Re-entry (canoeing)
As a re-entry is the process when a canoeist after a capsize get off the boat and back into the water in the canoe must enter.
If the overturned canoe is brought to the bank , made ready to sail again and then the boat crew gets on again, one does not usually speak of re-boarding. There is also no talk of re-entry if a (self) rescue with the help of an Eskimo roll or Eskimo rescue is successful and the canoeist therefore did not have to leave the boat.
application
The reboarding is used when landing is not possible or makes no sense. This can be caused by the distance to the bank, or by the nature of the bank (steep cliffs or no solid ground such as deep silt, or danger from breaking waves ). In sea kayaking , the knowledge and skills to get back to work are therefore an elementary safety factor.
The re-entry is basically possible with both kayaks and Canadians , but requires different techniques in detail. If the re-entry can be carried out without outside help, one speaks of self-rescue .
Preliminary work
Before the actual re-entry, the water must first be brought out of the canoe, for which there are various techniques:
Empty the capsized kayak
A not fully loaded capsized kayak with sufficient floats or bulkheads can usually be emptied independently by the canoeist. To do this, the canoe swims to the bow of the kayak and lifts it out of the water until the hatch is completely above the surface of the water. Then the kayak is turned around its own axis by hand and lowered or dropped. The residual water in the kayak can be minimized by shaking and swiveling movements in calm conditions. It is important to have enough buoyancy in the stern of the kayak (bulkhead, not fully loaded) and the canoeist; A life jacket is necessary, strong footwork, one-handed lifting (buoyancy with a second arm under water) and, if necessary, other buoyancy devices such as a paddle float are helpful. It may be necessary to drain the remaining water again.
Drain the boat
The canoe can be emptied for re-entry . To do this, the canoe is brought into the correct swimming position and the water is fetched from the boat using a scoop or sponge. Some kayaks are equipped with a bilge pump , which is a considerable relief. The basic requirement is that the boat has enough buoyancy so that the coaming or the gunwale protrudes out of the water.
After the canoe has been pumped, the canoeist can get back on.
The bilge method is basically suitable for self-rescue. The risk of hypothermia (hypothermia), however, is high here, since the residence time in the water is comparatively long.
T-bilge
With T-bilge, also called T-rescue , self -rescue is not possible, as a helper is generally required. To do this, the helper steers his boat across in front of the tip of the capsized canoe, so that the letter T is formed with the two canoes viewed from above. The capsized boat is then turned on its side so that the coaming protrudes out of the water on one side and air can flow into the interior of the boat when the tip of the boat is raised.
The tip of the boat of the capsized canoe is raised and the canoe is turned upside down. This allows the water to drain from the inside of the boat. Kayaks with a sealed-off interior can thus be largely emptied. With kayaks that are not sealed off and with Canadians, it is necessary to pull the canoe completely across the helper boat. Sometimes it is referred to as X-Lenzung .
After all the water has drained from the inside of the boat, it is straightened up and pushed back into the water. Since there is always a helper boat available, the assisted re-entry can then be tackled.
Capistrano flip
The Capistrano Flip is a technique for self-rescue only. This technique is only suitable for open canoes (kayaks with a very large hatch, Canadians) and only possible with an unloaded canoe. If necessary, the luggage must first be removed from the canoe. In addition, it should be floatable and waterproof packed. If the luggage has been tied up in the canoe, loosening the load for the Capistrano Flip u. & Valuable time.
For the Capistrano Flip, the paddler is next to the canoe in the water. If the boat is not already keeled up, but partly full on a level keel, the paddler turns it keel up. If this overturning is carried out with momentum, a lot of air can be trapped in the hull. Then the coaming is briefly raised slightly on one side of the boat so that it protrudes out of the water, and then the canoe is immediately thrown up at an angle with a strong push. By throwing the boat up, the boat comes far out of the water, and the oblique thrust has to make it spin so that it turns around its longitudinal axis and lands again in the correct swimming position. The paddler is pushed deep into the water with this push. He can counteract this with the buoyancy of the life jacket and with strong footwork.
The Capistrano Flip is a force-consuming technique, especially for solo paddlers. The subsequent entry into the canoe in deep water can be more strenuous, depending on the shape of the hull. It is therefore beneficial to practice the Capistrano Flip as a safety technique in shallow water.
According to the developer, the Capistrano-Flip can also be used to protect the boat from damage from high, breaking waves in open waters. Since the boat is lying with the hull up, a breaking wave hits the most stable part of the hull.
Shake out
When shaking it out, the canoeist erects the overturned boat in the correct swimming position. Then he grips the coaming edge with both hands and swings the boat violently around the longitudinal axis. The water in the boat is shaken up and spilled out piece by piece.
In practice, this method can only work with canoes whose side wall does not protrude inwards at the top. Even a gunwale protruding inwards can greatly reduce success, as can components such as B. Benches. Shaking it out is a very strenuous technique.
Types of re-entry
Wet re-entry
A variant of pumping is wet re-entry. Here the canoeist gets into the overturned boat, brings it into the correct swimming position and then puffs the water out of the boat. However, it is crucial that no water flows into the boat from outside. It is therefore imperative that the coaming protrudes out of the water despite the additional load on the paddler, which requires large-sized buoyancy bodies. In the case of kayaks with bilge pumps, the interior of the kayak can also be closed off by the spray cover, thus preventing the water from flowing in. Another difficulty is that a half-full canoe has very little stability and can easily capsize again. A paddle float can be used as a countermeasure .
The big advantage of wet re-boarding is that boarding does not only take place in the drained boat last, but is anticipated. This makes re-entry possible for exhausted canoeists.
Assisted re-entry
During the assisted re-boarding, the overturned and erected boat and the helper boat are positioned parallel to each other (hence also called the parallel method ). Then the helper holds the coaming of both boats and stabilizes the canoes by shifting their weight. The overturned canoeist pulls himself up on his canoe and then crawls to his seat. With kayaks, you can crouch astride the stern and then crawl up to the hatch. With Canadians this is made more difficult by the often raised boat tips.
Self-sufficient re-entry
When re - entering the canoe independently , the canoeist must ensure the stability of the canoe himself. Either pulling up quickly to take advantage of the sluggishness of the canoe or using a paddle float helps . As a temporary measure, a paddle float can be improvised with a reserve life jacket or similar.
In the so-called "cowboy self-rescue", the canoeist climbs the kayak over the stern without aids and then moves to the hatch. Either he pulls himself directly on his stomach over the stern or behind the hatch from the side on the kayak on his stomach.
With two-person canoes, the canoeists can assist each other by one stabilizing the boat while the other getting back in.
literature
- Gary McGuffin, Joanie McGuffin: The fascination of canoeing. HEEL Verlag, Königswinter 2000, ISBN 3-89365-849-1 .
- R. Drummond: The Capistrano Flip. In: American White Water. Vol. 10, No. 2, Autumn 1964, ISSN 0569-907X .