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| Safety—June
2007 Training in the Triangle By John Martin Map by Christopher Hoyt |
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 The Triangle,
located on the east coast of Georgia’s Tybee
Island just north of Little Tybee, is a shoal at the meeting point
of Tybee Creek, the Atlantic current and strong prevailing winds.
When a strong onshore breeze coincides with the spring tides, the
central core of the Triangle is a washing machine of crossing,
spilling and dumping waves. Outside the central core is a calmer
zone lined with sandy beaches and safe landing areas. It’s
a challenging kayaking playground with a wide margin of safety.On my way back from a week in Florida paddling the Everglades with a group of fellow instructors and guides, my friend Mick and I stopped for a day on Tybee Island. The January weather had turned colder, but we were itching to get on the water to play in the Triangle. We ate a good breakfast, gathered our gear and headed out the door around 10:30 A.M. The day was cool (high of 50˚F) with water temperature in the low 60s. The sky was overcast with low cloud cover and visibility in excess of three miles. The northeast wind was blowing between 25 and 35 knots, and high tide was to be around noon with low tide around 6:30 P.M. Mick and I decided it was the perfect day to get the biggest waves we’ve experienced to date and to see how well our skills and rescue drills would work. As we headed to the launch site, we performed our routine risk assessment. We talked about everything that wasn’t perfect in regard to safety and how we should adjust our plans. Our list included: being only two paddlers instead of the preferred three; Mick paddling an unfamiliar borrowed boat that was a little bit small for him; cold water (I had a full dry suit, Mick had a wetsuit bottom but just a semi-dry top) and strong winds. We reviewed mitigating factors. Mick and I had often paddled together and trusted each other implicitly. I had paddled the area on 10 previous occasions. We had reviewed the weather forecast and knew what to expect. We had flares, a VHF radio, a cell phone, water, food, spare clothing, an emergency shelter, a vacuum flask with hot water, spare paddles (one each), pumps (two hand and one foot), compasses (deck and hand) and a chart. We were in good physical and mental condition. The wind was blowing somewhat toward land, so the worst-case scenario was that we’d end up south on Little Tybee and just have a long delay getting home. There was no apparent life-threatening danger to us. Our plan was to find many different conditions in which to test our paddling and rescue skills. I called Marsha at a nearby outfitter and filed our float plan. Marsha had become a familiar and welcome face at a weeklong symposium I had attended earlier, and I knew she’d take care of us. Punching Out Around 11:30 A.M., we prepared to launch into six-foot surf, the biggest we had attempted to date. After our first few attempts, we figured out that we needed to keep our kayaks precisely aligned while getting in or we would quickly be stranded sideways on the beach. We finally launched and paddled into some nice surf—some spilling, some dumping. Paddling at 10 degrees off of perpendicular to the waves proved ideal for getting through big dumping surf. It’s close enough to straight to avoid broaching yet just enough off perpendicular to allow smoother rise and fall. We managed to avoid being pitchpoled backward. Our basic skills worked well in the rough water. On my front deck were a hand pump, a chart, a slim mesh bag holding my cell phone, a foghorn and some energy snacks. Mick’s front deck had his spare paddles. His first attempt through the breakers drove one of his spare paddles into his torso with such force that he figured he’d have a hole there if not for the PFD. Mine were fine on my back deck, and after Mick put his on his aft deck, everything stayed aboard as we got through the breakers. (Note: I now carry my spare paddle on the front deck secured in a paddle holder that prevents loss even in big breakers. On the foredeck, my spare doesn’t interfere with towing or reentries.) Out in the rollers, we practiced our first T-rescue, and it went well. The water temperature was not too cold, and we were dressed appropriately for long immersions. The wind was definitely too strong to paddle against—we were blowing south toward the pier at a good clip. We paddled around the pier and enjoyed riding four- to six-foot following seas. This was our first experience with such strong winds and waves big enough to hide us from each other half the time. Conversations were taking longer because we had to yell from the crests and pause when in troughs. We had enough experience together to communicate reliably with just a few shouted words. It was also reassuring that I knew Mick handled adversity calmly and realistically. I also knew we’d work well together to solve any problems. |
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