Swamped Kayak Rescue Sessions - Stevens Creek Reservoir/HMB

Gettin wet I love it! you guys are pushing the limits.  Training and experience pays off if you ever find yourself in trouble out there in the big blue. I'm curious to see what you've come up with. I've practiced rescuing sot's in every different kind of scenario. I've found that in a high majority of cases there is no hatch failure. The beauty of the SOT over the SIK is that in most capsizes you'll lose everything not tied down but you'll be able to flip it and get back on top of your boat lickety split without much training or practice. Water in the hatches can be pumped out to a certain degree but take for example the front hatch on a malibu extreme. It's friiggin huge and were it to fail, it could be catastrophic. Any hatch failure where you continue to take on water will upset the kayak to where all the pumping in the world isn't going to do you any good.You'll experience with disbelief yourself slowly going into the water. The cold will bring you back to reality and take your mind off that $400 reel making it's way down to Davey jones locker. Once your body initiates the first stage of hypothermia and you are still in the water far from shore your chances of survival evaporate by the minute. You must be so dialed in and pre-prepared for it that if and when it happens to you, instinct rather than logic will kick in. You'll forget about pumping or Cleo's needle and whip out your inflatable whitewater kayak float bags inflate two thirds, shove it in the exposed hatch inflate all the way, climb out of the water onto your partially floating kayak and repeat the process with your additional emergency inflatable float bags until all the water has been displaced in the hatch. With enough water displaced you should be able to manuever your kayak back to shore. If water is still sloshing inside take a moment to pump and sponge. I carry a battery operated bilge pump that will do the work twice as fast and free me up to paddle. The key point is to save yourself. Don't spend time thinking, react and get out of the water, even if it means abandoning your craft and hitching a ride with a friend or swimming the short distance to shore.

I rarely fish or paddle alone but when I do I go to the sea prepared for a tsunami

You'll forget about pumping or Cleo's needle and whip out your inflatable whitewater kayak float bags inflate two thirds, shove it in the exposed hatch inflate all the way, climb out of the water onto your partially floating kayak and repeat the process with your additional emergency inflatable float bags until all the water has been displaced in the hatch. With enough water displaced you should be able to manuever your kayak back to shore. If water is still sloshing inside take a moment to pump and sponge. I carry a battery operated bilge pump that will do the work twice as fast and free me up to paddle. The key point is to save yourself. Don't spend time thinking, react and get out of the water, even if it means abandoning your craft and hitching a ride with a friend or swimming the short distance to shore.

I don't want to give too much away about our conclusions, but John, what you are saying aligns with what we learned and the conclusions Scott and I came to after discussing the results. I need to 'google' for inflatable whitewater kayak rescue bags.

You can find whitewater kayak float bags at any REI or paddling shop. I carry them from NRS at my shop as well. They come in a variety of sizes designated- stern flotation or the smaller bow floatation. They roll up small and inflate in under a minute. I also reccomend carrying a few paddlefloat bags. They work great for small hatches or shoving into your bow for easy water displacement. In my X-factor You'll find me out in some pretty rough bouncy water and I use an inflatable Recreation kayak float bag which is huge and takes up most of the front hatch. It does make my boat unsinkable and useful as a rescue flatform. I even see guys stuffing 3-4 inflatable beachballs into their rescue kit. Anything that can be inflated and stuffed and then deflated and stowed would work well for righting a swamped boat and carrying around permanently in your kayaks  'God help me' hatch or bag

I'm fighting a file corruption on upload issue, otherwise I'd provide links to photos that actually are visibile.

There will be a report shortly. If you actually believe in self-rescue first, over calling for help, then the findings may open your eyes.

Prior to Saturday, I was looking to upgrade to a different 'yak for performance reasons. Now I have tangible proof that I should upgrade for safety reasons.

Regards,
Scott

Swamped SOT's are wayyyyyyyyyyyyyy more interesting than I would have thought.  Cool info, guys.

I too am seriously looking at sealed bulkhead kayaks for the future but I'll just get floats for my current kayaks for now--safety won't wait. While float bags are good after swamping, in really rough conditions they might be impossible to get inflated or in the kayak properly.
I have decided to wear a dry suit in the ocean giving a much longer survival time (gotta watch those hooks though). safety first no fish is worth personal danger--there's always Safeway or another day.

Cannot wait to try the Dorado and the Kingfisher. Seda makes one as well, but its pricey and doesn't look too stable as the beam is only 25 inches. It might be tough to get a 20-pound Halibut or Ling on it without taking a swim. Of course I won't know until I try one though.

First draft:

http://www.sathornley.net/SOT_Rescue/SOT_swamp_rescue.html

Pat yourselves on the back for a job well done! You may have just saved someones life.
Very informative.
I think if my kayak got swamped from a wave then conditions would be less than favorable. There would be considerably more fatigue involved in rough seas too.
Personally, if the seas were really rough I would dump all my gear except for what I needed to get to safety; seat and paddle.
The rescuer needs to be really careful about not smashing fingers between the kayaks too. When your kayak is bouncing around and you are trying to pull another kayak on board it can happen pretty easily. The last thing you need is to hurt your hand so you cannot paddle back to safety.
Once again..GREAT ARTICLE AND PHOTOS!!!!
I hope everyone practices this at least one time. I would sure rather paddle with someone who has.

I think if my kayak got swamped from a wave then conditions would be less than favorable. There would be considerably more fatigue involved in rough seas too.
Personally, if the seas were really rough I would dump all my gear except for what I needed to get to safety; seat and paddle.
The rescuer needs to be really careful about not smashing fingers between the kayaks too. When your kayak is bouncing around and you are trying to pull another kayak on board it can happen pretty easily. The last thing you need is to hurt your hand so you cannot paddle back to safety.

Mike (Tote),
Good observations and points.

Floatation is critical for rescues for two reasons I think:

1) It takes up space in the kayak adding little weight limiting the amout of water that get's in and then has to be removed. This is critical: water weighs over 8 pounds a gallon. Draining the full kayak with little air floatation in side was very physically demanding because the kayak ,especially the Hobie, was very heavy to pull up to the T/Side rescue position before the 'X' rescue. You had to pull slowly letting the water drain as you pulled it up but it was hard labor and made the rescuer unstable. This is problematic because it takes a long time meaning the victim is in the water a long time and it exposes the rescuer to conditions that may well mean a swim and two victims in the water though the rescuers kayak won't be swamped. The attached photo shows how much my Prowler listed and sank as I pulled up Frank's Hobie--it rose a bit at this poitn because most of the water was out of Frank's boat. I doubt we'd be able to pull that off in rough conditions and even a decent swell and seas could make the procedure unacceptably long.

2) Floatation keeps you kayak on the surface. the Hobie was very hard to get back to the surface. Tt moved very slowly as I pulled--I doubt I could have kept it up in rough conditions--it would have kept slipping down if a wave or seas made me pause or threw me off balance.

Scott and I have some ideas  to make rescues faster and easier--even in rough conditions--and we'll be adding to the article

Existing floatation in a kayak is the key, there is no substitution. If flotation is built into the boat the entire process of rescue is much more manageable especially in a chaotic marine environment.

One other point: When my boat sank there was another kayak about an eighth of a mile north of me but because of the swell he never saw me go down nor could he hear me. Having another boat there to save your butt might be the smart thing to do, but it may not always be the case or practical if conditions are rough. Again, built-in floatation. There’s a good reason why the Coast Guard requires level flotation it in boats and ocean SIKs are designed that way.

Dan and Scott,
The drafts look good. Great info that I know will be used by others. For those of us who use this information a big Thank You to you two for your efforts and unselfish dedication to our sport. Well done Gentleman....Well Done.

                                                                       Sincerely Frank Sacramento and Family

Thanks to you and Kayak Builder as your contribution was significant--we wouldn't have had as successful a test session without you.

Great information. Thanks for your efforts and sharing your findings. There obviously is room for a lot more practice given the wide variety of yaks used, set ups, etc. Then of course there is application of learned techniques in the real world (ocean with rough water and wind) we all enjoy so much. Let's keep this recovery practice going as it will no doubt save a life some day by better judgement to avoid unsafe conditions, better yak preparation and dealing with mishapes which are sure to occur.

A serious thank you!!

Fellas--Good work on the article and the pictures really help tell the story. As a fellow kayak fisherman I'm stoked to see guys getting together and practicing techniques that could and will save your lives someday.
I would caution you guys though about the issue of Liability. When I teach and instruct I'm backed by an organized body of professionals who have checked me off as able to pass on life-saving info. Giving advice on a website even if totally sound may not work for somebody and their families will investigate. We all as contributers could be in jeopardy. I have insurance and organized body that will go to court for me. I support your efforts 100% just want to give another perpestive from the industry.

I was not able to get the draft to download.  I hope it is just that the site is temporarily down.  So far the information I can read looks very useful and informative.  Thanks for your efforts.  It sounds like some sort of permanent floatation in the ends is the key to keeping the kayak horizontal and thus much mroe rescueable in a swamping situation.  Good work.