The Eskimo rescue technique is regularly described in sea-kayak manuals and is taught in classes everywhere. In principle, the Eskimo rescue is quite simple: It’s an assisted rescue of a capsized kayaker who is hoping to avoid a wet exit by having a partner come alongside to provide something—bow, deck lines or paddle—that the swimmer can use to pull herself out of the water and upright.
The benefits of the Eskimo rescue are numerous. There’s no need for a wet exit, with its often-grave consequence of hypothermia. It dramatically reduces rescue time, an important consideration in dangerous areas such as rocky coastlines, surf, tidal races and busy shipping lanes. There is minimal danger of injury to the capsized kayaker and rescuer and of damage to the kayak, no loss of stability as a result of a swamped cockpit and no need for prolonged pumping. The Eskimo rescue holds such an important position within the hierarchy of rescues that it should, in theory, be one of your first reactions in response to a capsize.
Ask a sea-kayak instructor if he or she thinks the Eskimo rescue is an important thing to learn. The answer will probably be “Yes, if you find yourself upside down and unable to roll, don’t bail out—wave your arms for an Eskimo rescue!” Now ask how many times the instructor has field-rescued a person signaling for an Eskimo rescue. You may only get a bit of head scratching while he tries to remember if indeed he ever has put the rescue to real use. Since the Eskimo rescue is considered such an important rescue technique, why doesn’t it play a part in real-life situations? Well, kayak-incident management would be so much nicer if it weren’t for that nasty urge to get an occasional breath of air when you’re upside down.
Capsized kayakers are an impatient lot, and as the danger of capsizing increases and the conditions get rough, the safe distance between kayaks grows. The time it takes the rescuer to react to a capsized kayaker and come alongside will, in most cases, exceed by far the ability of the capsized kayaker to hold his breath—even if he doesn’t panic. Capsized kayakers tend to bail out long before the rescuer gets near enough to help. After a wet exit, there are a host of complications: The paddler is exposed to cold water; the kayak must be stabilized while the paddler gets back aboard; the paddler has to bail out the cockpit; and the spray skirt must be reattached.
There are a few ways to remain in a capsized kayak while waiting for the rescuer: hull breathing (“Hull Breathing,” SK, Summer ’88; and “Snorkel Breathing,” SK, Apr. ’96), the Petrussen Maneuver—reaching around the hull to pull your head out of the water (SK, “The Petrussen Maneuver: A New Twist on an Old Technique,” Aug. ’00), sculling with the paddle for support or swimming with the boat.
Since not everybody has a snorkel handy or possesses the yogi-like flexibility the Petrussen calls for, most of us will end up either sculling or swimming, both of which provide a good chance of getting sufficient air while waiting for the rescuer to show up. It’s not so difficult to pick up these techniques.
For both sculling and swimming, rhythmical, even movements are the keys to success. Don’t try to keep your head above the surface all the time—bring it up by a powerful breaststroke or paddle stroke, take a deep breath, then let your upper body go down, relax for a few seconds while breathing out, and move up again. It is essential to avoid panic. If you thrash around, you’re likely to try to inhale out of synch with your support strokes, and once you’ve swallowed water, you’ll bail out instantly.
Practice is the only way you’ll be able to develop the confidence required to stay calm while waiting for your rescuer. You should practice sculling or swimming with the boat in waist-deep calm water with a partner standing by to help. Capsize and try to bring your face to the surface sculling with the paddle. A strong face-upward layback position helps a lot for sculling. (For a more in-depth discussion, see: “Deep Sculling,” SK, Dec. ’02.)
For swimming to the surface if you’ve lost your paddle, I recommend using a breaststroke with your shoulders turned parallel to the surface of the water. Dog paddling is less effective and causes more splashing, a liability when you’re trying to inhale. Ask your partner to support your hands in case you fail to do a stroke that gets your head high enough to breathe. Try to find a regular rhythm of going up and down again, and let your partner offer less assistance as you develop a more effective stroke.
Practice switching sides underwater and work at being able to swim on either side of the kayak. When you find yourself needing to swim to the surface for an actual Eskimo rescue, you may want to come up on the side of the kayak that allows you to see if your rescuer is coming.
When you want to come upright, use your partner’s hand as you would the bow of a rescuing kayak. Don’t forget to hip-snap your kayak onto an even keel first and lift your head last. This may feel somewhat strange because you’re focused on “head up” when doing your breathing attempts, but righting your kayak and body requires keeping the head down just as it is with rolling. While the basic technique can be picked up in a weekend, making use of it in rough conditions means a lot of practice in increasing levels of difficulty.