Safety and rescue
Whitewater rescue is complex and dangerous. This website cannot train you how to be a whitewater rescuer. Even the smallest things, like throwing a bag of rope at someone, need real experience and training. This section provides you with a bit of the theory and video examples before learning the techniques on the river.
Rescue training
The reason this section is mostly embedded videos from other organizations is that you should learn these techniques from trained professionals and if you're not taking a swiftwater rescue course, the next best thing is to learn it from a certified rescuer in a video. We've selected videos from organizations with certified rescue technicians demonstrating the skills needed to save your pals.
This section also shares information on how to be rescued yourself. How to receive a throw bag, how to swim in whitewater, and how to avoid foot entrapment. All things that will need to be covered again on the river, but with this, the theory part can be front-loaded before hitting the river.
Your role in a rescue situation
There are immediate rescue situations that require instant action. Everyone, for instance, should learn how to properly throw a throw bag, which we cover below with a few videos. If your group finds itself in a larger rescue situation, perhaps a canoe capsized and now the paddlers are stranded on a rock in a large rapid and need help. If you're not trained in whitewater rescue, your role is, essentially, to do what you're told by the rescuers. That might sound a little aggressive, but rescue efforts need to be coordinated. Everyone just trying their own thing is ineffective and dangerous. You can submit ideas, but don't act on them until you're told to. There are many cases where people added to the number of victims by trying to be a lone wolf rescuer.
You may be assigned a temporary role by the lead rescuer. There are some important, albeit boring, roles to play. If it's a busy river, someone needs to be up shore to watch and warn other paddlers not to proceed. You may be assigned to pull a rope, or carefully lift and end of a pinned boat, or collect floating gear. Whatever it is, it all needs to be done in an orderly and reasonable fashion. Everyone needs to be on the same page and not make things worse.
Emergency planning
We suggest engaging in a little dark-thinking before your trip. What are all the things that could go wrong? The more issues you can plan out ahead of time, they less figuring out you'll need to do in an emergency.
If someone needs an emergency evacuation, what will you do?
Do you have an emergency beacon?
If it's less serious, what are the nearest towns or cities with a hospital?
Who will be responsible for what in an emergency?
Is your first aid kit stocked up and updated?
Are there any special health needs in the group? Medications, allergies, conditions?
How serious are they?
What will happen if drugs are lost?
There's more about what you should do ahead of time in the Trip Prepping section.
How to be a good victim
"Victim" is of course just the term we use for people in need of rescue. If you find yourself unintentionally in the water, here's a few things you should consider:
If you're ok when you fall in, make eye contact with your crew and give them a tap tap on your helmet to tell them you're ok. If you're not ok, don't try to tough it out unnecessarily. Ask for help with the three whistle blow. Don't make things worse to save face.
If you specifically want a throw rope thrown to you, call for a rope by just yelling, "Rope!" Don't spend unnecessary time on a long swim just to avoid getting someone to pack up their throw bag for you.
When receiving a throw bag, just grab a hold and pendulum to the shore. Don't try to hand over climb up the rope to get to shore. If there's a danger that you could pendulum into, your rescuers should be on top of that. You just focus on hanging on to the rope. Unless they screwed it all up and are putting you in great danger. Then let go. :)
Take care of yourself when you get to shore. It's ok to take a few minutes to recoup from the swim or let your heart settle. Catch your breath and make sure everything is ok. If you're cold, take the extra time to get changed into the dry clothes you brought. Don't press on because you feel that everyone is waiting for you.
Tim once swamped a canoe on an arctic watershed river. With a particularly tall person in the bow, the canoe did not bounce on top of any of the waves in a long and large wave train. The hull sliced through each wave and the splashes over the gunwale eventually swamped the canoe. After crawling out of the water on a large sheet of ice, Tim quickly collected some driftwood and set a pile on fire with camp fuel. While other boats were making their way to the small island half covered in ice to support, Tim continued to gather firewood as if to settle in for the night rather than get warm and changes his clothes. Others had to point out to him that he's shivering and should change. For some, the desire to not be a burden is powerful. But when you're health is at risk, stop, let others take up the slack and take care of yourself.
Throw bags
The basic idea behind a throw bag is, as expected, a bag of rope that you throw to help someone in the water get out of the water. But it gets quite a bit more complex than that and this is one rescue technique that everyone should learn and practice. You can't wait for the rescue leader when someone needing a rope floats right past you.
Let's say one of your paddle buddies dumps his canoe and is floating down a long rapid where it's hard to get to shore. Maybe there's even a danger they're about to float into. This is when you grab your throw bag, hold the rope in one hand and toss your bag straight to (and through) your swimmer's face. (Ok, not literally through his face, but you want a lot of line to land right across his face where he can see it.
Your buddy grabs on hey grab it, you hold on to the other end, and they pendulum into the shore. The application of this is quite a bit more tricky. So it's best to watch this videos. They'll help you understand the concept and how to throw it before trying it yourself.
Here's how to throw a throw bag after you screwed up your first throw. You can also use this to rescue two people at the same time.
Don't take shortcuts and do this right.
Know where to find your throw rope
Learning how to properly toss a throw rope won't do anyone much good if you don't have one available. Make sure that there is at least one decent throw rope per boat and know what it is by always attaching it to the same spot on the canoe. As your group watches others run, potential rescuers should have their throw bags with them. The kind that attached to a belt are ideal for this—you won't forget it if it's attached to you—but it must have a quick release. A throw bag attached to your body greatly increases the branch snag potential so you'll need a way to get out of it fast.
Foot entrapment and defensive swimming
Foot entrapment is one of the scariest things in whitewater. It's also pretty easily avoided. A foot entrapment is when your foot gets stuck in a crevice on the river floor and the force of the water pushes you forward in such a way that you can't get your foot out. The best thing to do is called Offensive swimming which is about keeping your feet up and away from the bottom of the river.
For awareness level only, there are two videos below which demonstrate techniques for getting a victim out of their entrapment. That's only to be done by trained rescuers, but it's good to know how it works in case you ever need to be rescued with these techniques.
But remember the most important part. Keep your feet up!