Michael. I swam into the surf and secured Michael’s boat. Dave Whalen and John Lull ran over the rocks and retrieved his gear floating about. Without having to physically grab Michael, Andy talked him into body surfing in to shore, which Michael did with Andy. Five minutes later Michael and his stuff were reunited on the beach, and he laughed as he stuffed down hummus and crackers, explaining that he was tired and getting cold, and he got confused a bit after losing all his stuff.
We were lucky that Michael got in so easy. What if he had passed out, or been incapacitated with cold, or panicked? Since that incident, I have developed a swim rescue system based on the Red Cross senior lifesaving course. Here are the steps to take, in order.
Swim Rescue System
1- Does a swimmer actually need rescue? We use diver’s signals of “I’m Okay” to indicate we don’t need to be rescued, or “Help!” to show that we do need assistance. So step one is determine if the swimmer needs rescue. Pat your head and point at the swimmer. Does he pat his head, indicating he is okay? If not, assume he needs assistance and…
2- Ascertain whether it is safe for you and others to attempt a rescue. If it looks too dangerous, don’t do it. Call 911 or contact the Coast Guard, Harbor Master, or someone who can safely execute a rescue. But do consider that it may take too long for authorities to arrive and perform a rescue, or they may not be able to do it. A few months ago, a swimmer drowned in flat water off a beach in Alameda, California, because the various authorities chickened out because they were “unprepared” to perform such an easy rescue. Finally, a woman passerby swam out to the guy and brought him in, but he died anyway.
3- If you go out to rescue the swimmer, approach him carefully and talk him into shore, as Andy did in the above story. Many times the reassurance of having someone there is enough for the person to come out of his near-panic state and come in on his own. This is perfect, as the swimmer feels like he did it himself without being a VICTIM.
4- If you will have to perform a rescue, give the victim something other than you to hold onto (unless he is incapacitated and can’t move), so you don’t have to physically touch him. Many rescuers drown because victims cling to them too strongly. The best item to hand to the victim is a paddle. Instruct him to grab one end and you hold the other. Then swim him in, talking confidently and calmly to him. Be wary of the victim suddenly gaining strength and climbing the paddle to you. If that happens, warn him off or let go of the paddle and swim away. Then try again. A short rescue line or throw bag can be used in lieu of a paddle, but be very careful not to let you or the victim get entangled, as that can endanger you both in surf.
5- If you have nothing to hand to the swimmer, or the victim is incapacitated because of illness, injury, cold water immersion, or a combination of these, grab the victim by the shoulder loop of her PFD, and swim her in doing sidestroke. Be sure the victim’s airway is clear. If the victim’s head is dipping underwater or her neck may be hurt, gently place your forearm across her back near the T1 vertebra which raises her head a bit. Alternatively, if she is not wearing a PFD, cup your hand under her chin to raise her head out of the water, and tow her in that way. Or use a cross chest carry as a professional lifeguard would. Swim in to shore either behind the breakers, or body surf the wave in (this is the fastest and easiest way in, though hard on the victim).
More thoughts on swim rescues in surf
Remember, after a successful rescue, your job may not be finished. Unless the victim can walk around and talk okay, assume that first aid will be needed. Be ready to call 911, administer CPR, and treat for shock.
Note that many drowning people don’t shout or flail. They just sink and are gone. If a person is floundering in the surf and cannot or will not signal that he is okay, go into rescue mode. Don’t wait until a victim silently slips away.
I have directly saved or assisted in saving a dozen swimmers in grave distress; five of these were in surf zones. Seven rescues occurred before I took my senior lifesaving course from the Red Cross. There are two points here. First, even without “official” training you can still rescue someone. If you think you can do it, you probably can; just follow the five steps above. Second, why look for trouble? Take a Red Cross (or other agency) course and be prepared. It goes without saying that you will also want to complete a first aid and CPR course.
Finally, be sure to practice, practice, practice. Kayak rescue authors Roger Schumann & Jan Shriner and John Lull strongly advocate learning and practicing all kinds of kayaking rescues. You can now add the swim rescue to your repertoire of lifesaving techniques and go out and try it in a safe place. I make my Open Coast kayak students practice swim rescues, and I hope you will practice too. You never know when you might need to save a swimmer in the surf.
I could have put in more detail, so if you have a question about swim rescues, please push the comment button and ask, and I will answer. If you have additional information or wish to correct me on anything I wrote, please post a comment. We can benefit from your knowledge.
If you have been rescued as a swimmer or kayaker, please share your story. And if you have rescued someone in surf or rocks, we’d like to hear about it. We can learn from your experience.
This is probably obvious to most people but I figured it was worth posting just in case. Do not try to T-rescue a swimmer and boat inside the surf zone. Tow them out beyond the break and then rescue them.
The story was a surf session at Machrihanish. I’d performed a “wet exit” (read – ripped out of my kayak) and was trying to get myself and my vessel back to shore. I was stuck in a huge hole. Every time my feet would almost get some purchase on the ground, I’d get sucked back out. This had happened a few times already, eventually I knew I’d catch some purchase and be able to run into shore, and the water was nice and warm so I wasn’t in distress or anything.
Next thing my paddling partner comes up behind me. “Want rescued?” he asks me. “yeah lets try it!” The rescue went ahead no problems and I was back in my seat in no time but I’d stowed my bilge pump in my front hatch since I was, y’know, surfing and I wanted to keep the damn thing and my boat was full of water. It’s not easy to keep the cockpit dry in surf and, despite a textbook lift and empty, it’d filled back up again by the time I was back in.
So we’re sitting there, rafted up and I’m wondering how to proceed. I’d pretty much resigned myself to falling in again as soon as we broke the raft which was fine because I’d be able to surf the couple of meters I needed to get my feet down and back to shore when suddenly I followed my mates stunned expression, over my shoulder to the mountain of water that was thundering toward us.
How many times have you introduced a beginner to a kayak raft? If you’re anything like me the standard spiel is “nothing can knock you over when you are rafted” well now I’ve revised that to “almost nothing can knock you over when you’re rafted.”
Raft capsized broadside and we had to actually take turns to exit our boats. Now there were two swimmers with stunned expressions. The good thing is we were playing and enjoyed the whole thing immensely but a lesson was learned that day nonetheless.
Excellent point here, Ross. Thanks. I agree completely. In general, one should not raft up with another boater in surf. And unless you are Reg Lake or some other phenomenal rescuer, don’t try to perform a T-rescue or any boat-to-boat rescue in surf. Disaster will ensue.
Instead, swim in and get your boat near shore, then deal with it. I’m glad you and your mate were okay!
Don Diego,
A very important topic, now more then ever as sea kayaking becomes increasingly popular. My short story is that I took a friend out into the Marine Reserve one day with some surf, not a lot or dangerous. But I made the mistake of loaning him my 6 mm dive/abalone diving wetsuit. He managed to get into it but once we were on the water, he fell out of his boat and essentially could not move his arms much; too tight. He could not get back into the boat. He was about 30 yards off shore. I asked him are you warm enough? He said yes. Can you swim? He said no.
So I had him do what you and other Rangers have taught me. He grabbed the stern of my boat and I towed him in through the waves. Pretty easy and we did get his X0 off the rocks. He was shaken a bit but okay and has paddled since.
So I learned my lesson; if it don’t fit don’t wear it! But the rescue worked a-ok.
Thats my minor story, but this is important stuff to share and learn from.
Thanks as always,
Steve
Another great post, Eric. Mario Vittone has some excellent information about drowning on his site: http://mariovittone.com/2010/05/154/ (Drowning doesn’t Look Like Drowning). The gist is that a drowning person doesn’t do the “hollywood thrashabout”, they just bob around in a certain way and then they sink. This can happen very quickly, so it’s good to be able to recognize it when it’s happening.
There’s no way to maintain your edge other than by practicing the skill in question, yet how many paddlers can say they regularly practice. True for rolls, true for rescues. Thanks for bringing it up again… and again…. and again. We need all the reminders we can get.
Not directly on topic, but I tell people who are whining about wearing their PFDs that it always seems to be “much ado about nothing” on shore; it’s another story entirely if you’ve capsized “out there” and your boat’s full of water, or -worse yet – has blown away; at that point your PFD suddenly becomes your very best friend – ever!
Steve, that was a good story. Yes, a wetsuit, drysuit or any kayaking apparel must fit properly, else the person can’t paddle properly, much less swim. I’m glad the stern grab-ahold worked in the surf. It’s a relatively safe option, as the swimmer is unlikely to get smacked by a boat that is downwave. Good call!
And Moulton, I went to Vittone’s website and read up on the Instinctive Drowning Response, and sure enough, a person who is actually drowning and not just panicked can’t shout or wave his arms. That means we need to look out for people who seem okay but aren’t making progress, or go underwater and then pop up for a moment, or appear listless in the water. The bottom line is pay attention and act decisively.
Thank you both for your comments.
Rescuing a swimmer in deep water amongst a complex surf zone especially if there are resuscitative requirements that could also include bleeding injuries and spinal complications has to be about as difficult as it can get. I’d strongly recommend a lifesaving course sponsored by whatever agency has authority in the paddler’s jurisdiction. I took mine with the Lifesaving Society and the Bronze Mediation (a moderate level of achievement) was enough to make me realize both conscious and unconscious rescues require really good levels of fitness and developed strength if there are shortfalls, as well as stroke-efficiency and ultimate endurance output if even small transits must be swam with any kind of dead weight.
I’d think kayakers helping each other in the surf zone would suffer less the slings and arrows of outrageous panicking and need far less coping skills using release maneuvers and other defensive skills. I’d also expect paddlers to be wearing PFD’s or equivalent and most rescuers to be boated up. While practice is marvelous and knowledge king you still need someone, preferably, on the scene with good judgment and situational awareness as well as the wherewithal to utilize available resources amongst the group while not endangering others.
Good article Eric. On-going water-safety education is essential and goading us to think about these things with your blog, as well as offering practical advice…it’s all good isn’t it? All my surf rescues have been self rescues as I mostly solo paddle; I simply no know other way to be so humbled by the ocean as to be a PIW in a surf zone with no immediate egress. One needs certain prerequisites and some skills here. For that the Tsunami Rangers have long been promoting the right stuff. Thank you
Doug, you make several important points here. All in all I agree with you on everything. Let me add on to a couple of your points.
Regarding having someone on scene with “good judgment and situational awareness as well as the wherewithal to utilize available resources…while not endangering others” is a key statement. When I’m on the beach, that would be me. I’m not being conceited here. I go to the beach in command of myself and I constantly scan the area for something wrong. If someone is having difficulty in the water, I will immediately take over and rescue that guy, using the resources and people available.
I believe that most of my Tsunami Ranger compatriots could and would do the same. In both stories I used in the essay, we used seamless teamwork to rescue our swimmers. Our friend Andy Taylor is a consummate waterman who had his fins at the ready. He was a good choice to assist Michael in the surf, and he did it competently and without hesitation. He’s a good guy to have along. On other trips, we’ve paddled with kayakers who complemented our skills. Gregg Berman, a great paddler who is also an RN, is a good example. If someone would have needed first aid, he’d be right there.
Doug, I’m making an assumption (which can always be foolish!), but I believe, based on your writing here and other writing you have done which I have read, that you would also be a person we could rely on to do his part in a surf rescue situation. Am I right?
As for you going out in surf alone…what can I say? I respect your decision to do what you think you can do based upon your recon of the area and your knowledge and skills. Still, I urge you to seek out and paddle with like-minded paddlers in rough conditions. Why not double the joy and halve the risk?
I used to solo in surf. In fact, I would often be the only guy out in big winter water. In retrospect, though I was young and in great shape, I would have been safer and had more fun if I had found friends to share the experience. That’s why Jim Kakuk and I formed the Tsunami Rangers. Since my heart ordeals (I’ll discuss this in a future post), I hardly ever go out alone, unless it’s a pond.
Eric,
I hate replying to your replies as I like you to have the last word on things but, you can always reply again here. I find it too hard to find other paddlers willing to take on some of the challenges I like that typically involve a little more than just surf lines and rock gardens, so we’re talking river bars, storm surge, high winds, headlands, currents and other hydraulic interplay — sometimes at night. Most of the good paddlers I know represent various coaching schemes or skills-development enterprises and seem to eschew the extreme end of the spectrum lest they heap disrepute to said entities if something goes wrong. I have to be careful too as I write safety articles for SK Magazine but at least I experience firsthand some of the absurdities of trying, as well as confirming other workable dogma that I see being disseminated.
Yes, as with river paddling, team paddling is the only real safe way to conduct the activity and so it is for ocean playboating. I prefer my own company, getting myself out of trouble and in fact, gave up river paddling to pursue sea-born objectives that subjectively, are more doable solo than on the river. I also find sea kayakers far too conservative generally (probably a good thing in my cold waters) and typically don’t gear up adequately nor deal with the unexpected well (I do, but in my own way).
As for situational awareness and underlying issues with cognitive and perceptual tasking in a complex situation where there are consequences for decisions made or not made, well let me just say I’ve seen more than enough examples of failure in my two short years in the Canadian Forces Reserve to know just how badly a well theorized, fresh commissioned officer performs in the field in extremis compared to seasoned, NCO’s (non-coms).
I don’t have the same fitness levels I did in my youth either; back when I took my Bronze Medallion (didn’t do the Bronze Cross due to rotator cuff complications). I had open heart surgery too a few years back, with aortic valve replacement, bypass and complex atrial plication (not as involved as your case). With a spouse battling cancer I’ve certainly had to behave myself the last couple of years, so here we sit surfing from the couch some days…
Jeezus H., Doug! You blow my mind. Here you are an aortic valve replacement guy (we’ll talk more about that when I do the Health essay in a month or two), and you are out alone, at night, in major hydraulics. (If you would have added “and on acid,” I would bow down to you and say “I am not worthy.”)
It’s a shame you can’t find anyone to play with out there on the edge, but you have a personal system that works for you, and that’s good. As a martial arts dude, I’m one of those people who say “I don’t care what belt you have or what your art is, what can you do?” What actually works is most important.
As for your example of the freshly minted officers versus the NCOs, I’d put my money on the NCOs any day. 🙂
Now Doug, the big question: Would you be willing to write a guest post here, perhaps on “adventure SK soloing” or something like that? It should be about 1,000 words, and preferably with pictures. You won’t get paid, and if I pull an Arianna Huffington and sell out my post for a zillion dollars (ha ha), you won’t get zip. But you will be able to express yourself in an uncensored way, and a lot of us would benefit from that. Please muse on it. You can either respond here or contact me at my email: tsunamiranger@gmail.com. Thanks, and good luck!
Okay Commander, I’ll see what I can do. For the moment: There’s a time to play it safe and a time for Risky Business (movie tagline a retired economics educator might enjoy!). Solo playboating is twice the risk and twice the reward. Flipped upside-down on purpose to abate lateral drift in high wind gusts on a moonless night a mile or more offshore, my headlamp temporarily on, a murky glow suffuses the turbidity as bits of shredded kelp undulate in the 3 knot current. I’ll do an extended Pawlata roll in a moment to ensure roll completion and a combat-ready stability-calming. Suddenly a marine mammal comes face-to-face out of the euphotic depths. Translucent whiskers, bright eyes ablaze with inquisitiveness, and a showing of sharp teeth scare the crap out of me. It’s SOMETHING I’m afraid of. 2:00 am. More squall lines are due and the snowflakes are reflecting too much light back in my face. Switching to low-light red, I know I’m the only one who can get myself back to shore safely. Alone, euphoric depths plumbed this night, few will understand…
Doug… I really, really like your ethos! I’m sure you cop a lot of flak from those who don’t understand. And, usually, when folks don’t understand something, it’s because of their fears, and then these folks don’t have the insight to appreciate other peoples inspired actions. Quite often they then feel the need to criticize, rather than accept and be amazed.
I personally would not be invovled with the level of what you do, when you do and where you do, but…. I really appreciate it! I have spent alot of time in the ocean in many different environments (tropical to arctic) and doing many different things (free divinig, kayaking, surfing, multi-day swims with equipment in tow, etc. and often solo) and I understand what you are talking about. But, just because I wouldn’t do it myself doesn’t mean it’s in need of criticizing!
Now, novices in the ocean environment….that’s a completely different thing. We often hear of, or see folks that are ignorant and doing truly unfortunate things which often ends in personal tragedy. I think some folks seem to put that perspective (what’s good for a beginner) onto the more experienced, more inspired players–which is not right. Novices should follow sensible rules, but these rules should not apply across the board.
Eric….thanks for encouraging Lloyd’s comments. It’s so refreshing to hear things outside the square!
Hey Eric,
As a parent of young water loving kids, I spend a lot of time in the surf. Clearly it is a parent’s nightmare to think of your child drowning in the surf. I can only guess what the panic and I’m sure lack of both logic and self control would feel like in that situation.
I, at first was surprised and then completely fascinated when you started doing these types of exercises in your classes. As slow as I am, I now think that its something that may have “fallen though the cracks” in most training in the SF Bay area. Can anyone tell me if it has been taught or at least encouraged in any but the more advanced training.
Eric, the mantra of “Never kayak where you wouldn’t swim” has always rung loud and clear with me. I love to swim in the ocean and surf. I try to do it at least once a week. Year round. But …..
Any body out there have a suggestion on where to look for an surf resuce class? I will contact local Swim teams and pools for leads .
Eric, Thanks for the sparks that keep the fire going.
Scott, I’m a proud grandfather of a girl who is is almost one year old. Believe me, I want her to be really safe in surf when she is OLD ENOUGH and SKILLED enough to safely SWIM in surf. Regardless, until she becomes a teenager I would not dream of letting her out of my sight for an instant if we were at a beach and she was anywhere near the water. Even on a public beach, as in Los Angeles, with the top notch “Bay Watch” lifeguards, I would keep my eye her.
I advocate that kids learn to swim at an early age (without “water wings” or other flotation devices, which give kids a false sense of competence). When I was on swim team, we had five-year-olds who could easily swim a 100-meter freestyle race and beat 50% of adults. Even then, I would not let these merkids swim in the surf without direct supervision. Competition swimmers swim in f-l-a-t water, whereas surf is anything but.
Where do concerned parents get surf rescue training? In the U.S. they could take Red Cross Senior Lifesaving classes and the like. These are difficult courses; make sure you are a good swimmer before you sign up for one. I personally know of no other organizations that offer surf rescue in the States, but check around your area. Finally, a person such as you or Andy Taylor could teach people how to do it. The knowledge and skill are more important than the certifying agency.
Eric wanted me to tell this story so here goes…Eric was training me and my friend Denise to paddle the Sea Gypsy Extreme Race. We went over to Michael’s house south of Surfer’s Beach in El Granada to practice landings and takeoffs. We were in a Tsunami X-3. We were paddling out and got CREAMED. We had no hope of making it over the incoming wave as we were dead in the water, so I dove out with my paddle and let Denise take it in the face. When I came up, the 24′, 140 lb. boat was flying through the air and I couldn’t see Denise, so I started swimming back toward shore. I gave up on the boat, figuring the waves would wash it up onto the beach. Eventually I saw Denise swimming north toward me instead of east toward the beach. This was dumb because there is a strong southward longshore current there. When she was within earshot she started calling to me that she was tired and didn’t think she could make it. I kept encouraging her, but she was pretty much in shock. The current carried me toward her, even as I swam toward shore, so we eventually met up. She had lost her paddle. She told me she was tired and didn’t think she could make it. I was annoyed because she had been an Olympic alternate for butterfly in the summer Games in years past, and I had somehow always thought that if anyone needed rescuing it would be me, and she would come through. Now the tables were turned.
Having been creamed repeatedly in my attempts to kayak with Eric over the years, even this train wreck didn’t seem like that big of a deal, so I kept trudging toward shore and encouraging Denise to swim along with me. She said she was too tired, so I offered her my paddle. I told her I would pull her in if she held on to the other end. Thank goodness for those side-stroke lessons I had had as a kid back at the Sacramento YMCA. Well, Denise grabbed the paddle and with surprising energy went hand over hand right up the shaft and grabbed onto my arm! I remember at that moment I thought, OMG, this is one of those classic swim rescue situations. I looked at Denise without favor and said sharply, “Don’t. Hold. On. To. Me.” or words to that effect. I remember thinking that if she continued to hang on to my arm I was going to have to deck her. Perhaps she read it in my eyes, for she let go and asked me to give her my paddle. She had seen me sculling along with it earlier, and apparently thought it would be helpful, but I guess it was more of a hindrance to her because she let it go almost immediately. We kept swimming toward shore, me urging her along, until finally my toes touched sand. I knew we’d be okay then, so I told her I could touch and swam the rest of the way in. She followed. We were both really traumatized, but otherwise unharmed. The whole ugly story is in Eric’s book Wave Warrior in my story under the heading “Denise Gets a Face Enema”. The moral of the story: even a really good swimmer needs to practice in surf. Swimming pools are no substitute.
Thanks for sharing that incident, Nancy. To fully comprehend the importance of a given topic, humans need to read and hear stories so they can do as Otto von Bismarck said and avoid unnecessary and dangerous personal experiences and instead “…prefer to learn from the experiences of others.”
As much as I like hands-on learning, it’s common sense to listen to those who have gone before you. You may or may not like what they did in a given situation, but you’ll have something to ponder. Again, thank you for such a good story which illustrates the need for swim rescues in surf and how to do it.
Bismark’s comment about the sensibility of learning dangerous lessons from the experience of others is a piece of wisdom that everyone in outdoor recreation would do well to heed.
At some point, most of us have encountered someone who told them that there’s no way we could learn to climb, paddle, backpack, scuba dive, fly a plane, ride a horse, or a motorcycle or -whatever- just by reading about it; that the only way you can really learn that kind of stuff is by doing it. Well, that’s true enough – but only up to a point – and it’s a very important point. Because as it turns out, there’s a LOT of stuff that you really, really don’t want to learn about the hard way. Nasty stuff like:
Getting totally creamed when you decide to paddle out that little inlet or river mouth to just “check out the ocean”.
Watching in horror as your kayak sinks like a stone because it had no floatation.
Capsizing 200 yards from shore and finding out, through “direct personal experience”, that the guy who tried to warn you about the danger of cold water, uh, well, dammit, that guy actually did know what he was talking about.
Getting really and truly lost when your trusty GPS runs out of juice, breaks, malfunctions, can’t get a signal – whatever – and it’s getting dark, and cold, and you don’t have a map and compass, and – oh, what the hell, you wouldn’t know how to use a map and compass anyway.
Trying to hold a rock climbing leader fall and realizing, while you’re airborne 400 feet off the deck – that your belay protection really did suck.
Getting swept into a tide race or blown offshore even though the TV weather report you watched in the morning said nothing about dangerous tidal currents or small craft advisories.
It’s a long, long, list, and there’s no way in hell anyone wants to learn about any of it first-hand, thank you very much.
Of all the dynamic variables involved in any kind of rescue, panic is your real arch enemy. It’ll turn the most straightforward of procedures into a twenty minute – shouting at someone to calm the hell down and stop trying to climb into your boat beside you – session in the blink of an eye.
For my own part my experience of swimmer panic is limited to a couple of one-off incidents but it was enough for me to develop my introductory safety speech, which goes along the lines of “If you happen to fall in the water, keep a hold of your paddle and your boat. I will come up alongside you and I’ll ask how you’re feeling about the situation. You have ten seconds to convince me that you’re cooler that the Fonz in an icebath otherwise I’ll leave you to it”
Okay so maybe I don’t really mean it when I say it but I can usually say it with enough conviction that they aren’t so sure.
Panic is the mind killer, all right. In two of the surf swimmer rescues I performed, the victims were panicked but beyond any real physical resistance. They simply couldn’t or wouldn’t follow my commands. In these situations, if you feel up to it, you have to “seize and assist” them (for more information, click on https://tsunamirangers.com/2010/09/06/seize-and-assist-and-other-paddling-power-words/). That’s what I did.
A very experienced kayaking friend jokingly suggested yelling S-H-A-R-K!!! to get people moving. I’ve never tried it, but in the right circumstances, it just might work.
Rescues in the surf are part of kayaking and everyone should practice for the eventual situation that will develop if you are anywhere in a boat and there are waves. You cannot always prepare for every situation that will develop but having the basic skills of swimming and reentry is a good start.
A self rescue is the first and best rescue and that starts with good swimming skills. Anyone kayaking in surf or exposed coast should be at ease swimming in the surf and that is where anyone should start. Get a mask and fins and spend an hour playing in the waves and rocks, diving under and rolling in the turbulence until you are relaxed and acclimated to the conditions and then start your kayaking. This will completely relieve the stress in your body and prepare you for the inevitable situation of a swim with your boat, as Eric said “panic of being in the surf is the mind killer”. More than just practicing a rescue work with your boat while swimming in the surf, turning over, climbing back in and paddling close to the beach and then you will be at ease when the unexpected rescue occurs.
SWIM, DIVE, PLAY in the waves.
Good advice Jim. I agree that everyone would have a much better time in surf if they got in and swam around for awhile before kayaking. It is, or at least should be relaxing.
Eric,
You wanted some imput into rescues in the surf. I’ve got a couple here….Ok, so I’m digging back to the late 1960’s and early 1970’s! I worked for the City and County of Honolulu as a surf beach lifeguard for four years at Sandy Beach on Oahu–which was my favourite body surfing beach when it was good! (Wow to get paid to go to work where I would be going anyway, and, yes, we were allowed lots of “water patrol time”. It was a dumping surf in shallow water that often baffled the tourists. (No way would a kayaker be there!) Usually the undertow wouldn’t allow them to get back onto the beach easily, so they then driften out past the breakers–getting hammered along the way–which were not far off shore as it was a shorebreak type surf.
Believe it or not, our usual method of “rescue” was to simply swim out–with fins on of course–and after ascertaining that they weren’t panicked (most weren’t–just very scared), give some brief instruction as to what we were going to do. (We never used any “torpedoes” or bouyancy devices in that kind of surf because we needed to be able take them underwater when the waves broke over us.) Basically they faced the beach and we grabbed one arm and swam backwards watching for the next breaker. They were instructed to dive down when we said, and we literally pulled them under at the right moment! The challenge was to never loose our grip on them and pop them back up for air asap after the turbulence calmed. A rough and basic method, but it worked superbly in it’s simplicity.
Now, I should point out that this does not work for a drowning or panicking person–they won’t be able to follow instructions and one would not be able to control them–these types are very very risky. Fortunately, all we ever seemed to get were scared folks who didn’t want to come back in through the dumping shorebreak.
On some rare occasions we did get some topless “rescues” as their bikini top got ripped off in the shorebreak and this presented it’s own unique set of complications–I’ll leave that to your imaginations!!! Or, the hapless tourist female crawling back up the steep beach in the incoming and outgoing surge and having her bottoms pulled down to her knees in front of 50 folks!!! Ah yes, to be young again and working for the C&C of Honlulu!!
Moving on…I would say in another type of scenario…such as surf breaking significantly farther out in deeper water and rolling on in, that some form of bouyancy device would be good for them to hang onto and let the spilling waves push them in rather than diving under. Swimming out in this case would require lots of stamina and rips could really threaten a swimming rescuer. This is where a COMPETENT paddler in a kayak could make the “back deck carry” type rescue much more efficiently. But, as with most things, the rescuing kayaker better be experienced in this sort of thing or they will likely end up swimming themselves. This tactic does require skill, as you guys know!
I once rescued a swimming kayaker in the surf in Oregon, but with my 10’0″ surfboard. It worked very well, but the hardest part was to convince the person to abandon their sea kayak so I could take them in on my board quickly. With them hanging onto their kayak, I could not make headway (with a rip taking us to the rocks) and both of us were at risk of getting crunched between the board and kayak. I had to get VERBALLY firm!! In the end, the kayak was retrieved by some others in their party of paddlers from the rocks, and even the paddle was eventually found. I would not have wanted to make a swim rescue in this case as it was too far out, and the rip would have taken me away as well. I got a free diner for that one!
Excellent stories, Mark! Thank you for sharing. It turns out there are many ways to save a swimmer. Yours certainly worked.
On a related note: my friend Wayne Horodowich is too modest to mention his article in the latest Atlantic Coastal Kayaker magazine called “Switch and Swim Surf Zone Landing.” It’s definitely worth a read. To read it, go to http://www.atlanticcoastalkayaker.com.
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Hello Harou is my best friend, we met in japan and we lived together in calif, around maybe 2005 he returned to japan as he could find no good work, his friends and i have called his number no answer, sister either, has he been in contact, if so please pass on my email< i suspect he has not..
paul goeltz