What's your "Go To"

A go to rescue is the one when everything goes the hell in a hand basket, and you need to fix it. If you are a proficient roller, it may be a simple matter of a setup, and roll. But what if the unthinkable happens … you’re swimming, the water’s cold, and you are solo. The wave caught you by surprise … you were surfing and caught an edge on a monster wave … what ever … your bombproof roll just bombed, you had to bail out, and you need to get back in your boat. If you are a good roller you may do a re-enter and roll and think nothing of it. Why can’t a first year paddler do the same with a paddle float? We tend to teach the standard paddle float rescue as a first line of defense, I bet we’d be surprised how many people could do a reasonable re-enter and roll with a paddle float, if we would show them how easy it really is. The re-enter and roll is a much faster recovery than the standard paddle float rescue, and when the water is cold, time is everything. And if you give someone the tools to work with, they may just surprise you and take the time and learn to roll without the float. Rolling a kayak should be a basic rescue, not an advanced rescue. A paddle float should be a part of our kit … no matter how skilled we think we are.