One of the frequent activities we do in peer practices and on various trips/outings is to go over self and assisted rescue techniques. The primary reason is of course simply to keep everyone safe. It builds confidence and allows us to push our skills in other aspects of paddling knowing that we can recover if things don’t go as planned. That’s why we do it in pools, moving water, waves, wind, and cold.

One aspect of learning these skills that is often not discussed is that it enables us as the person being rescued to play an active role in facilitating the rescue. Additionally it allows us to better understand what our support roles may be if we are not the primary person assisting the rescue. Rather than summarize them here, take a look at a brief and insightful discussion of this by Neptune’s Ranger member Bill Vonnegut. He also includes in the article a video from a rock gardening outing (that is most of what that group does), showing how much is really going on during a live rescue.

Click here to read his article

NACK is a supportive group, and if at any time on or off the water you feel that there is a gap in your skills you’d like to work on, always feel free to voice that desire and you’ll quickly find yourself surrounded by folks who are happy to take the time to work with you. Whether it is something basic or advanced, we all have skills to learn, improve and practice.