Surfski Knowledge Base

2/15/20 Saturday

Reivers Dustin
Feb 15 #26077

whoa. I think I need a bigger rudder. The usual suspects at Marine Park this morning plus two newer to the sport. Eric W. took one look at went back home for his phat-boat. The barnacles headed for the tunnel before turning, but I couldn't hang. Really gusty at the point and I could not point the boat back upwind. I noticed nobody did the tunnel after that first loop. The wind gradually built and waves were 'generous'. Like “Hawaii 5-Oh” type stuff. I caught some great rides, but mostly because the wave picked me up. I wasn't making good power and felt tippy. I noticed a few guys knocked off their boats, maybe multiple times, but people were getting back on no problem. Looking like general skill levels in the rough are getting better for folks.

I'm imagining mayhem at the Jerico race. Hope somebody does a race report.

There was at least one downwind gang. I know Alan and Kim R did one because they have posted monster run data on Facebook. Today was the sweet spot for a downwinder. A little tough at the put-in to work your way offshore so that you had a clean line downwind. The rest is just smoking the ride.

rd

Denise Weeks
Feb 16 #26083

Okay, I have one, also from Saturday.

I know I’ve humbly shared some of my live action wipeouts before, but this one has a strong MORAL OF THE STORY component that this group usually eats up. I’ve heard and learned a lot from your stories about “back in the day,” “young and fearless,” “silly and unprepared,” etc., so I thought I’d share mine. The video doesn’t answer every question you might have, so ask away if you want more details.

Short synopsis: big day, bad mistake, life saved. Hurray! I’m ahead in boning up for next summer’s safety olympics.

Thanks in advance for understanding. I hope you do.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1UDlCiszPsR6UaLQElOq8AIv3fc_iRU6B

or

Denise

David Scherrer Feb 16 #26084

Too bad about the hat. It was cool.
Oc's make great rescue boats and how great that you had a buddy keeping an eye out for you. Thought I saw the velcro on the rear deck and was wondering if this episode had anything to do with it. Ha, so it did. Easy to forget I imagine when one can't see it. Exciting day, strong gusts, big waves. Great recovery Denise! Happy your OK.

Kimberly Reeves
Feb 16 #26085

We may have been over the legal limit of paddlers crammed into a van, but as we were headed south on Chuckanut, Nick and Alan both said with eyes wide, it’s pumping out there.

Got to WC and the wind was steady and swirly. Denise and I rigged my Gemini, checked in with a few of the guys for safety, and headed out! The waves were stacking up good and looking at my GPS, saw that we were cruising between 9-11 + with little effort. I wasn’t paying attention and got too offshore at Chuckanut Bay. The easterly push had us swampy and we broached more than a few times, but we stayed upright. I got frustrated with my lack of focus, but we were still cruising and enjoying Gorge-style waves. The section from the tunnel to the north of the buoy was fun and very connectable in the longish Gemini. Once we hit Woods, the easterly reared it’s ugly head again and it was hard for me to connect… also, we may have been a wee bit tired! Sideways slop with attractive waves standing up in front… felt like Swell City.

Kevin and Jamie stayed back, did laps and made sure my canoe of peckish hens got to the beach safely. So much to learn and thankful that all the hotshots let us tag along!

Kimberly Reeves
Feb 16 #26086

Let’s talk about what you did correctly! Check in plan, buddy (husband) paddling nearby, radio, paddle leash…
All good things…and that made all the difference in the world. When I used to climb, my partners and me would run thru our safety list to make sure our harnesses were doubled through and out figure 8 follow thrus were legit… might be good to apply to paddling.

Leash….check
Paddle leash…. check
PFD…. duh!
Radio or phone… you betcha
Be safe out there :)

Duncan Howat
Feb 16 #26087

You know I would really miss you beating up on me on wed night. Also next time work on the hair when your getting back in the boat. D

Nicholas Cryder Feb 17 #26088

Superb to see safety still a vibrant part of our community. I was thinking about this very subject earlier this year, and how pilots approach the pre-flight process. It's mandatory. They also log all of their flights, and maintenance records. But the problem isn't very often equipment failure (though I have hogged my fair share), it's human error. So even when failsafes are adopted, humans find ways to make them not work. For example in the medical field, it's known as “alarm fatigue”. They hear the alarms so often, they actually stop hearing them.

I've adopted these as a part of my preflight / water safety process:

I visually inspect the boat's mission critical systems before I go, and also do routine maintenance on these. Also worth noting, I have “broken” or prevented a failure of every last one of these:

• Inspect rudder yoke & pins
• Replace my rudder line bi-annually and use top shelf Q-Powerline.
• Test the leash and connection points, including the velcro, locking carabiner, and the structural connection points of the leash.
• I replace my leash annually (calendar reminder every August).
• I replace my PFD every three years. (UV degradation is nasty beyond aesthetic, it significantly weakens fabric to the point where it can be torn with little force).
• Inspect rudder line terminals & connection points to the footboard (wear points)
• Inspect footboard adjustment mechanisms
• Inspect footboard rail connection points to the boat
• Stress test the ferrule of the paddle, just to make sure it's a firm lock. The old Epic paddles are notorious for loosening up.
• Retire paddles from downwind use after three seasons. If you're using an old, shit paddle don't be surprised when it retires itself.
• I do a battery check on my VHF (there's nothing like discovering it's dead in a moment of need)
• I inspect my flare system, and recovery gear (including a very nice, small pull rope setup that I keep on me at all times),

Other safety related thoughts:

• I let my fam / friends know when I'll be on / off the water and where I will be on the water. If I am doing a big solo adventure, I file a float plan with the Coasties or Rangers.
• I try to paddle when the system is supposed to weaken, not intensify.
• I don't paddle in the wind at dusk.
• I don't rush to get on the water, and I try to stay focused on my checklist - including pausing conversations.
• I practice and experiment obsessively with rescue techniques, including paddling with one half of a paddle, and with no rudder (again, both have happened to me on downwinds and both pushed me to the limit of my skill / fitness). I share ideas, concepts with pals and ask them to try stuff.
• I experiment with my clothing mix, and error on the side of hot. Yes, this means I will be slower than I could be. But “Festine Lente”… slow is smooth, and smooth is fast.
• I don't downwind if it's below 40º F, or above 50 mph.
• I set aside specific days where I do nothing but work on getting better and better in ever more challenging conditions or situations. Generally I keep it really short and do something like laps (not a full downwind) or doing slow motion figure eights. I try get just a little bit better, a little bit at a time. Sometimes I reach out to people who have a really particular skill (like surf breaks) and travel to train / learn from them.
• If I am downwinding with a group, we pair up 1:1. When the faster person stops to wait, the other paddler agrees to surf towards them. If they are more than 200' feet away they may not be visible in the waves. I've turned around to look for a paddler only to realize that they went by 500 meters away and I didn't see them. Buzzkill.
• When I paddle downwind with friends, I let them know if I am going to go hard, or chill and do technique work. There are times in a big group downwind, like Saturday, where I just want to hammer. I consider that going solo, and I let them know I am doing my own thing and won't be stopping or checking in on them.
• I obsessively verify conditions up until the last moment.
• I listen to my instincts and pick my days on the sea. There are days when my brain just says “nah. not feeling it today.” and I bail.

About going solo: Soloing is controversial, but a very individual decision. Being alone is very valuable to me and personally worth the risk. Just know that whatever you paddle in, self rescue is the first, middle and last resort. I consider it unethical to put rescuers lives at risk by paddling in extreme conditions, and I only solo if I am 100% confident I am not getting in over my head or compromising.

Another thing to think about it the group dynamic and pressure. Wilson and I had a big adventure planned this weekend, but ended up killing it last minute because the conditions were ramping up just a bit too much and the trip would have been pretty extreme. But before we got fully locked in, we agreed to make a final call (rather then getting ramped up and not backing down). So instead I did the group downwind and had an absolute blast, and then a really tasty big breakfast.

My dad was a fighter pilot, and he had a great saying; “there are old pilots, and there are bold pilots. But there are no old, bold pilots.”

Fly safe out there.

Nicholas Cryder

fasterfarther.com

Michael Gregory Feb 17 #26089

Good lesson for us all. Denise, great vid to memorialize the carnage;) Remarkable that you guys recovered your ski. Must say though, without having a “buddy” to help things might not have gone so swimmingly well.

A little observation, some hardy paddlers have been launching in fairly high winds and big Bellingham Bay chop. What could go wrong, right? Well, lot's of things and in big conditions things happen fast. Soo, by all means do safety gear checks each paddle. However, when we launch each of us should know those launching in a group and launch together. Check with a partner roughly your speed and keep each other in sight.
Mike G

Waterman Larry
Feb 17 #26090

As a marine surveyor who investigates boat accidents, I printed up Nicholas entire safety email and put it on my wall above my computer where I write up those disaster reports. Fantastic.

As a Gorge paddler and surf break paddler, I always think of the boat as worth preserving, however, I have believed that in the Gorge, the ultimate situation rescue will involve abandoning the boat and swimming to shore.

Nicholas summary made it clear that you guys are going far enough off shore that the boat is your survival tool and without it……………

If I have a chance to paddle farther from shore than I can easily swim, I plan to go through that list. Every item.

Thanks for the hard work putting that together Mr. Cryder, much appreciated.

Larry Goodson

Jeff Hegedus Feb 17 #26091

Awesome video Denise, thanks for sharing!

Larry Bussinger
Feb 18 #26092

Your ability to swim more than a 100 ft is pretty problematic in the Sound. Look up the Canadian Coast Guards “cold water boot camp” survival video for an eye opener. They threw fit people in the water just to see what would happen. Pretty sobering.

Larry Bussinger

Dan Mayhew Feb 18 #26093

Awesome video Denise, but I think I liked watching you and Paul walk up the boat ramp better!

Nicholas - What a great checklist. Consider putting it on Surfski.wiki. It would be great to keep this as an easily accessible resource for all paddlers.

Vaughn Balchunas
Feb 18 #26095

Yes, one for the books. The coast guard was minutes from launching to find you guys.

I learned that spotting two paddlers that were probably no more than 200 yards from us can be difficult.

Vaughn

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Vaughn Balchunas
360-303-6135

Paul Reavley
Feb 18 #26096

Dan - I've already added Nicholas's checklist to the wiki.

Larry - Denise's difficulty in swimming toward me and her boat was quite sobering for her. One thing we realized afterward was that she was trying to swim against the tide at that time (we should have known that because we knew we were on an ebb tide). Knowing what the tide is doing could make a critical difference in one's choice of direction and to one's chances for swimming to safety. I have also been told a change in tide during a post-capsize swim saved one of our friend's bacon. A swimming leg in our Safety Olympics would be a worthwhile exercise - like it was in KO's Hot 5 - 2 yrs ago, but might be particularly eye-opening if we had to wear our typical winter gear.