My first keeners- Max Haworth

Hello my name is Max. This is my first keeners. I am looking forward to all the things that we are going to be doing this month. Like SRT and first aid training. In the picture below I am swimming at SRT training but it's ok because it's super safe and controlled. In this drill I have to get over the log by swimming head first and garbing the log and pushing with my hands to get my body over the log. We are practicing swimming over the log so we don't get pinned, or stuck on or under the log, or drown. When I first saw it, I thought it would be easier than it was. When I hit the log, the pressure of the water was immediate. Whenever I tried to pull over the log, it would slip and turn. The water hit me directly on my back, and forced my legs underneath the log downstream. The hardest part was getting my lower body back upstream to get it over the log. I could breathe the whole time, and managed to keep my head up for the majority of the time, until I  was forced to let go and flush under the log. One thing I will take away from this exercise is to try and avoid logs at all cost, because there is a really good chance you will be forced under them, and sometimes you may not come out. I think this was a super important part of SRT training because it is a real danger on the river, and is something that can happen commonly if you aren't careful. 
It was hard to say the least, but in the end it was a really fun session and I learned a lot about the power of the river and how to stay safe. 

Failing at Log Swims during SRT

                                                    
Max Haworth