Well, this summer, I made both those kayak trips I mentioned previously (Blewett Falls and the Lower Saluda River) Kayaking is a great way to access stretches of rivers that would be questionable for a johnboat, or at least to do some recon to see if the river looks runnable with a jetboat, like we've been doing.
While the section from Blewett Falls to Rockingham is pretty tame, the Lower Saluda is no B.S.!! When we ran it, I went through a section called Mill Race Rapids, the water flow was about 3KCFS when I went through there, it was probably a class 3 rapid. Learned a valuable lesson....when they recommend intermediate level kayakers to portage something, they mean it! Ignoring that type of advice can mean going about halfway through the rapids trying to scramble to turn the kayak back over and get back on, as you bump across rocks! Not fun.
On the Lower Saluda trip, my girlfriend did not fall from her kayak, but saw it happen to me in Mill Race. She was smart enough to portage that hazard, I wasn't. If anything untoward had happened, there wouldn't have been anything that she could have done to help me. I am so glad she portaged that hazard, though, because she would NOT have handled it like I did, she may have panicked and been in real trouble. From there to Columbia, I thought she was going to either have a nervous breakdown, or beat me in the head with her paddle, I guess seeing me go through those rapids scared her more than it did me. Right before the Hampton Street bridge, she got stuck on a rock. At that point, I know she was cussing Columbia, the river, the rock, and me. Fortunately, I was far enough from her I couldn't clearly hear it! I circled back and started paddling against the current, moving toward her, but right about the time I got close, she managed to get off the rock without tipping over. We made it to the landing, and were both glad to be off the river..
So, when we went to Blewett Falls the other day, I told her that it was nothing like the Saluda, it would be relatively flat, calm water. I figured she would be OK, but just as soon as we launched and she saw rocks in the river, it was like she had a bout of 'river rapids PTSD', every bit as bad as when we were on those last few miles below Mill Race on the Saluda. We made it down to Hwy 74 landing without incident. Later on, she told me she never heard any of the sounds on the river, like the birds, the insects, or even the sounds of the water at the spillway, or a few of the riffles in the river. (That's called 'auditory exclusion', and it's definitely a sign of PTSD) I was at a loss to figure out how in the hell someone who has spent their whole life on water, could be so terrified of it.
Then I figured it out when she said she had never fallen out of her kayak, not even out here in the inlet, where she has done a good bit of paddling.
Then it hit me.... #-o #-o #-o DUH!! If she's never fallen off, then she doesn't know how to get back on!! That should have been the first thing she learned! The thought never crossed my mind. It should have, though, because, she almost goes into a panic when she jumps overboard to swim. She jumped over one time in the Waccamaw River, which is blackwater, and I thought she was going to have a panic attack and drown. Still can't figure out why she is so terrified of water, but it only stands to reason if she doesn't like jumping overboard, then she's really not going to relish the thought of possibly falling off or flipping a kayak, especially if she's never had to climb back on.
But as soon as I figured it out, I told her "if you cannot make a deep-water recovery, then you have no business being in ANY body of water aboard that boat! Not even here in the inlet. You're not always going to be next to a shoreline, and if you fall out in the middle of the inlet, or a river, you've got to be able to get back on without having to go to the shoreline. And in the inlet, the shoreline is covered with razor-sharp oyster beds, far more potential of being hurt by those than by any rocks in any river. And there are a lot of places in the rivers where there are not shorelines to be able to get to."
So, yesterday, we took the kayaks out to the beach, and I spent a few hours teaching her how to fall out of a kayak in deep water, and be able to get back on. I had to put her fear at ease by reminding her "you're wearing a PFD, you are tethered to your boat with a surfboard leash, and I am right here, you are NOT in any danger. "
First thing I noticed was that due to the difference in hull shape, her kayak is MUCH harder to flip over than mine, you really have to intentionally do it, where with mine, if you make a paddle stroke too hard, it will tip over. Anyhow, once I showed her how to turn the kayak up on its side and basically do a pull-up, then lean forward to roll the kayak level, and climb the rest of the way on, she figured it out pretty quick.
Once she figured it out, it was like flipping a switch, we turned off the anxiety of her falling out and not knowing how to get back on. I saw her confidence level go up, for sure. So, mission accomplished, valuable lesson learned. It should have been the first thing she learned, but that's my fault for assuming that everyone is as nimble as me and can just keep a clear head and scramble back onto a tippy boat after unexpectedly falling out. But now that she's learned how to deal with that situation, I think she'll be OK.
Bottom line to beginning kayakers, have confidence in your equipment and yourself, and do not exceed the capabilities of your boat, or your paddling skills. And for heaven's sake, make sure the first lesson you learn is how to effect a self-rescue if you fall overboard or the kayak flips!
