Sea Kayak Trips Bulletin Board

Splish Splash Swim

Posted By: Mike Hanks
Date: Friday, 28 January 2000, at 11:56 a.m.

I planned on taking the newly finished plywood Walrus into work to show it off to my co-workers. I thought I'd take my Arctic Tern along and go for a paddle after work. One of my team members said he'd take off early and join me too. It was only his second time paddling (his first time he went swimming), so I said sure he could use my Tern and I would use the Walrus without a seat back hip, thigh, or foot braces.

The road (Dock Street) to the city dock in Tacoma on the Thea Foss Waterway was under construction right before the dock so we had to carry the kayaks from the parking lot of a nearby business. After we got the kayaks to the dock, I got him all situated in the Tern and then got myself ready and started getting in the Walrus. Behind and to the side of me I heard my friend yell, and then I heard splashing. I turned around to see the bottom of the hull on the Tern, it was on it's side. I saw him fighting to right it but he didn't have a spray skirt, so it was rapidly filling with water. The Tern dumped him out and then righted itself. (The same thing that happened the last time he paddled it) He tried getting back in but since I didn't put a float bag (no bulkheads yet) in the stern, it was horribly swamped. Every time he tried he just got more water in it. I got out to him and asked if he could easily swim to the dock, as we were very close to it. He said no problem and did it. The problem he had was getting onto the dock. He was wearing Gore-tex jackecket and pants with polar fleece under that. The clothing was too heavy for him to lift himself up. He swan another ten yards to the shore. I meanwhile towed the swamped Tern to the dock to pump it out at a stable location. Then went out and got the paddle and his hat. His hands and feet were cold but he said he was warmer than when he did the same thing last summer.

We emptied the Tern and he said he wanted to try again. We paddled down the waterway to Commencement Bay and turned around. He did much better.

I learned a few things. I need to get bulkheads in my Tern or make sure I have two large float bags in it not just the one in the bow. Towing a swamped kayak when all you've got is a seat in your kayak isn't easy. Polar fleece under Gore-tex may keep you warm but it makes it hard to lift yourself up when waterlogged. I should have let him use my neoprene glove as my hands were too warm.

He may have capsized because of his many layers of clothing, I think he knocked the seat loose and was sitting on the 3" high front lip. with the thick clothing he couldn't tell how the seat was, but he thought he was sitting too high. The seat is velcroed in place and can be knocked loose, I haven't had problems with it but was aware of the possibility.

I chose the locatation to put in because my friend is a novice kayaker, he races small sailboat so he is used to unplanned swimming. Along Thea Foss waterway we are always close to shore and there are docks all along it.

He is the only person I have ever been kayaking with that has had these kinds of difficulties. The other time I assisted him in a re-entry, that came very easy for both of us. We could heve emtied the kayak and done a re-entry this time, but it was easier to have him swim to shore. He wants to kayak again, but will probably wait for warmer weather. He also wants to teach me to sail. (does he want me to go swimming?) Most of my trips are fairly uneventful, but when I go with him I get to practice rescue techniques.

This trip was a good reminder that things can and do go wrong. That night was when I went to the pool where Jerry taught me to roll.

What a day, Mike

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