Surfski Knowledge Base

Reivers Dustin
07/04/18 #23346

More chat here about safe group paddles.

I keep learning. That Thurs run in the gorge showed me water that I think ruled out any surfski or OC assist value (at least mid-river). Putting two little boats near each other in that sea-state was a sure way to break a lot of stuff quickly. On the other hand, there is value in having a witness to someone in jeopardy. We used to joke about “it's a river … you can't get lost”. Uh, well there's some rough spots with no way you can walk out. There are some nice spots to tuck out of the wind, but at least on the Oregon side, it's like the hiway rest stop that is just far enough away that you'll have to poop your pants before you get there.

So. Couple things. 1) Safety in numbers? can be an illusion. You see all these guys going over the cliff. you tend to think, “how bad can it be?”. 2) Surfski as a rescue boat? might not be that good. Really depends on the operators. One huge joker in the deck is when one person has anxiety. A big component of water rescue is handling the strength and un-reasonableness of another person.

Whatcompaddlers been going for what, 15 years now? These discussions have been pounded on. Years ago a bunch of us practiced two on a single paddling. There is excellent video of rescue methods on Deep Cove site. My own favorite is T-rescue where I sit in my cockpit and lock the nose of the unstable boat with both arms while the other paddler gets settled (requires me paddle leash). Regards the “lemming factor” I have no answer. Except maybe LB's idea of pairing up. For some years now LG and I have had very close skill level. Whenever we paddled it seemed like so easy to know where the other guy was. LG has had a rough year and with the blown hip, not sure where that is now. When I try to pair up with other folks, it usually ends up in divorce papers. I must say that when I've given up my fun and stayed “on watch” for someone it is difficult.

Here is where I kinda have to show some of my ass. I've found myself maybe sometimes resentful because I've paddled “drag”, (last guy on watch). So, you know, people are nice and I'm nice and yadda yadda. If I'm always out there hanging back being the mommy, talking about people can get their eye poked out, … am I type-casting myself? Or worse, sending a message that it's safe?

From the movie “Dinosaurs”:
“not the mamma, not the mamma, not the mamma”.

rd

Paul Reavley
07/06/18 #23360

Speaking of Gorge rescues and deep cove videos - this has probably been posted here before…

https://www.deepcovekayak.com/deep-cove/rescue-at-the-gorge/

Reivers Dustin
07/06/18 #23363

That's a great write up. Bob's experience and his reasoning lines up with what I've noticed. I heard a term thrown around by some of the really good paddlers: “window shading”. It seems that the problem of rushing the remount is so common they have a slang term for it. Remounting, even in flat, is a huge energy burn. The heart rate and breathing is through the roof. If you miss more than a couple of remounts, you'll have nothing in the tank for more effort.

It's also true that putting a dismounted paddler on the back of a surfski works pretty well. But note Bob's comment about the behavior of the person on back. I've had the guy in back jump right up behind me like it was a bicycle built for two. Very hard to manage and communicate things. I consider it last resort, reserved for someone I really really like. none of you guys qualify.

rd

Duncan Howat
07/06/18 #23369

would Stormy Daniels qualify, with a name like that?

David Scherrer

07/06/18 #23370

Stormy Daniels, yup definitely, most definitely…..

Nicholas Cryder
07/06/18 #23373

I once helped a paddler who broke her leash on a big Viento run, and after grabbing her ski I got out of my ski and laid accross the back of both skis with my legs in the water (face upwind, legs downwind) as a sea anchor so she could catch up to her ski. Once she got back in I stayed put for a few minutes so we could rig her leash and get her collected. We turned the rafted skis downwind, I let my leash take my ski and held her boat for a second to get her powered up. Then I remounted my ski and we were good for the rest of the run.

Our sport is tough because physical strength comes on much faster then skill, and we don’t know what we don’t know. So your strength can write checks your skill can’t cash… and once you bounce that check there’s no going back. The odds of ski assist rescue are super thin, and it’s a big mistake to rely on that as an insurance policy. It takes someone with tremendous skill to do it, or the advantage of a very stable ski to ad margin. So looking back at my own close calls when I first started paddling, the days I’m proud of are the days I sat out.

In terms of how to paddle group downwinders, it’s give and take for me. There are days when I just need to rock out to my own jams. And there are days when I need to give back and do runs where the entire focus is the other paddler because they asked me too. I usually paddle a V8 pro on those days, and try to surf one wave behind said friends. If you don’t ask someone to specifically look out for you, they aren’t. There were people who did that for me when I first started out and they made the sport better for me (and much much safer).

Cryder