The weather turned out to be very nice with sunshine and just enough wind to stir up some small wind waves for us. This was one of those days when dressing comfortably was nearly impossible. Since the purpose of the class was to improve our rescue skills, it was necessary that we all spend time in the water. With the water temperature at 59°, staying warm required several layers of things like rash guards, micro fleece, hydroskin, neoprene, and paddling jackets. Prior to launch the sunshine was enough to bake us in a hurry. But once in the water, it was hard to stay warm.

On the water Jenn paired us up with members of the opposite sex just to make things more interesting. Actually Jenn has a great eye for judging people's skill levels and her matchmaking was based on balancing skill levels. This was a smart strategy; the less experienced got some help getting through some difficult lessons, and the more experienced paddlers got to learn some valuable lessons on helping people as well as improving our own skills.

In the morning we covered some reentry fundamentals: wet exits, T-rescues, bow assists, underwater reentry rolls, and paddle float techniques. In the afternoon we practiced a variety rough water rescue techniques for pulling a capsized paddler away from the rocks of the breakwater and then getting the paddler back her boat. Jenn and Chuck capped off the training session with one on one Eskimo-rolling lessons. The reentry/rescue techniques included solo techniques as well as assists involving one or more team members.

I was impressed at how well Jenn and Chuck were able to adapt to our needs. They managed the three ring circus very well and seemed to be everywhere all of the time. They kept us busy but didn't drive us to exhaustion. During the multiple break periods while we warmed up, we spent time critiquing what we had learned and watching Jenn and Chuck demonstrate the techniques that we were about to practice. Although we had a variety of skill levels, there was plenty to challenge each of us.

The day was a great success; not only did we learn a great deal, but we had a lot of fun doing it. From the person who overcame her fear of capsizing to the one who did her first Eskimo-rolls, we each came away with big grins on our faces. For me the highlights included learning a new, easy method for reentering a boat that does not require much strength or agility, plus it was a chance to refresh a variety of techniques that I had forgotten. I realized that unless you practice these things from time to time, you will not be as likely to think of them when a real challenge arises.

On a personal note, I've discovered that getting wet with other paddlers has a tendency to magically turn us into friends. There is something about trusting other people that brings out the best in each of us.

My thanks to Jenn and Chuck for putting on a really great class. They not only had a lot of smart things to teach us, but they really put a lot of heart into the way they taught the class. And thanks to Len Goodman for putting this class together and keeping it together for us.

As a parting shot, I can't resist to urge to mention that Mike Bode has once again earned his nickname "Tug". The tale of Tug's terrible towrope continues. I hope that with enough coercion Tug will share his account with the club, after reading it I laughed so hard I till had tears in my eyes.

Patrick Martin

I joined seven CKFers this morning at the Channel Island Harbor to participate in a Capsize and Rescue class taught by Jen Fleck from Aqua Adventures and Chuck for UCSB. Patrick's report tells about the circumstance in which Wayne could not teach this class and Jen and Chuck graciously did at the last moment. We were very grateful.

I was rather apprehensive, as I drove down the 101 towards the meeting spot. In my ten years of kayaking, I have never capsized and got out of my eighteen-foot sea kayak in calm water, let alone ocean water. I suited up, asking lots of questions about what to wear and settled on a long-sleeve, fleece shirt, Farmer Jane wetsuit, long-sleeve paddling jacket, waterproof socks and booties. After putting on my spray skirt and PFD, I was feeling very warm. The sun was shining but the water was only fifty-seven degrees. We introduced ourselves, had a brief discussion about clothing and paddled out of the harbor and around the jetty to what is known as The Pond.

Jen paired us up to practice rescuing each other. My partner was Patrick Martin. Boy, did I feel lucky! I knew Patrick was very experienced and patient, the latter being a much needed requirement. We paddled a little bit away from the group to establish our space. Since I have a new neoprene spray skirt that fits snugly around my cockpit, Jen told me to do my first capsize with my spray skirt unattached. Then I was to capsize and get out of my boat.

I looked at Patrick then I looked at the water. Then I looked at Patrick and then I looked at the water. This whole time I was having intense conversations with myself. "I can do this I am now going to do this." Sometimes, I actually told Patrick that I can do this and was now going to do this. I think I said these words quite a few times before I ACTUALLY DID IT.

Once in the water, the cold surrounded my chest and I wanted to stop breathing. So, I had more conversations with myself. BREATHE. I think I did. I heard Patrick's voice from somewhere above telling me to walk around to the end of my boat and grab his boat. I was holding onto the slippery, upturned bottom of my boat for dear life so he couldn't turn my boat around into the "T" position and I had a death grip on the paddle which Patrick had to pry loose from my fingers. Because I couldn't get a good hold on the slippery bottom, I was sure that I was going to go under and drown. It never occurred to me that I was wearing a PFD that had something to say about it. After the third request from Patrick, I finally let go of my boat and grabbed Patrick's. Then things went somewhat more smoothly. Patrick emptied my boat and held it along side his. I jumped across both boats and tried to lie across them. It would have been OK except my PFD got caught on my combing and wouldn't let me go forward. I felt Patrick's hand on the back of my PFD and all of a sudden I was lying across both our boats. I scooted my legs into my cockpit and turned around. I was upright in my boat, once more, wet and a bit colder but I actually did it. I, now, know how those baby seals must feel that first time they fall off the rocks and try to recover. It takes practice lots of practice.

Jen paddled up to us and told me to capsize again but this time with my spray skirt attached. We were in much shallower water and Jen was standing by my boat and Patrick's boat was along side mine. I welcomed all the attention. I capsized and was surprised how easy the spray skirt pulled off. Patrick and I moved out to deeper water. The second capsize was much smoother and Patrick said that I did well. I was beaming from ear to ear.

Now it was Patrick's time to be in the water. He capsized and I moved his boat around to the T position. I couldn't rotate his boat to empty the water so he helped me do it. Then Patrick got between our boats and told me hold his still. My boat started to lean over towards his and I thought, if I keep leaning, I will go over and so will Patrick's boat so I desperately tried to keep my boat evenly upright but then my arms were too short to reach all the way across to steady Patrick's boat so he could reenter. He later said that this presented a new challenge for him since he had never had this happen before. His boat was not secured against mine and he had one leg in his cockpit. Somehow, he managed to get all the way into his cockpit and was upright. Now I could hold his boat still until he put on his spray skirt. At this time, Jen paddled over and told me that it was OK to lean my boat over toward his boat and that I would not go over. Then the dilemma of my arms not being long enough would go away. Oh well. It's all a learning curve, huh?

Through all of this, Patrick was smiling and patient. He did say that he was grateful for the experience of being rescued by someone who didn't yet have strong rescue skills.

We were all getting cold so we paddled a small loop to get warm. Next, we practiced self-rescues. While the others practiced the paddle float and roll technique, Sherry and I followed Chuck. He taught us how to do a paddle float rescue. Sherry did a great job the first time. When it was my turn, I capsized OK but I got a serious cramp in my calf and had to do a T rescue with Chuck. I welcomed the practice and used Jen's secret re-entry technique. It was much easier than trying to lie across two boats. I was grateful for her showing us this special technique.

We then practiced the Bow Rescue. That worked well. By now, we were all getting quite cold so we paddled around the jetty back to the beach for lunch.

My story ends here because I decided not to take the next part of the class which was to practice the same rescues in open water. My brain was very full and my body was still very cold. I was thrilled to learn these rescue techniques and by such skilled instructors as Jen and Chuck. I was encouraged by the trust I had for them and my partner Patrick. Thank you, thank you, thank you for a wonderful experience. I had a smile on my face all day and it will probably stay there for a very long time.

Click on image to see larger picture

Jen & Carol	Lunch	Mike & Chuck	Paddlers	Patrick Martin

I, too, would like to thank Jenn and Chuck for an excellent class. Len did a good job of arranging for Wayne's replacement at the last minute. I had hoped to take a class from Wayne before he moved north, but I guess I'll have to go to Washington to meet Wayne.

I learned a great deal and hope I can remember the skills and techniques.....remembering is difficult for Tilley owners. It was very nice for me to have Jenn as an instructor because she provided suggestions and techniques geared to women paddlers. This was the first time I had worked with Chuck and he was a very patient and thorough instructor.

Kudos to Mike (a.k.a Tug), my rescue partner. It was a challenge to help a "big" guy with a heavy kayak get back into his boat. So, Mike spent a bit of time in the chilly waters. I finally remembered the techniques I've practiced with Duane and Dublin Dave. Jenn also provided some rescue technqiues for "small" paddlers.

When I first saw Patrick Martin in the group, I wondered what he was doing in our class. But, it was so nice to have such an experienced person with us. He also shared a lot of stories about rescues. Thank goodness the stories had happy endings.

My husband, Ken, must have been working on the "Man of the Year" award. He signed up for the class, but was unable to attend due to back problems. I was reluctant to go by myself. So he got up at 4:00 a.m. and went to Oxnard with me and hung out in Oxnard until our class ended. What a guy!

Thanks, CKF. It was great day at Channel Islands.

What Patrick is referring to is a little "RUST" (Retiried, Unemployed, Self-employed Thursday) paddle with Peter O'Sullivan and Paul Jonason a couple of months ago. After a surf zone spill by Chris Wood the weekend before and the subsequent text-book team tow and rescue (flawlessly executed by Patrick Martin and his staff), I was inspired to buy a tow belt. That particular Thursday was the first time I tried it out on the water. I did a little write up at the time and sent it out to a few people and that's the little story Patrick is referring to. Including it here would make this message longer than it already.

After that first less-than-successful initial episode, I decided to add a larger, handier carabiner in addition to the one that came standard on the belt, thus having TWO biners (it's GOT to be better, right?), adjust the line length (again), and to bundle a little free slack in the line between the biner and the infamous "shuttle". And, of course, I diligently practised in my living room.

Well, what happened Saturday was that Chris Wood was to do a contact tow on Jenn, I was supposed to be the anchor and tow them both out. But I couldn't get my tow line out and attached to Chris' boat fast enough. When it was all over, there I was, bobbing around in the clapotis with a perplexed look on my face surrounded by 25 feet of yellow tow line and an empty carabiner in my hand. And getting the line back in its pouch was an even greater ordeal.

That's the short version. I won't go into the part about where the line somehow slowly leaks out of the pouch later on during re-entry practice and get's fouled in my sprayskirt. (Or did my sprayskirt get fouled in the line? ... ... ).

Suffice to say, this tow belt stuff is still a work in progress as far as I'm concerned. And it's a poor craftsman that blames his tools. Besides, that's what these workshops are all about!

Thanks to everyone responsible for making this another great CKF/USK/Aqua Adventures event! Especially to Jenn and Chuck! Wouldn't a' missed for anything!

And I hereby officially renounce my nick name!