ALL OF THE FOLLOWING ASSUMES THE CANOE IS UPSIDE DOWN IN THE WATER.

SURE HOPE YOUR GEAR WAS TIED INTO THE CANOE...BECAUSE IF IT WASN'T....GOOD
CHANCE IT IS NOW ON THE BOTTOM...NEVER ANY LOOSE GEAR IN A CANOE...AT LEAST
TIE IT TO A THWART IF NOTHING ELSE.

THIS PROBABLY SHOULD HAVE BEEN MENTIONED
FIRST...LIFEJACKETS...LIFEJACKETS...LIFEJACKETS.....THEY ARE NO GOOD TO YOU
IN THE BOTTOM OF THE BOAT....WEAR THE LIFEJACKET. GET YOUR TAN ONSHORE AND
WEAR THE JACKET ON THE WATER.

TWO SCENERIOS SINGLE CANOEIST
TWO PERSONS IN THE BOAT

SINGLE CANOEIST

You shouldn't be there...at least not without more boats in the group. But
you are! OK! boat upside down...you sputtering for air
alongside...COLD..huh! FIRST QUESTION...AM i OK? Yes..
GRAB THE CANOE!!!!! Oh yes...unless you have just robbed Fort Knox and
loaded the boat with gold ingots...it will still be afloat...probably quite
high out of the water.. NEXT QUESTION...how far to shore? More than 100
metres (100 yards) then you deserve to drown. If you don't deserve to
drown, then gripping the stern end of the canoe, slowly start kicking
towards shore. Once there (probably 1/2 an hour or more, you can rescue
canoe.. equipment and yourself. Light a fire and consider yourself lucky.

I know....you were in the middle of the lake...2 miles to the nearest
shore...well, I could say...bend over stick your head between your legs and
kiss your butt goodbye...but I won't. Your objective is to get back into an
upright floating canoe...then paddle to the NEAREST shore. DO NOT TRY TO
SWIM FOR A LOOSE PADDLE...USE YOUR EXTRA PADDLE CARRIED IN THE CANOE!!!!!!

YOU DID BRING AN EXTRA PADDLE DIDN'T YOU....EASILY ACCESSIBLE AT ANY
TIME...RIGHT????


The canoe has to be tipped over into an upright though submerged position.
You may be able to do this anywhere along the length of the boat, but it
must be done by a flipping action. (if you cannot flip the canoe into an
upright position...then merely hang on and wait for the wind and current to
carry you to shore). DO NOT TRY TO SWIM TO SHORE...BAD NEWS...IT IS ALWAYS
FURTHER THAN YOU THINK

OK!!! canoe upright but it is several inches to a foot BELOW the surface of
the water. Not to worry! MOVE TO ONE END OF THE CANOE. Rock the length
of the canoe by pushing down and up as violently as you can manage. This
should dispel some of the water and allow the canoe to float higher. Once
the gunwhales are above water, you can then start bailing from the outside
with the bailer you brought....YOU did bring a bailer with you didn't you?
Remove most of the inboard water. A long and lengthy process. Then move to
the centrepoint of the boat and by gripping the far gunwhale, you should be
able to pull tyourself aboard....if not....try in over the end...if
not....then push the canoe towards shore swimming very slowly.

TWO PERSONS IN THE BOAT

MAKE SURE YOUR PARTNER IS AFLOAT AND OK!!!! IF NOT....CHECK UNDER THE
CANOE...NO ONE THERE....SORRY...UNLESS YOU SEE YOU PARTNER WITHIN A FEW FEET
AND I SAY AGAIN WITHIN A FEW FEET THEN YOU ARE A SINGLE PADDLER AS ABOVE.

OTHERWISE;

Exactly as above except you are acting as a team to achieve the proper
results..canoe in an upright position....free of much of the water taking
care to stabilize the canoe as each person gets aboard....with two...might
be easier from the end.

Bottom line is....hope you never have to use this information. I have been
in several SEARCH/RESCUE situations for canoesists. Only one adhered to the
above criteria...Only one lived to describe the rescue. SURVIVAL IS EASY IF
YOU JUST THINK ABOUT IT FIRST....       Knobbie

ONE of the cheapest and most effective ways to practice canoe safety is to
rent a local swimming pool....OUTDOOR for all you lucky people that live
down south...or INDOOR for folks like me...where I just saw my first robin
yesterday...and geese finally believe it is spring here.

Get a small group together in the pool, then practice tipping it. Getting
back in....turning it over...and how much effort it is going to take to move
that upside down canoe through the water.
BELIEVE ME FOLKS...THIS COULD SAVE YOUR LIFE...I have witnessed at least 1/2
a dozen wilderness canoe deaths that DID NOT have to happen.

If you don't hire me...then hire a local canoe expert to show you (at the
pool) how to survive a spill.
Oh, I know..YOU ARE SAYING...NEVER HAPPEN TO ME....I'M TOO CAREFULL....hate
to tell you this, but those were the very same folks I brought back in body
bags.

NO, I am not trying to scare anyone about wilderness canoeing. But like any
other activity...even using this damned computer...it requires a certain
knowlege and level of applied skills.

3 years ago, I was just finishing a fantastic canoe trip out of Lady Evelyn
lake just north of North Bay Ontario. A family consisting of a father,
mother, two pre-teen daughters...and a grandfather and grandmother were just
starting out on a 4 day trip. The father, mother and two daughters were in
one canoe...the grandparents in the other. The canoe with 4 people was
seriously overloaded with equipment....they didn't want the grandparents
carrying all that gear. I pointed this out to them...but was told to mind
my own business. The news about a week later reported the drowning of a
family of 4. The grandparents survived. MY POINT IS...NO ONE HAD TO DIE!
YOU MERELY HAVE TO THINK ABOUT THE WORST CASE SCENERIO AND PLAN FOR IT.

Chances are...nothing untoward will ever happen, but if it does, at least
you are prepared for the worst.

No, I am not the person that brings rain to every party...that is not my
intent...just beware of the cloudburst.


knobbie

Whoever put seats in a canoe should be shot. Look at any Native North
American design....NO SEATS....Look at any Coeur De Bouis (my apologies to
any french speaking readers for my spelling)..
I'm referring to early North American fur traders...some of their canoes
approched 15 metres in length (NO SEATS).
Canoes were designed to kneal in. Simple as that. Unless your canoe has a
barge bottom, you have to be concerned about center of gravity. This means
placing as much weight as possible as low as possible in the canoe. I'm
very tall (almost two metres) and weigh about 100 kilos....so I am always
trying to hunker down in a canoe. YES, my canoe has seats....Yes I use
them. BUT, I also know when to get off the seat and get lower in the boat.
UNLESS the lake or river is as flat as a millpond...then on your knees
(Note to group managers.....that was not a sexist remark). It keeps the
center of gravity much lower and greatly reduces the chance of a roll over.

I've reviewed my remarks over the past couple of weeks and it sounds like
canoeing is the worst sport any one would attempt. NOT TRUE....99.9% of the
time, canoeing is as safe as driving a car.
My comments and experience merely cover the other .1%

I should also inform everyone that I don't have ANY pieces of paper making
me anything of a so called expert in this area. I have a few years canoeing
experience and a few more Search/Rescue experience. What I have seen in
those few years scares me. That is why I teach safety and survival courses.

knobbie