About a dozen surfskis and two OC1’s gathered at Marine Park for the First Annual Whatcom Paddlers Surfski Rescue Games. The air was in the mid 30’s F and the water was glassy and about 44F. The majority of paddlers came dressed for immersion in various layers of polypro and synthetics under their drysuits.

Reivers, looking sharp!

After a warm-up paddle, Larry Goolsby placed a race turn-around buoy about 100 yards off shore. Buoy placed, the contestants lined up alongside their surfskis with their partner and a race plan was agreed upon.

Teams of two, one paddler/rescuer and one swimmer/rescu-ee, would race to the buoy. Paddlers could tow their swimmer using any method they chose. At the buoy, both paddler and swimmer would dump into the water, remount, and continue on to the finish. If the swimmer and rescuer wanted to switch positions, they could at the buoy.

The teams were: Heather and Brandon, Larry Goolsby and Shaun Sullivan, Carolyn Watson and LeAnne Robinson, and Reivers Dustin and Larry Bussinger. Brian Boatman and Eric Gerstl ran safety with their OC1’s. A few other surfskiers observed from the sidelines, but opted not to race.

LeMans start….

Swimmers take their position on the stern of the surfski while the paddler stabilizes the boat.

Rounding the buoy.

Larry B. with Reivers on the stern.

The race pack…minus Larry and Shaun

Carolyn and LeAnne

Shaun and Larry

The pack coming in to the finish-line.

After finishing the course, everyone stayed to play: practicing swimming, swimming with a paddle, towing, etc. Overall… an awesome session!

From what I saw and heard from the group, the general feedback was:

1. The deck rescue was much faster, more efficient and more “do-able” overall than paddlers thought it would be.
2. Feeling confident about how it felt to do these skills in flatwater, everyone was curious to try the skills in rougher conditions.

Larry liked towing so much he went for the double tow!

Technique feedback:

1. The closer to the paddler the ‘swimmer’ on the deck is, the more trim the ski is and also, the less drag the paddler feels.

2. The ‘swimmer’ on the deck can add stability by creating outriggers and ‘drag’ with their feet and legs, or, by lifting their feet out of the water, make it a more speedy ride.

3. If the ‘swimmer’ on the deck is too far back, the bow of the ski rides out of the water, making it very slow and very difficult to maneuver the boat.

Larry G drags his legs for stability on the left, while on the right LeAnne tried to help by kicking.

With me over 7 months pregnant, we tried this sitting up method. Brandon actually found this incredibly stable, comparing it to paddling a tandem, with both paddlers working to stabilize th
e boat. But, having the swimmer laying on their belly on the deck was noticeably faster.

Swimming:

If you don’t ‘burp’ your drysuit before entering the water, the above-water part of the suit becomes a pressurized, cumbersome “balloon” or bladder — and, it will invite water in as the air eventually escapes through the gaskets.

1. The air in the suit makes it much more difficult to swim as you are fighting the ‘balloon’ effect. 2. Walking into the water and burping your suit creates a vacuum effect. This reduces the risk of water leaking into the gaskets. If you don’t burp it, water can find its way in when air tries to escape.

Larry’s suit, after being ‘burped’, creates a vacuum effect against his body.

Swimming with Paddle:

1. Using your paddle to swim forward is fast, but takes physical strength and energy.

2. Swimming with your paddle while laying on your back allows you to make good progress, keep your body heat up without exhausting yourself, keep your hands and head out of the water — and you can maintain this stroke for an extended period of time.

Carolyn plays around, swimming on her back with her paddle. Here, she tries pushing with the cupped side of the wing blade, but ultimately realized it was more effective to push with the back of the blade.

Reivers, kickin’ it with the OC1′s. Eric, Heather, Carolyn and Larry B

The Kayak Polo players were also out for their annual New Years Day Game.

…as was W.A.K.E, the local sea kayak club. In all, there were no less than 40 kayaks out on Bellingham Bay New Years Morning!

Nice View of the Olympics!

All Photos by Peter Marcus or Brandon Nelson

~In the Spirit of Compassion and Adventure~

Heather, Brandon and Baby HB