there will be a strong pull. As long as you hold fast the canoe will swing in to shore. It is tempting to rush, but if there isn’t an upcoming rapid,
it’s better to wait until you have a sure belay zone where the stern paddler will be able to get out of the canoe with the rope while the bow paddler secures the rescue canoe.
As long as you hold fas t
the canoe wi l l swing in to shore As you paddle toward shore you’ll be in slower water so
the capsized canoe may overtake you. If you run out of rope before you reach shore, you’ll end up trying to tow more than a tonne of canoe, gear and water. The capsized canoe will soon pull you directly upstream of it. Try to ferry toward shore, but if you are being overpowered pull some rope in,
turn downstream and overtake the canoe until you see an- other belay zone. The safest method for retaining your end of the rope is to
hold the last throwbag down with your knee. This lets you paddle freely and release the rope quickly if the capsized canoe seems intent on running the next rapid. Make sure there are no loose coils of rope in the canoe that could wrap around your leg. If you are in the capsized canoe and no cowboys are com-
ing to the rescue you can try to wrangle the canoe yourself by swimming to shore with a rope. For this attempt you’ll need to have the rope already clipped to a grab loop, with the throwbag held down with shock cord as described on page 23 of the Spring 2008 issue of Canoeroots (read online at
canoerootsmag.com). Be patient and wait until the canoe floats into a very good belay zone so you won’t run out of rope and be towed back into the faster current.
MARK SCRIVER won’t say how he knows you shouldn’t fasten the rescue rope to your canoe, only that it involves a class IV rapid on the Yukon’s Firth River.
w w w. c a n o e r o o t sma g . c om n 23
ILLUSTRATION BY PAUL MASON
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52