Five club members met at Mine Lake to practice kayak rescues. As it was sunny, but cool and windy, blowing onshore, the decision was made not to paddle to another location and practice was held close to the boat launch. Participants discussed deck layout, paddle floats, and a dry running of a paddle float rescue and a group rescue.

Participants got in their boats or entered the water to practice solo rescues, including paddle float rescues with and without a sling assist. One couple also practised an assisted rescue involving two boats. Everyone seemed to be happy that they tried at least one rescue, and all came to the conclusion that rescue skills greatly diminish over a year’s period, and that at least two practices a year would definitely be beneficial and make paddlers more confident.

There were a total of 5 participants on a cool morning for August. With the boats on the ground, just up form the launch site, we went over outfitting, particularly in regards to rescues.

After a short period, we paddled north on Main Lake to a small shallow bay near an island, opposite and a little past the twin private islands. The water was shallower here and there was a place to pull out for drying off and changing clothes.

Participants tried solo rescues, and group rescues for the couple involved. One brave soul even made a game attempt at a roll.   After a couple of hours and a quick lunch, we headed back.

Although there were plenty of users on the lake, we had this practice area to ourselves. We had only a gentle breeze on the return trip. A cool August morning turned into a pleasant warm day, and no one got too cold, despite getting wet. About 4 hours went by quickly.

Brent Henry

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Kayaking Training – Mine Lake – 12 Aug 2020

Nine kayakers participated in an excellent course on strokes, braces and rescue techniques taught by Monica Russell and ably assisted by Graham and Janet.  The day began cool and a bit rainy, but rapidly cleared and warmed up.  The morning was spent on strokes (forward, sweep from bow and stern, sculling, and bow rudder), edging and bracing, particularly low bracing.

The afternoon was spent on assisted- and self-rescue.  Everyone began with a wet exit and assisted re-entry, then moved on to self-rescue with a paddle float.  Some tried the t- or bow rescue. The water and weather were warm enough to avoid getting chilled.  There definitely wasn’t enough wind to make the rescue practice realistic.

The course reinforced the importance of practicing these skills and of having the proper deck rigging to facilitate rescues.

Debbie

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Kayaking Training – Mine Lake – 26 June 2019

Thanks to trainers Doug Taylor, Monica Russell and Penny Taylor, seven club members learned and revisited kayak rescue and paddling skills in the club’s annual rescue workshop. In a separate afternoon session, five members and guests were introduced to the use of the Greenland paddle. The day was cool, partly sunny and rather windy, but still the best day of a wet blustery week.

Doug and his fellow trainers have adopted a ‘backwards’ approach to teaching assisted rescue. Rather than starting with the dreaded “dump yourself upside down” (otherwise known as a wet exit), this step is taught last, after participants have practiced emptying a swamped boat and re-entering with the help of a fellow paddler. Participants unanimously preferred keeping wet heads and water up the nose until the end of the session.

In the afternoon, club members learned about the history and construction of the Greenland paddle and practiced various strokes in a short tour of the lake. Paddling technique is quite different from that of the Euro paddle, and is considered very efficient for long trips, especially in windy conditions. The shorter and lower stokes place less stress on the shoulders. For the older paddler, this is a real advantage.

Once again organized through Coast Mountain Expeditions, the two workshops were both well received and very useful. Several participants mentioned that they would like to see self-rescue included in future workshops, which will likely require some advance information about proper deck rigging.

Darcy

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Kayaking Training – Main Lake Provincial Park – 6 June 2018