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Rescuing Others
Surfski Assist. Photo from Emma Levemyr Video
Surfskier Needing Assistance But Still in Boat
Broken or lost paddle; Broken or lost rudder; or Boater is tired (losing stability, strength, confidence) - possibly has fallen in and remounted but subsequent fall outs and remounts will become increasingly fatiguing and will compound difficulty of rescue.
1) Attach your tow rope (see in safety gear section) and paddle them to safety if they have sufficient stability (keep their legs in the water?) Longer description of using tow ropes 2018
Towing (in Swedish) - you can see what they are doing. You can use footstraps as attachment points if there are no handles.
2) 2 Surfski Rafts:
(2 Surfski Raft Technique 1) Boater who needs assistance can hold onto the rescuers surfski behind their cockpit and rescuer can paddle across both surfskis. This is assisted by a strap connected to both surfski footstraps. Following video shows this (in Swedish but pictures are worth 1000 words):
(2 Surfski Raft Technique 2) pull your boat up next to theirs and each paddler puts their inside foot in the other ski footwell. Each person paddles on their outside of the surfski raft formed by the two skis. Split 1 paddle in half if needed. Or the person being rescued can hold onto other surfski and the rescuer can paddle on both sides. Watch following video (in Swedish but you should get the idea):
3) 3 Surfski Raft: Similar to the last 2 person raft, but done with 3 surfskis, the rescued surfski will be in the middle and simply helps hold the outside skis close (if they are able to do that) while the outside rescuers, each with a foot inside the middle surfski, paddle on the outside of their surfskis
Lost Ski
- When another surfer loses their ski, if you are skilled, have practiced the techniques, the water is not too rough, and your boat is not too unstable, you might be able to paddle them to shore on the back deck of your ski (the front end deck is also sometimes used - which is better may depend on specific surfski in question). Rescue/transport with a surfski in rough water is difficult if not impossible for most paddlers. The only way to have an accurate sense of your capability to do this is to practice it in increasingly rough water.
- Outrigger canoes
- with their additional stability are much more practical than surfskis for making this kind of rescue
- Outriggers can fail too video
Broken Ama - right before complete break in middle and huli
.
Cold Water Rescue
If a paddler is in the water and can't fully remount, get them half out of the water so they are either lying across your boat or theirs. This can add valuable minutes (of slower heat loss) while you wait for help.
Practice
Ruminations About Rescue
- …
Multiple Methods of Assistance - this video is spoken in Swedish but the visuals provide a good demonstration of the techniques
