My first little solo took place on the mighty Brule. With a good stiff wind and good size waves, I headed out on a July eve at about 5:30 PM with the only permit I could get, a Brule only permit. I knew I'd be ok if I could just get to an island campsite near the landing. Well after about 2 hrs of paddling, I finally found a site that was suitable as it was getting dark with the gray cold sky.

While I was out there I started to wonder what I would do if I were to capsize and swore I'd practice self rescue technique when I returned home to a controlled environment.

I headed down to lake Calhoun two days ago where the winds were blowing 18 mph with gusts up to 28. I thought it probably would just be a better day to paddle, so I headed out into the middle of the lake and along the wind swept shore to get a little big wave practice in my Prism. I have to say that I was a bit nervous at first, but quickly calmed down when I realized a capsize would only be a mere inconvenience as the water was warm, I was close to home (relatively) and I could spend an hour of so in the water if necessary as I swam in with my boat. I came to trust the Prism in the white capped water with waves that I estimated to be 12-18 inches on the wind swept shore. The boat was quit stable whether I was quartering, headwinding, tailwinding, or even parallel to the waves. The boat was unloaded by the way. I also found out with merely sliding the seat to adjust trim, leaning my torso forward or aft and heeling the boat, it was actually not at all hard to travel in any direction I so desired, Quartering was much easier than heading directly into the wind however. At times the bow would dip into a trough leaving only about two inches of freeboard, but never got beyond that. It seemed like that was the tipping point where the hull would displace enough water to stabilize the canoe.

Now onto the self rescue, sorry for the lengthy preface, I went back out today on calmer seas and purposely capsized in shoulder deep water. I was unable to right the craft with out leaving about 35 gallons of water in the boat, this was done while treading water and not standing on the bottom. The one thing I was a bit surprised by, was that I was able to get back into the boat with out touching the bottom, it does take a considerable amount of kicking however. It was not easy, but I did it 4-5 times to make sure it wasn't just luck. So in conclusion, I was able to self rescue, but would need to bail out the remaining 35 gallons of water or so.

However, I really doubt this could be done in rough seas that would likely be the cause of a capsize as I had to paddle with my hands just to retrieve my paddle.

The moral of this story to me is NEVER put my self in a position where a self rescue would be necessary in anything deeper than shoulder deep water. It would be a real mess trying to retrieve paddles, packs and misc. gear.

I also think I would be likely to loosely tie my packs into the boat if I was in rough seas, it would be nearly impossible to retrieve them while swimming the boat to shore, even if only a short distance from shore. This being if I were soloing and nobody else were around to assist me.

So, has anybody else tried self rescue and how did it go for you? Any and all comment are appreciated.

Thanks, Gbusk

i hope someone chimes in on this...i remember reading about a stirrup type device that attaches to a center thwart opposite the gunwale you are going to enter over.

im not explaining it well. it might have been dan cooke who posted the info.

Ahh, stirrup tied to opposite side would totally work. But getting the water out is still a trick and a bailer would help. Scary thing is, most semi experienced canoeists would likely only tip in rough water making any sort of deep water rescue VERY difficult.

I think I will try a deep water self rescue the next time the wind whips up Calhoun and I am off from work.

on our may trip we paddled "stupid"...across the middle of cache bay. i wont be repeating that mistake on any big body of water ever again. the water temps made for some great cocktails, but also impending death if anyone swam.

What would you do next time? Stay close to shore?

About 12 years a go an "old girlfriend" and I were goofing around with a kayak about 15 miles up the shore from Grand Marais on L. Superior. She tipped over about 50 feet out form shore in what was about 42-46 degree water. She was very fit at the time and was unable to swim the kayak in with her. Finally after telling her to just swim in she did and she told me as soon as she hit the water it completely took her breath away and even though she only spent about 60 seconds in the water she said she doesn't think she could have lasted much longer. When she got out of the water she was shaking uncontrollably, we took most of her cloths, off wrapped her in a blanked, and it was about 15 to 20 min. before she started to warm up. This was on a fairly hot August day. I will never forget that experience and I have had a healthy fear of cold water ever since. This is a girl who was and still probably is tougher than most guys her age.

Discretion is the better part of valor. No where is that more true than in a solo on rough water. Sticking close to shore (think how far do I want to swim) in nasty conditions has to be the rule. Honestly you probably never want to be too far out, things can change quickly.

I felt like maybe I was pushing my luck in 1ft waves on Fourtown cutting across a couple big bays. Not a huge lake and it was August so the water was warm but still it would not have been cool. I didn't have an issues but next time I'm in that situation I'll be more discrete and less valiant :)

It was Dan Cooke who was talking about the stirrup.

Everyone has a spare paddle tied into the canoe....right??

Ahh, Jerriatric so wise. I never thought about having an extra paddle for a capsize. I guess I thought it was for use in the event of a broken paddle. I didn't bring one out on my local lake, but I usually do, but I don't tie it in. I will now however.

It's amazing how often I fail to see the forest through the trees/for the trees.

The small details I pick up on this site never cease to amaze me and I'd rather learn this stuff from the comfort of my home than in a real situation.

I always have a spare paddle and it's always lashed into the canoe.

quote Jeriatric: "Everyone has a spare paddle tied into the canoe....right??"

I will now. Thanks Jeriatric.

I haven't practiced any self rescues yet but after my last (first solo) I sure plan on it!

I was constantly thinking of the worst case scenarios and what to do. (It seems I do this frequently throughout life!).

I learned quickly to lash everything into my canoe but that would have made it near impossible to flip/bail the canoe. When the wind was really whipping on Snowbank, Parent and Disappointment I hugged the shoreline. I would have swam to shore with the canoe if I flipped.

Stirrup...mmmm...rope and maybe a chunk of rubber hose to act as a foot/hand hold. I will think about this. Might help with reentry into the canoe also.

Please remember that the #1 priority is to save your life and everything else is second. Just had a young man drown a few weeks ago about 30 feet from the shoreline because his buddies told him to take his boots and clothes off first so he could swim easier. Feel like I am preaching to the minister here...sorry!

For emptying water from canoe, I saw somewhere, and tried it (not in the wind) to
1. right the canoe
2. swim to either end
3. pull down on that end and basically stand the canoe up
4. drop canoe back down

This emptied most of the water out of my MNII. Prolly left 5-10 gallons in it. Not sure how it would work in a gale though.

quote Merganser: "I always have a spare paddle and it's always lashed into the canoe."

Me, too. Along with a half- or one-gallon milk jug to use as a bailing bucket.

I tried to self rescue my Magic. I did not have any gear in the canoe. After purposely dumping I swam to one end of the canoe. I spun the canoe rolling it over several times . Each time it came up with less water in it. I ended up with a couple of gallons left. I could not get back in with out refilling the canoe. I have not tried with the stirrup from the opposite side.
MagicPaddler

Thanks to all of you for this discussion. Capsizing in big wind is probably the one thing that worries me most as I plan my first solo. I gather the best strategy is to hug the shore when possible and when not, wait it out. I had an experience similar to one described above when I fell out of my single skull on the CT River in November. Water temp was probably 45 degrees. Never worried about drowning and at the time it seemed like just a very cold swim to shore, but it shook my confidence about being on the water in that tippy skull for awhile. I have recovered and lesson learned was don't row when the water and the air are that cold.

quote Koda: "

quote Merganser: "I always have a spare paddle and it's always lashed into the canoe."

Me, too. Along with a half- or one-gallon milk jug to use as a bailing bucket."

Those plastic coffee canisters with a handle work pretty good too.

would not a kayak style re entry work? I carry a paddle float and a stirrup in the kayak. lash the paddle to the thwarts. . .attach a paddle float, and use the stirrup to step back in to the canoe. And rather then a bailer, why not a bilge pump that you would have in the kayak?

I intend to try this technique in my solo canoe this spring in the lake and see if it works.

This is an interesting thread to read. Swamping could happen to anyone, best to be ready for it.

I've seen a guy use a device on youtube which was not only a stirrup for getting back in, but also was a very efficient bailing mechanism that was designed to be used from outside the boat (in the water). If I find that video again I'll post a link. I couldn't find anything on a google search in order to buy it. Could probably make it easy enough. It just looked like a 8"x18" plastic sheet attached horizontally from one gunwhale with a stick on the end. For some reason I remember the stirrup and bailer being one device but I could be wrong. Anyways, this thing worked pretty good for this guy. However, I'd like to see him use it in some whitecaps on Sag. Sobering thought.

http://www.youtube.com/embed/FHNu4q1Bsy4

This stuff works well but I wouldn't want to carry any of it in? What about using your spare paddle and attach the end of it to the yoke, and then attach the other end to a heavier pack and lift yourself into the boat? Canoe Rescue

Every day, I'm more and more thankful that I was in the Boy Scouts as a lad. I earned the canoeing merit badge, and the requirements included dealing with capsize situations. We had to practice swamping it, righting it, and getting back in. Unless you have a buddy canoe nearby, so as to pass your canoe over theirs, upside down, to empty it of water, there's no realy way to right it and re-enter without filling it. Going solo, it's even tougher, because there's no one to help you get in the canoe.

Even mostly full of water, you will be able to paddle most canoes (most have buoyancy chambers). Yes, having a spare paddle tied in to the canoe would be ideal, but without one, even a ball cap grabs more water than the palm of your hand. We had to practice paddling a flooded canoe, too. After that, just bail, bail, bail, if you can. Otherwise, head to shore. You can try to retreive your gear later (if it is floating).

That's another reason why I like to have a small survival kit on my person at all times. Something with which to start fire, fish hook and line, perhaps some para cord, a bit of dark chocolate, and some water purifier tablets. Keep it either in a pant or shirt pocket in a water-tight container (or, items in a water-tight zipper baggie in a more rigid container). Many vest-style PFDs have pockets--keep one in there. Even those adjustable, universal PFDs I see so often now (red, like those VNO often provides) have a welt pocket on the edge of the float padding, sealed with a hook-loop closure. You wouldn't know it was there if you didn't check for it. No need to ever end up on shore without a flint, lighter, wateproof matches, or similar items.

Paddle float stirrup and double blade helps.

Look up sea kayak reentry on google. The mechanics are the same. I have tried lashing a single stick to the thwart in front of my seat but unless you wrap with lots of velcro the pressure on the blade will rip it apart from the thwart.

Only one person has mentioned reentry in a solo boat. Tandem is quite a bit easier. It is a challenge in my Peregrine and more so in Dragonfly. Tumblehome makes ridding the boat of all water more difficulty. You can pause and bail while standing on the stirrup with a double blade.

If you have assistance or are playing with a tandem try the new ACA heel hook rescue.