Simulated Deep Water Self-Rescue Result: FAIL

[Guest]

When I was young and fit, I could shake-out and re-enter a tandem canoe in flat water. But I don't think I ever even tried re-entering the narrow flat water solo canoes I've been paddling since 1984. I could roll my whitewater closed and open canoes, which all had thigh machines, but that's not the topic.

Worse, I'm now far, far from young and fit. There is no chance I could clamber back into a solo canoe, most particularly in high wind and waves, and there may never have been any chance.

Same story, although I could still accomplish reentry while less young and less fit with a beamier tandem. We would practice capsize and recovery when the kids were younger; I could easily stabilize the canoe while they climbed in, and with broad beam tandems flop myself inside in ungainly fashion.

That family practice took place in lakeside campsites, in warm, calm flatwaters, with a beamy canoe. I seriously doubt I could re-enter a narrower solo or rounder bottomed hull, and know the effort would likely be an energy and time wasting effort in “flatwater” wind or wave conditions that would have seen me swimming to begin with.

My self-rescue strategy when alone has always been simple. First, I never never paddle further from shore than I can swim the boat in the prevailing climate conditions, unless there is a very high confidence level that the wind/wave conditions will remain very benign.

Since I no longer wish to paddle in wet or dry suits, I now only canoe in warm climes and times.

I won’t say never, or even warm climes and times, but agree with the “high level of confidence” aspect. I am likewise not a drysuit or wet suit wearer. I still paddle in cold weather, but my risk aversion keeps me to smaller rivers and closer to shore on open waters.

 

[sailsman63]

Once getting the canoe empty (completely empty, or nearly so, is very important in my experience)

I'd agree with this bit. I had an... impromptu practice session... a couple of months ago. I was, to my great surprise, unable to get my tandem emptied more than half way with anything approximating what Alan showed. I also found that my bailer was a tad undersized. 1/2 gallon scoop just does not cut it on a 16' canoe.

This was in true deep water (for a canoe, anyway). So far over my head that I would not have been able to reach the bottom to boost off, even if I was not wearing a PFD.

I was, however, able to reenter the canoe, both rolling back in over the side, and also pulling myself straight over the stern along the centerline. Unfortunately, my reserve flotation was not sufficient to handle me with a canoe that started half filled, and picked up significantly more water during the re-embarkation. Its rather disconcerting to see your canoe bodily disappear under the water under your feet.

Alan, were you able to touch bottom in that video? You seem to be floating rather high...

 

[yknpdlr]

I staff a guide trek leader training program in the Adirondacks. We have an 8 day training program for adults (primarily of college age) who wish to spend the summer working for resident youth camps (BSA or others) that offer multi-day wilderness canoe trips.

We assume that multiple canoes will be on any youth trip and that at least one upright canoe will act as a rescuer for another that has overturned. During the instructional phase of the program, staff instructors will demonstrate the canoe-over-canoe rescue method with a narrator describing every detail. I always make two strong questioning comments: 1) If it is windy and wavy when this is most likely to happen, what are you doing out there in deep water in those conditions and how did that happen in the first place? 2) just imagine trying to do this in high wind and waves, with panicked kids, who are (at first) more worried about their gear getting wet and floating away than they are for their own safety. The point being, be aware of conditions and abilities and don't get into this situation in the first place far from shore. Near shore we advise to just tow or walk the canoe into shallow water.

So I ask of them another bonus question - do you tightly tie packs and gear in the boat or not? Is the answer different for flatwater or moving (swift or slow) water? hint1: imagine trying to empty a canoe with gear tightly tied in with wet knots. hint2: how far will any necessary lose gear travel before you can retrieve it - can you retrieve it?

Later, during the student leader evaluation phase (we do this on Lows Lake), each student as leader is expected to demonstrate the procedure during their evaluation trek and to describe the process and potential problems. Never mind that at some point one staffer will role play the part of "Bobby", a trouble making, incompetent, and all together uncooperative and undesirable youth member on the trip. Fun and not unrealistic.

I have never attempted a practice solo self-rescue in my narrow Placidboat, although I should. I suspect it would be extremely difficult.

 

[eckilson]

I have tried many times to do a solo reentry - can't do it. I am pretty good at flipping my solo boat over so it is floating dry in the water - that might be easier than doing the boat over boat in wind or waves. If I have someone to hold the far gunwale, I can roll in pretty easy. So my strategy is not to go into open water alone.

Gear would be another issue. I usually have a couple of big bags - one in the bow and one in the stern. I don't tie them in so they would float free. Problem one would be keeping them from floating away while I get back in my boat. Once I get back in my boat, problem two would be getting those heavy bags back in the boat with me without tipping back over. Never practiced with gear.

 

[lowangle al]

I have tried many times to do a solo reentry - can't do it. I am pretty good at flipping my solo boat over so it is floating dry in the water - that might be easier than doing the boat over boat in wind or waves. If I have someone to hold the far gunwale, I can roll in pretty easy. So my strategy is not to go into open water alone.

Gear would be another issue. I usually have a couple of big bags - one in the bow and one in the stern. I don't tie them in so they would float free. Problem one would be keeping them from floating away while I get back in my boat. Once I get back in my boat, problem two would be getting those heavy bags back in the boat with me without tipping back over. Never practiced with gear.

I follow Bill Mason's advise of tying the packs tight against the bottom on open water for additional floatation and attatching them to the boat with a tether in moving water so they don't float away while you regain control and empty the boat. It worked well for me after flipping a loaded boat in a rapid but fortunately I haven't had to try it in open water.

 

[Alan Gage]

Unfortunately, my reserve flotation was not sufficient to handle me with a canoe that started half filled, and picked up significantly more water during the re-embarkation. Its rather disconcerting to see your canoe bodily disappear under the water under your feet.

Many times I've heard people give advice to just reenter the swamped canoe and paddle it to shore that way. I've tried and at least in a solo I don't see how it's possible. Even in flat water it's incredibly tippy and as you take a paddle stroke the water all sloshes to the rear and sinks the stern. You stop paddling and the water sloshes forward and sinks the bow. Lean a little and the water sloshes to the side and back in the drink you go. Can't imagine trying to do that in wind and waves. On top of the tippiness how do you steer a 2500 pound canoe that's drafting 12"?

Alan, were you able to touch bottom in that video? You seem to be floating rather high...

No, I could not touch bottom. Life jacket is snugged up tight and low.

Alan

 

[Cruiser]

Quite a few years ago, my son and I managed to have the canoe simply go down under us in fairly stiff wind and wave conditions. Hitting the water suddenly in early June in Algonquin Park tends to open your eyes a little wide ... then you see the yard sale of gear floating around and away being driven by those wind and waves, the PFD wants to throw you on your back, then a wave will break over your head and you sputter water back out.

Fortunately, we work together well and I gathered gear from my end, he grabbed gear from his end ... with one hand holding gear and the other holding the canoe, we kicked for shore ... some 30 minutes later we sputtered onto a beach. The gear was all in dry sacks, so it was fine ... the actual packs weighed a lot due to the additional water they collected, we were pretty chilled and shaken.

My take away from the experience was that staying near shore is a good idea, PDFs are a good idea, attaching gear to the canoe is a good idea ... weather and water temp are the factors that control how far from shore I feel comfortable traveling.

I don't lash the gear in, I just loop a line through all the gear, so that it would be easy to manage should the canoe go over ... if you are near shore and the gear can't float away ... it becomes a simple task of kicking for shore, then doing whatever to recover once you have your feet on solid ground. Practicing on calm water is one thing, being tossed around in wind and waves while trying to recover gear is a whole different animal ... I now tend to plan my paddling route to include the "what ifs" of ending up in the water.

Brian

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

I'll stick with what I said in my previous comment in this thread about self-rescue, but add a few things.

I almost always tie gear in, except in the most shallow and placid waters. If the gear is buoyant because of internal air, it will float the canoe higher in the water than an empty canoe. That's the specific purpose of flotation bags, for example. While tied-in gear may make it impossible to flip an overturned canoe up into the air for emptying, less water will enter a buoyant bagged canoe during normal roll-over righting than will enter an empty canoe. This is because the bagged canoe will float higher not only when upside down, but midway during the roll-over when it's 90 degrees on its side. Also, the space taken up by the gear will displace water and you will not have as much water in the canoe to slosh around after roll-over righting. Tying-in is, of course, mandatory in long rapids or swift currents lest your bags disappear forever downstream, especially if you are alone without rescuers and chasers.

The buoyancy assist of gear bags doesn't apply for gear is not buoyant, such as chain saws, metal stoves, porcelain toilets, assault rifles, outboard motors, full bottles of grog, satellite dishes, or fancy photographic equipment.

Finally, I want to see a reprise of Alan's video after he gains 30 years and 30 pounds.

 

[memaquay]

15 or twenty years ago, when i weighed around 170 and was barely past 40, self re-entry was a piece of cake. I could empty an canoe and get back in within a minute or two. Last summer, I decided to try it with my poly disco. Well, it was quite a shock. I really had to struggle to haul my girth into the canoe. Emptying it out was still easy, put pulling the gut in was painful and difficult. On the forth try, I got in. I gotta lose weight, I'm gonna give up the Spam!

 

[frozentripper]

Alan,

Many times I've heard people give advice to just reenter the swamped canoe and paddle it to shore that way. I've tried and at least in a solo I don't see how it's possible.

There must be something to it since Omer Stringer said it could be done... in this old film, during the last thirty seconds he intentionally swamps a canoe to rescue an injured paddler, then says the canoe can be paddled safely to shore. What isn't shown is the actual paddling which is pretty slow... when I saw it done (which was a long time ago), the paddlers were almost lying down in the canoe with only their heads above water.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5solJ2-Kwmw

 

[Preeb]

Alan,



There must be something to it since Omer Stringer said it could be done... in this old film, during the last thirty seconds he intentionally swamps a canoe to rescue an injured paddler, then says the canoe can be paddled safely to shore. What isn't shown is the actual paddling which is pretty slow... when I saw it done (which was a long time ago), the paddlers were almost lying down in the canoe with only their heads above water.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5solJ2-Kwmw

This is how I learned to do it some 60 years ago. My mother insisted that us kids know how to get back to shore in a swamped canoe (summers in Wisconsin, we practically lived in my grandmother's 40 year old Old Town mahogany tandem - it was both a fishing and a swimming platform for us), so I learned self rescue by the time I was about 10. Back then PFD's were rarely seen, and I don't think we even owned any - certainly never had one in the canoe. that same sort of self rescue was also one of the things we had to perform before each of our trips into the Quetico at Charles L. Somer's Canoe Base . It's tricky and slow but it was quite doable in an aluminum tandem. You don't kneel or use the seat, just sit on the bottom, lay back and brace between the thwart or yoke and the seat, and paddle smoothly. Any jerky motions will upset the apple cart.

I also taught myself how to empty a swamped canoe in deep water, and getting back into it was never a problem in my youth, but I really have never tried it since I was about 16 or so. No way I could do it now at age 71 and a bit overweight.

 

[Pringles]

For what it's worth, your experience with a PFD being "much fatter in the chest" than without, imagine how much fun this is being female and having less strength. My plan/strategy has always been to bob/swim to shore, wearing my PFD, and wave by-by to my departing boat. It seemed like it would be a functional plan, if not elegant.