BCU Foundation Safety (Paddle #4)
The last class in our BCU Foundation Safety Course/ 2 Star assessment. We met down at Aqua Adventures for our course. The class included Jane, Teresa, Mike, and Dave(?). After some work with throw bags, we headed down to the docks. We in three canoes and three kayaks. The plan was to take turns as leader of the group and deal with an incident. Since we had all had some training in this before, we really did not have any worries. I started off in a kayak, while Jane, Teresa and Jen were in canoes. It was a beautiful day to be on the water, as evident by the number of boats leaving Quivira Basin. I had never seen such a traffic jam there even in the summer.
Once we passed under the first bridge, our first incident occurred. Jane fell out of her canoe. We quickly managed the incident, although Jen was playing her part and started to wander away. We had some towing practice as we head to beach near the Bahia. We talked through the incident and then switch leaders. I tried my hand in canoe and acted as sweep. As we headed toward Ski beach, my pace in the canoe was a bit too slow, so we swapped me back into a kayak.
Our next incident was set up by Mike Brown, who told us of his heart condition and that he forgot his meds. As we neared the next bridge, Mike splashed over. Teresa was right near him and got him face up. As the sweep, I took charge. I had Dave come and stabilize Teresa in the canoe, while I assisted with Mike. Jane wrangled Mike's boat and paddle, and Jen told the fishermen on the shore we were practicing. I had the group 'radio' 911, and began working to get Mike out of the water and to the nearby shore. We got him into canoe and paddled the short distance to Ski Beach. I thought we rescue went fairly smoothly.
I hoped back into a canoe after the debrief, this time with a tow line for a little speed, but was starting to get the hang of the canoe and its dynamics. The winds were picking up slightly, and by the end all three canoes had to be towed.
All in all, it was great time on the water and a very useful time, to keep our rescue and leadership skills sharp.
Once we passed under the first bridge, our first incident occurred. Jane fell out of her canoe. We quickly managed the incident, although Jen was playing her part and started to wander away. We had some towing practice as we head to beach near the Bahia. We talked through the incident and then switch leaders. I tried my hand in canoe and acted as sweep. As we headed toward Ski beach, my pace in the canoe was a bit too slow, so we swapped me back into a kayak.
Our next incident was set up by Mike Brown, who told us of his heart condition and that he forgot his meds. As we neared the next bridge, Mike splashed over. Teresa was right near him and got him face up. As the sweep, I took charge. I had Dave come and stabilize Teresa in the canoe, while I assisted with Mike. Jane wrangled Mike's boat and paddle, and Jen told the fishermen on the shore we were practicing. I had the group 'radio' 911, and began working to get Mike out of the water and to the nearby shore. We got him into canoe and paddled the short distance to Ski Beach. I thought we rescue went fairly smoothly.
I hoped back into a canoe after the debrief, this time with a tow line for a little speed, but was starting to get the hang of the canoe and its dynamics. The winds were picking up slightly, and by the end all three canoes had to be towed.
All in all, it was great time on the water and a very useful time, to keep our rescue and leadership skills sharp.
posted by Chris Griffith at
11:13 AM
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