I was caught out in white water without decent re-entry skills. In flat rivers and ocean kayaking I use a strong kick to propel myself high enough to flop onto my kayak, but in white water I needed upper body strength because roiling water has too much air to give propulsion from my legs! Bailed out early and went to the gym to work on abs and upper body! Very scary experience going through a long rapid and being unable to re-enter !
@@TheTildar yep, did a lot of work on upper body strength and core. Got back to where I was. Still not confident that I could do it when I was exhausted after a long swim though. More work to do!
Fayley great point about aerated whitewater being tougher to kick out of. That, combined with being bounced around (and the stress of swimming a rapid), definitely makes a wet re-entry in whitewater a whole different ballgame. I'm thrilled to hear that you were able to work through it and improve, I hope everyone realizes how important self-rescue is before something bad happens. Practicing this stuff is so important. And as to your point on being exhausted and unable to re-enter, that's where you might make the call to ditch your boat, swim to safety, and recover your gear downstream. The repeated effort of unsuccessful re-entries has diminishing returns. And the more tired a person gets in swiftwater, the more that person is at risk of flush drowning. And hopefully you're paddling with capable partners that can assist you in an emergency like that!
A self bailing deck eliminates the constant need for shore re-entry and getting water out of your boat. With a self bailer and thigh straps on my Gnarwal, I can stay out on the water all day without having to go to shore or deal with the coffin like confinement of a skirt
Zachary good question. In the kayaking world, for instance, they tell you not to keep your boat upstream of your body in the event of a swim. That's because a kayak full of water weighs a ton, and could crush a swimmer if pinned between a rock and a water-logged kayak. For packrafters, this is not really a risk. The proper body position to assess downstream hazards and make a plan for self-rescue is the defensive swimming position that I mention in this video. On your back, feet downstream and at the surface of the water. Keep your boat next to you or behind you, because in this position, if your boat is downstream of you're body, it obscures your view of approaching hazards. Once you make the decision to attempt a wet re-entry, all you have to do is a quick barrel roll and your boat should be in position to re-enter. Obviously during the re-entry, you will be facing upstream. But this should only be for a short second (because you've practiced your wet re-entry repeatedly and can do it in your sleep!) And facing upstream for this split second is an acceptable risk, because you've already assessed the downstream hazards from the defensive swimming position. Again, good question. Thanks for asking and sorry I didn't make that more clear in the video. Safe paddling! -Eric
@@packraftingadventures Wow! Thank-you for replying! I actually went out and practiced a ton of wet re-entries per this video and was downstream when re-entering in flowing water, and yeah everything you've said in your reply makes sense. Thanks :) The water I was practicing in was flowing but not frothy or rapid-like, and the flow actually made the wet re-entry easier! That was a nice little surprise.
Thank you for this video (playlist). I can imagine that over time it could end up of being the 'go to' playlist for all packraft peeps. What is the aim of this playlist? Are there more video's coming? Thanks again and greeting from the netherlands
Thanks Sebastiaan! This playlist was mainly aimed at educating the adventure racing crowd about packrafting basics, but it's great if it helps everyone else as well. There was supposed to be another set of videos released, but the producer ran out of time before he needed to move on to other projects. Glad these videos are useful, safe paddling! -Eric
@@PackraftBeta we’ll have to agree to disagree on that one. I explain why in more detail in a comment above. I will say that, in practice, I tend to hold the boat to my side, so I can see downstream, and then move it upstream of me when it’s time to pivot and climb back in. Obviously the river is dynamic and the best self rescue is simply the one that works in the given situation, but I find this to be a good general rule and it works for me. If you’ve got a different method that works, good on you!
I was caught out in white water without decent re-entry skills. In flat rivers and ocean kayaking I use a strong kick to propel myself high enough to flop onto my kayak, but in white water I needed upper body strength because roiling water has too much air to give propulsion from my legs!
Bailed out early and went to the gym to work on abs and upper body! Very scary experience going through a long rapid and being unable to re-enter !
Do you have it down better now? I'm struggling with a similar thing
@@TheTildar yep, did a lot of work on upper body strength and core. Got back to where I was. Still not confident that I could do it when I was exhausted after a long swim though. More work to do!
@@fayleya3865
very nice! good work!
Fayley great point about aerated whitewater being tougher to kick out of. That, combined with being bounced around (and the stress of swimming a rapid), definitely makes a wet re-entry in whitewater a whole different ballgame. I'm thrilled to hear that you were able to work through it and improve, I hope everyone realizes how important self-rescue is before something bad happens. Practicing this stuff is so important. And as to your point on being exhausted and unable to re-enter, that's where you might make the call to ditch your boat, swim to safety, and recover your gear downstream. The repeated effort of unsuccessful re-entries has diminishing returns. And the more tired a person gets in swiftwater, the more that person is at risk of flush drowning. And hopefully you're paddling with capable partners that can assist you in an emergency like that!
A self bailing deck eliminates the constant need for shore re-entry and getting water out of your boat. With a self bailer and thigh straps on my Gnarwal, I can stay out on the water all day without having to go to shore or deal with the coffin like confinement of a skirt
@neilprtr this is true, there are definitely pros and cons to both configurations (deck and self bailer).
the water is freezing in the early morning in northern new Mexico/colorado, self bail is not an option in this region
I live in Southern Colorado. In cold water I use a drysuit. Expensive but practical with the bailer. Stay safe out there!
How does putting the boat upstream give you a good view? Wouldn't you be facing upstream while trying to reenter?
Yah. I was so confused too haha
Zachary good question. In the kayaking world, for instance, they tell you not to keep your boat upstream of your body in the event of a swim. That's because a kayak full of water weighs a ton, and could crush a swimmer if pinned between a rock and a water-logged kayak. For packrafters, this is not really a risk. The proper body position to assess downstream hazards and make a plan for self-rescue is the defensive swimming position that I mention in this video. On your back, feet downstream and at the surface of the water. Keep your boat next to you or behind you, because in this position, if your boat is downstream of you're body, it obscures your view of approaching hazards. Once you make the decision to attempt a wet re-entry, all you have to do is a quick barrel roll and your boat should be in position to re-enter. Obviously during the re-entry, you will be facing upstream. But this should only be for a short second (because you've practiced your wet re-entry repeatedly and can do it in your sleep!) And facing upstream for this split second is an acceptable risk, because you've already assessed the downstream hazards from the defensive swimming position. Again, good question. Thanks for asking and sorry I didn't make that more clear in the video. Safe paddling! -Eric
@@packraftingadventures Wow! Thank-you for replying! I actually went out and practiced a ton of wet re-entries per this video and was downstream when re-entering in flowing water, and yeah everything you've said in your reply makes sense. Thanks :) The water I was practicing in was flowing but not frothy or rapid-like, and the flow actually made the wet re-entry easier! That was a nice little surprise.
Thank you for this video (playlist). I can imagine that over time it could end up of being the 'go to' playlist for all packraft peeps. What is the aim of this playlist? Are there more video's coming? Thanks again and greeting from the netherlands
Thanks Sebastiaan! This playlist was mainly aimed at educating the adventure racing crowd about packrafting basics, but it's great if it helps everyone else as well. There was supposed to be another set of videos released, but the producer ran out of time before he needed to move on to other projects. Glad these videos are useful, safe paddling! -Eric
Nice! Too many folk out there have a false sense of security being able to do things on flat water.
Yes! Flatwater is a good place to start, but doing this in a rapid is a whole different ballgame!
@@packraftingadventures yes, that’s why your boat should be downstream of you in rapids, my friend. Keep practicing.
@@PackraftBeta we’ll have to agree to disagree on that one. I explain why in more detail in a comment above. I will say that, in practice, I tend to hold the boat to my side, so I can see downstream, and then move it upstream of me when it’s time to pivot and climb back in. Obviously the river is dynamic and the best self rescue is simply the one that works in the given situation, but I find this to be a good general rule and it works for me. If you’ve got a different method that works, good on you!
It looks like the packraft is too short for you. Is it too short?
Super useful, thanks so much for making this! 😎👌🛶
Thanks for watching, glad it was helpful! -Eric