Rhoscolyn Bay Rescue

First published in the Canoeist Magazine and Snodownia Canoe Club Newsletter. Reproduced here by kind permisson of Nick Targett, author of the article.

The day (Sunday 12th November 2000)was booked as a rough water practice day with a plan to use the spring ebb tide and islands off Rhoscolyn as the venue.

Five paddlers in total turned up. One then decided to surf elsewhere. All of the paddlers were members of the Snowdonia Canoe Club and all were competent paddlers but only one was experienced in very rough water on the sea. Four were male and one female; all were in the age group 46 ­ 56 years. They were Fran Targett, Malc Charlesworth, Andrew Potter and me.

The group decided, with the advice of the most experienced, that the conditions were not suitable to go far from the shelter in the bay but that it was suitable to paddle in the bay and to venture out using the edge of the rough conditions.

The safety equipment carried by the leader was;

On deck or person
Deck towline 22m
VHF handheld radio on channel 72
Day/night flare
Strobe
Foil emergency bag
Emergency deck cover, nylon
Whistle Knife
1 pair spare paddles

In boat
Hand pump
First aid
Emergency shelter
Tape slings

Equipment held between other members
1 VHF radio, listening in on channel 72
1 para flare
1 smoke flare
1 pair spare paddles
2 hand pumps

The coastguards were advised by VHF radio of our intentions and that there may be capsizes.

We were all wearing buoyancy aids. Three were wearing dry suits and layered fleece; one was wearing wetsuit and layers of fleece and waterproof cag and overtrousers. All had fleece hats on. All paddles were on leashes.

It was decided not to take the river type towlines as it was thought they were too short.

The weather was rain showers, overcast, wind force 4/5 WNW, air temp 10º C, sea temp not known; the open sea state was moderate but rough near cliffs and rocks with waves up to 8 ft out of the bay. There was a swell of 6 - 9 inches in the confines of the bay. The spring tide was ebbing from 10.30.

We launched at approx 11.00, warmed up in the bay and made our way to the narrowest entrance of the bay facing SSW. We discussed the sea state and decided to paddle straight out into the waves, turn and come back in immediately. The waves and wind were both in the same direction, southwesterly, with a varying height, peak to trough, of approximately 8 - 10 ft with occasional small breakers at the very peak. I decided that we would only go about 75 metres out before telling the group to turn. This was completed successfully.

I regrouped in the lee of the large island in the bay. I asked the group for their feelings so far. All said that they felt that the conditions they had just been in were as much as they wanted to be in but they were happy to carry on in less exacting seas.

Although I felt happy in the conditions I felt that they were at the limit for the group and decided to move to the other entrance, facing SSE, to see what the waves were like; they had looked smaller earlier. I made the lee of the island our rendezvous in case of trouble or just as a meeting point for the day.

I asked if they wanted to try the other entrance with the proviso that if I or they thought the waves were too big we would turn back. This was agreed. I asked the group to stay in a tight group of two pairs and we set off SE across the entrance of the bay.

I considered the waves to be less active with a height of 4 -7 ft with same SW direction. This was what I had anticipated with the offshore and the inshore islands giving some protection from the swell.

We paddled about 50 ­ 60m off the coast for about 200m where I decided that the conditions were going to increase. I asked the group to a take long turn into the waves and head back to the inshore island. At that time the waves were about 6 - 8 ft and a wind of about force 4/5.

We had all turned and were just paddling off when Fran encountered a larger wave that was just starting to break at the very top. This wave capsized her. I shouted a warning to the other two and told them to come closer. I then rescued Fran. As I released Fran from the raft and before she could use a paddle for support she capsized again. I then rescued Fran for a second time. It took some time to put the deck back and waves were breaking into the cockpit. We were by then within 20m of the rocks where the waves were rearing up to 10 - 12 ft. I decided to tow her off as the rocks were extremely dangerous. Almost immediately a wave capsized her.

By this time we were very close to the rocks. I shouted another warning and again told them to come closer. I took the decision to tow her, with her in the water holding onto her own kayak. This I considered to be the safest and quickest. The other two paddlers gradually came close to Fran to offer support.

By this time I considered the waves were increasing in height with the occasional sets being 10 ft +. I later put this down to the tide¹s dropping and thus the swells were rearing up more as they reached the reefs.

I continued to tow with the others in attendance. I considered that the best option would have been a rafted tow with Fran in her kayak but that the other two were not experienced enough to try it for the first time in the conditions prevailing.

After some time I had nearly reached a point where I could turn in to the calmer bay. However, Fran was finding difficulty holding her head clear of the water and the other two considered that she should be supported across the decks of their boats. I tied Fran¹s kayak to a small buoy about 60m off. This was to enable me to use the towline to tow the others. However, I found that during the rescue it had tangled with the kayak and would take too long and be too dangerous to retrieve. I abandoned it.

On my return to Fran and the others it was decided to call a Mayday on the VHF. I did this. The coastguards answered on the second call. They asked what assistance we wanted. I asked for a helicopter as I knew that it was only a mile away at RAF Valley and that the lifeboat would have taken a lot longer.

The coastguards replied that the RAF was scrambling and would be there shortly. In fact it was 12 minutes, the longest 12 minutes ever. During this time I was pushing the raft of kayaks off the rocks with my boat. This I did until the rescue was over. As I was pushing I asked the other paddler to take the smoke flare from its container and be ready to ignite it on my command. I knew from training with Nigel Dennis that the pilot needed this for wind direction and it also identified us as the casualty.

As Fran was winched up, the supporting paddler, Malc, capsized. He had been supporting Fran and was being supported on Andrew¹s rear deck. I rescued him put him back in his kayak and tried to put his deck on. By this time he and I were about 10m from the rocks with very large pounding surf. I decided that the safest option was to stay rafted up and to paddle us both to a safer position before trying to pump his cockpit out and put his deck on again. The helicopter was standing off after I indicated that we were not out of danger yet. After a short while I decided that the safest course was to have Malc winched up and signalled for this. This was done swiftly. I then abandoned the other kayak, having retrieved the deck equipment and paddle, and rejoined Andrew and paddled to the safety of the rendezvous point.

After talking to the mobile coastguard unit on the foreshore we rescued Fran¹s kayak and then made our way to Ysbyty Gwynedd to collect our colleagues, who had recovered enough to come back with us. I reported Malc¹s abandoned kayak to the Holyhead coastguard and to the police.

The abandoned kayak was picked up by me the next day from a beach about a mile away after it had been reported as found to the ASSC. There was no damage to it at all. I reported the find to the Holyhead coastguard. We lost a hand pump and a towline bag.

Tuesday morning I was contacted by the Holyhead coastguard to debrief about the weak radio signal experienced by the coastguard and the conduct of the rescue. Both the coastguard and the RAF pilot commented that the rescue was well conducted and that the group had appropriate clothing and equipment. The pilot commented that the use of the smoke flare assisted him in the rescue.

Lessons learned at Rhoscolyn

Towlines
Towlines should be carried on every kayak or person. This would have given more options to carry out different rescues, such as using one person as an anchor while the others carry out a rescue. This would have helped in our case as the main danger was being driven onto the rocks and not being overwhelmed by the waves.

The type of towline, ie waist or boat mounted, does not matter; it is the fact that they are available that is vital.

The length of the line is important. The rope used at 22m was too long because communication with the rescue party was almost impossible owing to the noise of the wind and water. 12 - 15m would have been better. A short river type of towline could have been used as the anchor but would have been too short for the main tow.

Spare lines would have not been much use during the rescue except when in calmer water. This would be the only time towing systems could have been safely changed.

Skills/experience ratio
The experience of the group must be a more important factor in the choices taken. Although gaining experience was the reason for being there.

The ratio of skilled to less skilled paddlers also needs to be considered. 1:3 in these conditions was obviously not enough. 1:2 or even 1:1 would have been better. In extreme conditions, however, there should be at least 2 skilled paddlers in any group.

Rafted tows
The likelihood of a successful rescue will be increased if the group is able to carry out a rafted tow. This will ensure that an unstable member can be towed in the kayak and not in the water. One of the aims of the day had been to show how to do a rafted tow in difficult conditions and show how stable it can be for the rescuer and casualty.

Communication
Voices are drowned out by white noise as well as the sound of the wind and waves. Hand signals are not easy to see or perform as one often needs both hands on the paddle to look after one¹s own safety.

Using the VHF to speak to the coastguard with them asking very important questions affecting the outcome of the rescue, when one is staying upright, carrying on towing, looking out for incoming waves, watching out for the rest of the party and keeping the panic at bay is very precarious. It is very difficult to be short and succinct in explaining a complex situation to the coastguards.

Because not many people have actually had to use the radio in these situations we need to train with VHF in more realistic situations and will need considerable imagination to make it real.

The reply to the Mayday by the coastguard was "Which service do you need?" There is a need to be aware that you will be asked to make this decision. We need to be aware that the coastguards have only the information given to them on the Mayday and are otherwise ignorant of the position and of the situation. The person calling the Mayday has to be clear, concise and able to be decisive.

VHF reception
The duty officer in Holyhead was concerned that the VHF was very faint and he could not hear me at times. This was due to the cliffs and being in the trough of the waves.

The handheld radio only produces 5 watts of power and is directional in a cone radiating from the aerial. If the radio is held off the vertical the radio waves will be ineffective. It is vital to hold the radio as vertical and as high as possible, not forgetting to speak very close to the microphone and as clearly as possible.

VHF usage
If the VHF radio is attached to the deck lines make sure that the tether stretches as far as your mouth when sitting upright.

Deck lines
The deck lines of all the party must be in good condition and capable of being used as designed. Worn out lines on one boat limited the ability to use equipment as it had been wrapped in the stretched lines to secure it, rendering the equipment almost useless when needed quickly.

Pumps
The hand pump used was ineffective in the conditions, both in larger waves and close to the rocks. The deck cannot be sealed when using a hand pump. A fixed pump is essential. Because of the need for speed and stability an electric pump would have been the most effective as pumping could have been commenced and continued throughout the rescue. This would have improved the stability of the rescued kayak.

Buoyancy aids v lifejackets
As paddlers we have chosen to compromise the head support of the lifejacket for the convenience and protection of the buoyancy aid. This will still be a matter for debate. Keeping your head above the water in these conditions is extremely draining and consideration should be given to the use of lifejackets.

Practice
There is the Catch 22 situation of needing to practice in rough water but the very same water is the danger. We must practice as much as we can, in all situations, for all eventualities, with as many different people as possible and learn from them.

If you do get into difficulties you will feel responsible, embarrassed and all the emotions of which you can think. I hope that I will have learnt from all of this. Time will tell. We all learned something on that day.

Nick Targett.

The lengths to which some people will go for a free ride in a helicopter!
I have no doubt that I made the initial error in deciding to go out in conditions in which I clearly, with hindsight, could not manage. Having put that to one side I have no doubt that the rest of the party did all the right things at the time and with the equipment available.

The coastguard, RAF crew and the casualty department were fantastic but mostly thank you to Andrew, Malc and Nick, without whom.....

The Club use a formal risk assessment procedure for all trips which works well.

The incident arose as an attempt to learn to cope with more difficult conditions and that there is always a risk in seeking to advance skills since, inevitably, we have to put ourselves into conditions beyond those normally paddled.

Nick is an experience and highly competent and strong paddler and leader with many miles under his paddle and with experience in difficult conditions. He holds a coach Level 3 (sea and inland) and 4 * awards (amongst others). He has been on 5 * training on a number of occasions. We have paddled for about the past 15 years and mainly paddle the N Wales coast and the west coast of Scotland . I have paddled many miles but am normally more choosy about the conditions in which I set out and avoid difficult conditions by planning and timing whenever possible.

Fran Targett