From: ddennis@nyx.cs.du.edu (Dave Dennis)
Subject: Re: river rescure (long)
Organization: University of Denver, Dept. of Math & Comp. Sci.
Date: Tue, 10 Nov 92 20:51:09 GMT

sbranch@well.sf.ca.us (Kim Clancy) writes:


>s paddling the llop on the Yough Saturday and ended up broached on 2
>rocks.  I had to grab a rescue rope and attach it to my safety rings to get
>out of the broach.  I was stuck for about 5 minutes and wasn't sure what
>I was suppose to do.  Is it possible to self rescue in a situation like that?
>The folks with me were upset too because they weren't sure how to rescue or
>what to do.  Anyone know?

>the person that emailed me with the excellent advice on getting out of
>the broche, could you please resend the  information and any more,
>my system took major dive while I was reading it and I lost it...
>I would greatly appreciate it...

My letter may have been the one you are talking about...
This is long, and was written for rafts, substitute appropriate attachment
points if you are talking about canoes!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What you did (get help from people in a secure position on the side)
may have been your best opportunity.

I publish the Newsletter for a rafting club in Colorado, and have
participated in several rescue classes over the past few years. I also
guided trips for a company on the Arkansas for four years, so I've
gathered a few tricks for rescue. I was working on this article for
the next issue... HOWEVER:

(Standard disclaimer): Use these techniques at your own risk.
Situations and conditions may vary, and rescue may be dangerous.
I will not take responsibility for your actions!

I recommend taking a good rescue class, there are several around.
Paddler Magazine has some listed such as Rescue III's Swiftwater Rescue,
availible most places there is paddling.  Also, there are some good
books out that will give you some of the below ideas, and lots of
others. Paddle with experienced people, practice rescue together.

RESCUING STUCK BOATS: If this is a "doozy" (a really nasty hang or wrapped boat)
you should establish ONE "Rescue Leader" and ONE "Communications Person" on
shore to get things set up.  The two most difficult things in rescue are
having too many chiefs, and not being able to communicate between the
boat and the shore.

Some good things for the Rescue Leader to remember are:

1) STOP.

2) EVALUATE YOUR SITUATION - IS THERE SOMEONE HURT OR IN DIRE NEED? DO
YOU HAVE TIME TO SET UP AN ELABORATE RESCUE? SHOULD THERE BE TWO
TEAMS OF RESCUERS, ONE FOR PEOPLE AND ONE FOR THE BOAT?
SHOULD YOU JUST GET EVERYBODY OUT AND CALL FOR HELP?

3) CONSIDER THE RESCUE ALTERNATIVES - WHAT PEOPLE AND EQUIPMENT DO YOU HAVE?

4) CONSIDER THE POTENTIAL RISK TO THE PEOPLE IN THE WATER ("VICTOMS")

5) CONSIDER THE POTENTIAL RISK TO THE OTHER PEOPLE IN YOUR GROUP
   (RESCUERS/OTHERS).  6) CONSIDER THE RISK TO EQUIPMENT.
7) KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid!).

Think about the people first...   Are they hurt, badly scared, wet,
cold, etc., or are they the people you want on that end of the rescue?
You may want to get some or all of them to shore and warmed/patched up
first, then get new people out to the boat.

SELF RESCUE:

One trick I have found handy is a "river anchor": attaching a 5 gallon
bail bucket (paint bucket) to  a rope and an equalizing sling running
through three to five D-rings.

The equalizing sling is a long loop (20 feet or so) of rescue rope
(Blue Water Rescue line is one good brand), or climbers tubular
webbing tied together with a water knot, "Static" line is better than
"Dynamic" line as you don't want it to stretch much. You should practice
tying this sling in advance and store the line in an accessable rescue bag.

You run the line through as many D-rings as you can at the end of the
boat that is most likely to go downstream first. Tie the ends together
to form a circle. Pull a loop back to the center from each stretch
between the D-rings to form a daisy pattern.  Put a carabiner through
the loops at the center of the boat. The loops should slide through your
D-rings as you move the carabiner around, "equalizing" the load across
all points. 

Now, attach a bucket with a piece of rope to your center 'biner and
throw the bucket downstream, around the obstruction. This will help
provide the drag you need to wiggle/push/pull the boat off the rock.

Make sure you use a strong line to attach the bucket to, and be extra
careful of your D rings... the more you run through, the better.  A
flying D-ring that has popped off under heavy strain can whack you
pretty hard!

If that doesn't do the trick, leave the anchor in place and get a rope
to someone on shore. Attach more rescue line or a heavy duty throw
rope to a similar sling on the end of the boat most likely to come
away from the rock. The "armstrong" method is easiest, get everybody
but your Leader and Communications person on the rope and pull the far
end of the boat upstream and away from the rock.  Watch for the boat
to come off, if you have someone pushing on the boat from the rock,
they may wind up in the water faster than they expect.

More advanced tecniques include a mechanical advantage pulley system,
or "Z-drag". The simplest form of this is a single carabiner or rescue
pulley  anchored to a strong tree or boulder with a sling, upstream of
the boat.  Run your rescue line through the pulley and back to the
pullers.  That gives you a two to one advantage (for every two feet
you pull, the boat moves one foot, and gives you much more pulling
power. Every person must be OUTSIDE the V between your anchor, you and
the boat so if it fails, you dont get hit by the anchor or dragged by
the line!  Never attach yourself to ANYTHING or wrap a rope around
your hand. 

This and bigger mechanical advantage systems are complicated and
should really be learned in a class.  

There may be some advantage to partially or fully deflating a tube if
the boat is wrapped.  The mass of the tubes may be holding back so much
water that it is impossible to overcome the force of the river by
pulling.  In this case, you may have to open a valve or even cut a tube
or a floor.  Obviously, this is a LAST RESORT!  If more help is nearby
(a truck with a winch for example) you would probably want to send
someone for help before doing this if time allows.

You should practice  all these tecniques as well as rescue bag throwing
at home at the beginning of the season when you are preparing your boat,
and at the end when putting it away, and whenever you get a chance! 
Practice really helps, and you get a lot of funny comments from your
neighbors (We pulled a Volkswagon about 100 feet up a road with a
multiple Z-drag for practice!)

A simple set of rescue priorities:

Me              |
My people.      |
Them            |
Their people.   | i.e: Don't take the "wrong" line
My equipment.   |      into a rapid to save a paddle!
Their equipment.|

Good Luck - hope you don't ever have to do another rescue.  
Read a book!
Take a rescue class!
Get certified in First Aid and CPR!
Get your paddling buddies to do these with you!!!

Dave
Newsgroups: rec.boats.paddle