And as a beginning paddler I put a rescue throw rope at the top of my list. A throw rope is an essential piece of safety gear for anyone planning to tackle rivers offering more than just flat water.
A Seals throw rope will come in handy when paddling in my LiquidLogic Freeride. Credit: Matt Fredmonsky |
Thanks to an in-the-know family member I got a Seals Rescue Throw Bag with 50 feet of rope as a welcome Christmas gift.
If you're a beginner paddler like me, then you might not know what a throw rope is. On the river, when paddling challenging rapids with a group it's commonplace for a few members of the group to crowd the shore around a particularly challenging obstacle should someone need to bail out of their boat in a pinch and take a swim while trying to run it.
Here's where the throw rope comes into play. A spotter on a rock or the river bank can toss the rope to the weary swimmer to help guide them in to an eddy, or even the shore, and most importantly out of the rapids and to safety.
Watch a video about throw rope techniques here.
Even though Ohio is in the midst of a Polar Vortex creeping across the central and northeastern U.S. I'm optimistic I might be able to get in some practice with my new throw rope soon (the forecast is calling for temperatures in the mid 50s this weekend), so stay tuned for video and photos of the bag in use and a review of its performance.
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