Incident Management at Fort Wetherill - September 16, 2024

Discussing towing in the Dumplings

I decided to attend RICKA’s Incident Management session yesterday. We regularly practice assisted rescues on trips, but this would be an opportunity to practice more advanced rescues in real conditions.

We met at 9:00 at Fort Wetherill. Seas were calm and wind was from the west as we launched. We paddled out around Bull Point to practice towing in the easy tidal current around the Dumplings. I got to try out my new tow belt with short (15-foot) and long (50-foot) tows. On my tow rope there are two carabiners to unclip - one for short tows and a second for long tows. I have since added a 3-foot contact tow option.

Demonstrating the scoop rescue

On short tows my tow belt worked fine. I towed one person by clipping on to one deck line from below with clip up. I towed two people by running the tow line through one deck line of the assist boat and clipping into one line of the victim boat from below with the clip up. This allows the assist boat to reach the carabiner to unclip the line if needed. The short tow line works great when you need to get some quickly away from a hazard.

The longer tow line works better when you are towing for a long distance – especially in swells so you don’t get run over by the towed boat as it comes down the face of the swell. I did tandem tows with the long line with Eric in a “V” and in-line configuration. On long tows, the knot and clip in the middle of the line created drag and a one point snagged a clump of sea grass that made it tough to paddle. I might consider removing the second clip and daisy-chaining the rope for shorter tows.

Two out of the boat  rescue

After using the tow belt we practiced contact towing with the person being towed simply grabbing the deck lines of the rescue boat and pushing/pulling the bows/sterns together depending on which way we were going. We practiced pulling people out of the rocks with tow lines and contact tows as we worked our way along the rocky coast over to Mackerel Cove.

As we rounded one headland we saw Kelly out of her boat holding her arm like she had a dislocated shoulder. Cam was able to get her back in her boat using a scoop rescue. The scoop rescue is used to float a tired or injured paddler into a partially submerged boat, which is then rolled back up, pumped out, and towed to safety. 

Reviewing the hand of god rescue

The seas were choppier with winds from the south as we headed back out lunch. If you spend enough time playing in rocks you will eventually come out of your boat, and swimming out is a proactive way to get yourself to safer water. Tim demonstrated swimming out by flipping over his boat, then attaching his tow line boat, and then aggressively swimming out of the rocks, all while holding on to his paddle. Once in calmer water, Bill and Eric got him back in his boat.  

We worked our way back along the shore continuing to practice scoop rescues (I did an anchor tow on one), two-out-of-the-boat self-rescues, and hand of god rescues. The hand of god rescue is used to right a kayaker that can’t come out of their boat because they are unconscious or just can’t get the spay deck off. It involves a tricky combination of pushing down on the inside edge while pulling up the outside to right the boat with the paddler in it. It is a critical skill, but it definitely takes practice, which is why we were here!

View to Newport as we had back to tFort Wetherill

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