Addy's SRT Post

Hey it's Addy and this is my second post at keeners! This past weekend I did a lot of first aid training and swiftwater rescue training (SRT). It is really useful for white water kayaking and provides lots of knowledge that makes everyone more confident on the river. I learned how to throw a throw bag which is actually harder than it looks but definitally a useful skill in rescue. Practicing this also ment a lot of swimming so we all got to swim down Garb! Today we learned how to safely wade across a currrent solo and in a group while avoiding foot entrapment. My favourite part by far was swimming in the pourover at the Lornes and practicing tethered swimmer rescues. The pourover pushes you down really deep until all you see is dark green water than you are pushed back up and surface downstream. Swimming down in a pourover is key so that you don't get body recirculated which is kind of unpleasent. Finally we practed how to stay calm underwater when our gear or lifejacket gets caught on something. It is a good skill to practice but in a real life scenario, there would be a lot more pressure and it definitally would not be as easy. SRT helped to prepare me for lots of different scenarios on the river and how to act under pressure. I'm looking forward to lots of kayaking this week and some new lines on Big Water Beatdown Bacon Thursday!
Thanks!
Addy

Swimming into the pourover!