Re: Rescuer Rescued

From: Soheil Zahedi (soheilzahedi@yahoo.com-DeleteThis.com)
Date: Wed Jun 11 2003 - 15:03:19 PDT


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Date: Wed, 11 Jun 2003 15:03:19 -0700 (PDT)
From: Soheil Zahedi <soheilzahedi@yahoo.com-DeleteThis.com>
Subject: Re: Rescuer Rescued
To: wind_talk@opus.labs.agilent.com-DeleteThis.com


I forgot to mention that ratcheting up the number of
Coast Guard rescues of windsurfers and kitesurfers
might cause the "authorities" to label our sports as
unsafe. This is usually directly corrolated with some
sort of a mandatory PFD law or an outright banning of
the sport from certain launches...

-Soheil

--- Soheil Zahedi <soheilzahedi@yahoo.com-DeleteThis.com> wrote:
> Peter,
>
> What an ordeal! One correction though, I offered to
> tow the kitesurfer (I've towed a couple before on
> the
> large gear, and it works pretty well...), and was
> hanging around waiting for him to retrieve and
> position his kite when I noticed you were on the
> radio. Once I verified with you that you were
> indeed
> calling in a rescue, I told the kitesurfer that CG
> were on their way and took off once I saw the CG
> boat
> was close.
>
> I was actually keeping an eye out for you as well!
> I
> saw you head to shore, and then head back to the CG
> boat. Once I saw you were close to the boat, I
> assumed that you were going to get on as well, and
> stopped looking out for you (plus I figured "he's
> got
> the radio...").
>
> I'm glad it turned out ok in the end (minus the sail
> damage).
>
> My own personal feeling on rescues and the CG is
> that
> the crowd at Crissy is relying on them a bit much of
> late. Although the CG have a great attitude, are
> always more than happy to fish us out, and provide a
> very convenient ride back to the launch for us, we
> need to take charge of our own rescues a bit more.
> I've seen windsurfers and kitesurfers in trouble
> just
> sitting there waiting for help to arrive (or waiting
> to get run over by the shipping traffic!).
>
> Once I determine that my gear, or the wind is in
> such
> a state that I can't sail back or effect an on the
> water repair of some sort (flip boom, re-insert
> broken
> mast upside down, etc.), I derig, save what gear I
> can, and start paddling in a 90 degree angle to the
> current. I've had to walk back from baker beach,
> climb up the path to the bridge on the marin
> headlands, and trying to flag a cab down on the
> embarcadero while in a dripping wetsuit is no easy
> feat either, but I got home in the end. This
> help-yourself strategy keeps your mind engaged,
> keeps
> you warm, gets you out of the shipping lane more
> quickly, and has the best potential for saving your
> life if nobody sees you (or your flares and radios
> fail...).
>
> The only exception of course is if you're injured in
> some way that you can't effect your own rescue.
> That's when I switch from help-myself, to
> call-for-help...
>
> My 0.02,
>
> -Soheil
>
> --- Eyes4Hire@aol.com-DeleteThis.com wrote:
> > I was windsurfing from Crissy Field yesterday. I
> > was just about a
> > mile inside the Gate when I came upon a kitesurfer
> > who was unable to
> > fly his kite due to lack of wind. He was in the
> > shipping channel
> > and there was a large tanker coming inbound toward
> > the Golden Gate
> > Bridge. It was hard to gauge the ship's exact
> path,
> > but it looked
> > like there was good chance that the kitesurfer
> would
> > be harms way.
> > I dropped my sail and pulled out my radio to make
> a
> > general
> > broadcast warning shipping in the area to keep an
> > eye out for the
> > down kitesurfer. I was on wave gear and barely
> had
> > enough wind to
> > keep myself moving in the light wind. A few
> racers
> > came by on their
> > larger windsurf boards, but none of them were
> > confident that they
> > could tow the kiter to shore in the light wind.
> The
> > current was
> > flooding and there was no way that this guy would
> be
> > able to swim
> > back to the San Francisco shore before the current
> > took him on
> > toward Alcatraz and Treasure Island. I got back
> on
> > the radio on
> > channel 16 and hailed the Coast Guard for
> > assistance. The
> > dispatcher responded immediately and said they
> would
> > send help. It
> > wasn't clear if they had dispatched a boat yet,
> but
> > I could see a
> > 47' Coast Guard rescue boat moving near the Marin
> > shoreline. The
> > rescue boat was so far out of position that I
> > assumed they were
> > handling another call. I rebroadcast our position
> > repeatedly over a
> > 10-15 minute period to make sure that they knew we
> > were drifting.
> > During this time the flood current was pushing us
> to
> > the east and by
> > know were a couple of miles inside the Gate. The
> > Coast Guard rescue
> > boat eventually worked its way up to the Golden
> Gate
> > Bridge and
> > seemed to be moving in a search pattern. I hailed
> > the Coast Guard
> > on channel 16 and asked to be switched to channel
> 22
> > in hopes that I
> > would be operating channel as the rescue boat.
> Once
> > I was on
> > channel 22, I was able to talk directly with the
> > skipper of the
> > rescue boat and guide him in on our position.
> Once
> > the rescue boat
> > clearly had the kiter in sight, I radioed and
> > advised them that I
> > would start heading for shore immediately since
> the
> > current and the
> > light wind were going to make my return to shore
> > very difficult if I
> > waited any longer. I had already drifted over a
> > mile while I stayed
> > with the kitesurfer to make sure they could locate
> > him. The skipper
> > told me that they would prefer to bring me ashore
> > since there was
> > heavy vessel traffic in the area. I told the
> > skipper that I would
> > start toward shore and asked that he catch up with
> > assist and me if
> > I was having difficulty. I stuffed my radio in my
> > wetsuit and
> > started sailing for shore. Almost immediately, I
> > could tell that
> > the light wind and the current would prevent from
> > hitting the shore
> > anywhere within a mile of Crissy Field. I turned
> > back toward the
> > kiter. The rescue boat had arrived and they were
> > already at work
> > loading his gear. I stood off at a distance of
> > about 30' and tacked
> > my board back and forth, waiting for my turn to
> load
> > up. I had not
> > made any further radio call since I was using both
> > hands to sail. I
> > assumed that my return to the scene would have
> made
> > it clear that I
> > was accepting the offer of a ride to shore. They
> > finished loading
> > the kiter and I started heading for the starboard
> > side of the rescue
> > boat where the crew had pulled the kiter up. As I
> > was nearing the
> > side of the boat, I heard the 450 horsepower
> engines
> > revving up and
> > the boat started moving away. At first I thought
> he
> > might be trying
> > to reposition the boat, but as he moved farther
> > away, it was clear I
> > was going to be on my own. I immediately let go
> of
> > the sail and
> > dropped to my knees. I waved my right arm from
> side
> > to side
> > intending to indicate that I needed help. The
>
=== message truncated ===



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