When We Get Rescued: Coast Guard Rescue Swimmers and Wire Hoists

A rough cut of a 3-minute movie I'm putting together on what to expect if the Coast Guard arrives via helicopter, as recently happened off Massachusetts and numerous times off California, to rescue sea kayakers inshore or off.

The job gets tricky sometimes, but is routine. The crew plucks sea kayakers out of the water in numerous ways. But first job is to get the rescue swimmer into the water. Oftentimes the swimmers simply freefall.

The Coast Guard typically arrives after we issue a mayday call on vhf radio channel 16 or someone issues a mayday for us.


The AST (the rescue swimmer) waits for a clearing in the surf. The flight mechanic, at the helicopter door, runs the rescue by commands and updates to the pilot and co-pilot.

If we're rescued by helicopter, we're either pulled from the water by wire hoist and horse collar harness, piggyback-style with the rescue swimmer (as shown here), or by other means, such as in a rescue basket, in a sequence to be shown later.

This footage and multiple takes were shot during rescue practice sessions in heavy surf off Oregon, in the US Pacific northwest.

The rescue personnel are identified in the closing credits.

This is still a rough cut - I'm trying to learn how to edit video clips for continuity and pace.

Related books and gear:

John Lull on sea kayaking safety:

Sea Kayaking: Safety & Rescue

and

Sea Kayaking Safety & Rescue: the Essential Guide for Beginners Through Experts

US Pacific Northwest sea kayaking:

Kayak Routes of the Pacific Northwest Coast: From Northern Oregon to British Columbia's North Coast

and

Canoe and Kayak Routes of Northwest Oregon: Including Southwest Washington

Handheld submersible VHF radio:

Standard Horizon HX270S Handheld VHF Radio

a good deal, (under $100), on a submersible handheld vhf radio

copyright 2009 Just Another Guy Named Dave
BlogCatalog

Sea Kayaking Helicopter Rescue Footage

(quicktime version)

Two kayakers in California are rescued by a Coast Guard helicopter crew and rescue swimmer.

Note that, rather than freefalling from the helicopter, the rescue swimmer is lowered by wire hoist by the helicopter flight mechanic. It's the flight mechanic's voice you hear, running the rescue and giving commands to the pilots.

The rescue swimmer wears a mask, goggles, fins and drysuit -- standard issue rescue swimmer gear.

Rescue swimmer's pfd's are different from the ones we sea kayakers wear. The neck collar ensures that the swimmer's head remains above water if he or she gets knocked unconscious.

In this case, the rescue swimmer retrieves the paddlers via rescue basket. Note how, at the end of the clip, the rescue swimmer is nice enough to retrieve for one paddler his very expensive carbon-fiber wing paddle!

The two found themselves overwhelmed offshore of the US pacific northwest in high winds. Both were wearing coldwater protection.

The video is stored at revver.com --- a good alternative, by the way, to youtube.
copyright 2009 Just Another Guy Named Dave
BlogCatalog

Strengthen and Paddle from the Core: the Plank and Variations

Of all the core strengthening exercises described so far, none is as simple or direct as the plank, shown below in its two basic versions by Australian national Tae Kwon Do champion Mike Harb.

Strengthen your core, the idea goes, and you are that much closer to paddling from the core with torso rotation, an effective kayaking technique that will help you paddle faster and further and with less strain on your wrists, elbows, shoulders.

The exercise is also sometimes called the hover, tabletop, board or helicopter.

Despite its seeming simplicity, the plank is difficult than it looks, particularly if you lack strength in your abdominals and latissimus muscles or your obliques and hip flexors.

Look carefully at the muscle area behind Mike's left shoulder, from the top of his armpit to about a foot towards his waist. Mike's lat is tightly flexed and activated. So too are his abs and deltoids.

There are some keys to the plank. Most relate to using good form to prevent injury.

First: don't hunch your shoulders. Rather, keep them parallel to the back of your neck.

Second: look forward, but don't lift your chin and strain your neck.

Third, and perhaps most important, don't allow your pelvis to droop. Your butt and shoulders should form a straight line, likewise your heels and the backs of your knees.

Finally, your body position should create a relatively straight line at the hinge where your hamstrings meet your butt.

To effectivel strengthen your core with this most simple and direct of drills, use a stopwatch. If when you start you can hold the plank for fifteen seconds at a time three times in a row, with a short rest between, you've got a jump on using the plank to strengthen your core.

If after a few weeks you can hold the pose three or four times in a row for a minute and a half or more per hold, your core is truly strong.

If you have lower back problems, try the variation below. Though the variation places you in an oddly vulnerable-looking pose on the  floor, the modification reduces strain on the lower back and shoulders.

As for looking odd on the floor, well...everyone looks that way at one time or another when working out.

Read an overview of how to incorporate core strength into an efficient paddle stroke that uses torso rotation.

Strengthening the Core: Intro
Medicine ball twist and lunge
Balance Ball Pike
Lat Row with Weight
The Plank
Using Torso Rotation

copyright 2009 Just Another Guy Named Dave

Strengthen and Paddle from the Core Part: Plank Variation #5

While the plank in its most simple form, previously described here, is a fine exercise in and of itself, as is its variation, also shown here, for those with lower back problems, time will come when you'll want to try one of the numerous variations, such as the one shown below, on this effective and fundamental drill.

Variations are helpful for several reasons.

For one, after several months of the plank your core muscles will adapt and the plank will become easier; once your muscle fibers become accustomed to the drill you'll experience diminishing returns. Second, it's good to add variations to keep yourself engaged mentally.

The variation shown above, which utilizes a balance ball for its instability, is a lot more challenging than it looks. The balance demands it places upon your core are considerable, as are its stabilization and strength demands.

Again, Mike Harb demonstrates. This balance ball variation on the plank, you'll note, is simply an adaptation of plank positions you saw in previous posts.

Note how Mike doesn't hunch his shoulders, maintains a relatively straight line between his feet, hips, and the back of his head, and lifts his chin just enough to look ahead.

Mike holds this plank position for as long as he can, then repeats. By standing on the points of his toes he increases the balance demands of the drill. Similarly, the closer he places his hands together the more challenging the drill becomes. If he adapts the drill further by doing pushups on the balance ball, the demands on his core strength, balance, and stability becomes considerable, especially if he keeps his hands close together.

Note the flexed muscles in the area just below and behind Mike's armpits, proof that his lats are working. The drill also forces his abs to support his back and his hip flexors to support his lower torso, two key muscle groups paddlers use to balance their sea kayaks in rough water.

Finally, by balancing on the heels of his hands and on the points of toes, Mike also has to engage his core to prevent the ball from rolling back, forward, or from one side to the other. The position places considerable strength and stability demands upon his hips, obliques and abdominals.

Keep in mind that strengthening your core elevates your general level of physical fitness and makes you a better paddler, the latter by reminding you to paddle from your core with torso rotation, a technique described in here.

copyright 2009 Sea Kayaking Dot Net