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team building
Earlier in the summer I had such a fun time providing Kayak 101 as a TEAM BUILDING event for Dr. Terry Garbacz’s office. Ginger Garbacz organized the group on their end. My assistant Deborah Bagley and extra helper Coop from Lawton aided me in supervising a LOT of paddlers.
It was such a delight for me to introduce kayaking to this team! There were a couple of ladies who had NEVER been on the water. Can you swim? -NO. And then she turned over at the put-in! Even she laughed!!! There’s nothing like a good PFD!
Our session began on land where each of the team was fitted for a sit-in kayak, paddle, and PFD. On land we reviewed the nomenclature of the sport and soon we headed to the water – our REAL classroom. I taught the team 6 different strokes, and how to do an Assisted Rescue when another of the team fell in! An accidental dip on a hot summer day is a good thing! We had few contests and prize presentations, then off we went to paddle Lake Wichita.
We had a delightful day on the lake – bonding, laughing, competing, playing follow-the-leader and paddling over 3 miles after “class”. For a little break we rafted together in the middle of the lake and ate cupcakes!
What a great group! What a great time!
By September 5 of this group became Kayak OWNERS. WHOOOP! -Congrats!
moonlight paddle
There is nothing better than paddling by moonlight, and the last 3 full moons have been SPECTACULAR!
October 15, 2016 Lake Lawtonka, OK. Our Meetup group WF-Lawton Paddlesports hosted a Moonlight Paddle on Lake Lawtonka outside of Lawton Oklahoma. The winds blew hard all day. We gather
ed at Robinsons Landing for supper then began attaching glowsticks and lights onbows and sterns of each kayak, and one on each PFD. There were 13 paddlers and one ride-along…. my Cooper Dog.
We braved a short section with strong wind, we hit hard times in some shallows, we braved navigating through the rock garden (huge bolders above and beneath the surface, and paddled on to Medicine Beach by the “waterfall” Snacks and bantering by the water, then we returned by the same route. Happy to say we avoided the shallows on the way back. Oh and the moon. Gorgeous!
I had a GREAT TIME with: Janet Rollings, Brandon Vaughn, Ruth Jones, John Cook, Joy Enos and Don Smith, Bill Coe and Peggy Coe, Mark Bindseil, Starla Drumm Ross. Laurie Vogel Pollock. Deborah Bagley, and Ruth Martin Ward and my Cooper Dog.
November 13, 2016 Lake Wichita. Wichita Falls TX Meetup time again… but just Deborah Bagley my assistant and I went out. The sun set and the moon rise in the same sky at the same time. BEAUTIFUL. Winds were light. and it was just a beautiful paddle! I always attend a GREAT WORSHIP SERVICE when I paddle under His skies.
saving lives
THE GREAT ADVENTURE: What a day I had ! Teaching and coaching kayakers. Leading 12 other paddlers on a Moonlight Paddle adventure. and . . . Rescuing a capsized stranger!!
Now here is THAT story:
Before I was on the water with 2 of my graduates, I was going over some details with a new paddler. I looked out at the white capped waves just beyond the point. It was then that I saw a capsized 17′ ocean kayak. After a moment I saw the solo paddler out of the kayak and bobbing in the whipping water. The water is cold. I ran down the ramp and hopped in my kayak. When I arrived near the capsized paddler, he was standing waist deep on a rock at the edge of the rock jetty. He wore no shirt. He wore no PFD (personal flotation device –life jacket). This man had borrowed a kayak designed for a skilled kayaker. He was not.
What he had done was get on the water in a very inebriated state! Drunk. As a skunk. He had already righted his kayak (turned it right side up) and was complaining that it was full of water. The waves were slapping hard against the jetty. I remained about 6 feet away from his boat and the jetty. I insisted that he come out into the water and get away from the jetty. He argued that he was going to get in his kayak right there, but he had no clue how to do that. I told him come to me, I would get him back in his boat. “no I will get in it myself right here.”
With some discussion going back and forth I finally asked him “I have come out here to rescue you. I can help you get into your kayak. Do you want to be rescued? – or do you want to try to get in that bouncing water-filled kayak all by yourself?” “You can help me?” And he finally stepped off the rock and began to swim and push his kayak out from the rocks. So now I have instructed Mr D Runk to hold onto the stern (back end) of my kayak.
With my paddle laid my across my cockpit and tucked against my tummy, I have manually maneuvered the bow (front end) of his kayak to intersect my kayak like a big “T” –this is the “T” rescue.
My challenge was to lift the bow of his kayak up and across my cockpit – while keeping my own kayak upright. It was very heavy with water in it! But up it came. When I had pulled enough up into
my lap, i rolled his kayak over to drain all the water out but kept the kayak up across mine. Then I rolled it over again to right side up, and slid it into the water- his bow at my stern, his stern at my bow. That was all easy …. the tough part, instructing Mr D Runk, how to get in. I talked him through the “heel hook rescue” and braced my kayak and his as he began the heel hook climb-in.
Now I have to deal with a tippy guy in a tippy kayak… bad mix! And, his paddle… oh he let go of his paddle a long time ago. it was upwind of us by 15 feet. So, my next assessment of tippy in tippy, led me to just hold his kayak steady and let the wind take us to the opposite shore/boat launch. Oh my. …. not to worry. Mr D Runk did get out of the water, I went back to get his paddle, and he carried his gear back to his truck…. he was safe now. and he DROVE OFF! Y I K E S
Well. Now you have “seen” the Assisted Rescue. The lessons here:
1. Don’t paddle beyond your skill.
2. Always wear a PFD – it will float you, save you, and keep your core warmer in cold water!!
3. Paddle with a buddy.
4. IF you capsize, leave the kayak upside down for the rescuer – by righting it improperly, you will fill it with water.
5. Water sport have their own dangers. It is foolish to add alcohol to the mix. Dont do it!
6. ALWAYS hold on to your paddle!
7. Dress for the water and then the weather. –the weather was hot and windy, but the water was cold. This person had already altered his core with alcohol, the water could easily take him to hypothermia.
8. Take a class and learn all you can from a qualified instructor!!
Thanks for reading. I hope you have learned something here! see you on the water and hopefully –NOT IN IT!
oh wow. i just wrote a book!