Fuguboy and I came up on a situation this last weekend. On our way back into the Oceanside Harbor, I was flaged down by a group of Kayakers. There were two people in the water and they could not get back into the kayak. They were inexperienced kayakers and didn't know how to get back in. It was a lady and a gentleman. There were two other kayakers with them all inexperienced. When we pulled up on them, one of them informed us they had called Harbor Patrol. So we waited with them until help arrived. I call on my radio to get the ETA of the patrol. The gentleman was in the first stag of hypothermic and no life vest on (it was sitting on top of the kayak).
Here's my Question:
If the harbor patrol or coast guard had not been able to respond with in a timely manner, we were going to have to make the rescue. How would have been the best way to do that. Keeping in mind that we have our fishing rigs on the back of our skis. We would have had to help two people. The women was in sweat pants, she wasn't a big lady. She would have been easy to handle, but the gentleman was a big guy and would not have been able to help himself.

if we had 2 skis, i think i would remove my rack and give it to my buddy. then roll the gentlemen on the back like a dead whale and just have him lay on this side on the footwell. i'm sure i can somehow drag them back to shore but it's hard to explain what i would do.. did they make it back okay?

Rules of the water: Help out when you can. Safety is a huge consideration when rigging your watercraft for fishing. Avoid using a cooler rig that prevents a person from boarding your watercraft from the rear. Access to your swim step is key in boarding a watercraft from a swimmer. If your foot wells are blocked, you make that difficult. Rescue Sled based cooler racks allow for a "swim-on" type rescue. Remember the life you save may be your own.

Remember the Garage section has plenty of essential gear lists for your trips. Check them out.

HawaiianShorts wrote:if we had 2 skis, i think i would remove my rack and give it to my buddy. then roll the gentlemen on the back like a dead whale and just have him lay on this side on the footwell. i'm sure i can somehow drag them back to shore but it's hard to explain what i would do.. did they make it back okay?

Yea The harbor patrol arrive a few minutes later. I was thinking the same thing about removing my rack. This just got me thinking about this type of situations. There are so many people that venture out in the ocean that should not be there, we need to be always prepared to help. What really kind of got to me was there was another jetski just buzzing around and didn't bother to stop and help

aquaman wrote:Rules of the water: Help out when you can. Safety is a huge consideration when rigging your watercraft for fishing. Avoid using a cooler rig that prevents a person from boarding your watercraft from the rear. Access to your swim step is key in boarding a watercraft from a swimmer. If your foot wells are blocked, you make that difficult. Rescue Sled based cooler racks allow for a "swim-on" type rescue. Remember the life you save may be your own.

Remember the Garage section has plenty of essential gear lists for your trips. Check them out.

You are right a rescue sled would have been the right equipment, but most of us don't have those. So we need to be able to help with what we have. And having at least one wingman is probably one of the most important thing we can have. Had I been alone with the possibility of having two people to help, will let just say it would have been near impossible. I do carry a lot of safety equipment with me.
I put this out there for everybody to start to think about what would you do if you come across a situation where you are going to have to help. We all spend a lot of time on the water and the odds are this will happen to you
Think about it and be prepared

it would be nice to have a rescue sled but i obviously don't have one so i have to improvise on the spot. the foot well being blocked and riding in an awkward position is fine with me. the important thing is to help someone in need.. i wouldn't mind tossing all my gear in the ocean if it gives me a chance to save someone.

Well done. It was the right thing to stop.

I was thinking the same thing about removing my rack.

Short of a sled, which I don't have either, you're solution sounds best. Transfer the gear to 1 ski and roll the guy up as best you can. I have carried my kids, sitting on the swim step for short distances while wakewboarding. Probably wouldn't work well for a
I'd be prepared to "deep 6" my gear as well. I think I'll practice taking the rods out of their holders and putting them in the footwell while I am in the water. Then, at least they could be saved.

nd having at least one wingman is probably one of the most important thing we can have.

Agree completely with wingman. If there's a boat in the area, a wingman could ride to them for help if they can't be reached on the radio. Which is probably just as important; radio communication. It probably made a world of difference having a clue about the eta of harbor patrol. That changes the whole decision-making process.

Hobiefish: can't you figure out some sort of hinge to swivel the fishing rack out of the way?

gblust wrote:Fuguboy and I came up on a situation this last weekend. On our way back into the Oceanside Harbor, I was flaged down by a group of Kayakers. There were two people in the water and they could not get back into the kayak. They were inexperienced kayakers and didn't know how to get back in. It was a lady and a gentleman. There were two other kayakers with them all inexperienced. When we pulled up on them, one of them informed us they had called Harbor Patrol. So we waited with them until help arrived. I call on my radio to get the ETA of the patrol. The gentleman was in the first stag of hypothermic and no life vest on (it was sitting on top of the kayak).
Here's my Question:
If the harbor patrol or coast guard had not been able to respond with in a timely manner, we were going to have to make the rescue. How would have been the best way to do that. Keeping in mind that we have our fishing rigs on the back of our skis. We would have had to help two people. The women was in sweat pants, she wasn't a big lady. She would have been easy to handle, but the gentleman was a big guy and would not have been able to help himself.

Good job guys.

There is lots of discussion that can surround this situation but there is a good lesson here for everyone about cold water; lots of people are probably assuming August socal water temps are safe. Obviously that is not the case this year.

Until I purchased this jetski, my gear was less than adequate for kayaking and boating. After seeing a kayaker at DP have a heart attack on his kayak probably induced by stress and unpreparedness I decided that money was no object when it comes to clothing and gear. If the water is colder than 65, I do not go out without some type of thermal gear. I have been wearing a farmer john 3mm wetsuit by NRS made for whitewater rafting. The suit has a regular jacket that makes on and off of both the suit and jacket so much better than a normal wetsuit and I just remove the jacket if conditions warm up. It is totally comfortable and would probably double or triple your survival time if caught in the water like this guy.

MejorPain wrote:Well done. It was the right thing to stop.

Hobiefish: can't you figure out some sort of hinge to swivel the fishing rack out of the way?

Sorry, I think that might be above my pay grade! Good idea though!

where's the phillipino MacGyver?!?