Sea kayaking has mushroomed as a personal water sport over the last two decades. More and more people own kayaks and paddle regularly. Sea kayaking lets you get close to the water and close to the shore in places that are very difficult or impossible on foot or even in other small boats. But kayakers are prone to several potential dangers. Being prepared for the dangers is important. Knowing how to self-rescue is a basic skill that all sea kayakers need to know, and those out paddling on their own really must know and practice self-rescues to make sure that they are prepared for getting themselves out of tricky situations. As a sea kayak guide, I want to help teach others how to kayak safely and responsibly.
Rescue skills are a cornerstone of sea kayaking skills, along with boat preparation, paddling skills, navigation, and weather prediction. Upcoming articles will deal with the other four cornerstone skills, but today, we will concentrate on rescues, particularly self-rescues.
Most committed sea kayakers are proud when they perform their first roll. After the first, the next rolls come easier, until the kayaker figures out that the roll is only in one direction, on one side, usually the strongest side. Then the whole process starts over again for the off-side roll. Eventually, the roll on either side gets good. But a set up roll does not mean that a kayaker can roll when something happens unexpectedly. Usually, the first few necessary rolls are blown, until the renewed rolling practice starts incorporating more unexpected obstacles to rolling back up. More practice in more difficult scenarios then leads toward a “bombproof” roll. This is one of the ultimate goals of a committed kayaker because it is the quickest and easiest self-rescue for a capsize.
Being able to roll is not absolutely necessary for a committed sea kayaker, however. Self-rescues line up on a continuum of effort and difficulty, and relate to the types of seas a kayaker wants to paddle in. If you are a kayaker that paddles only on a small lake that is calm 95% of the time, the ability to roll is not really necessary; however, if you are regularly paddling in 1 meter swell, breaking waves, currents, and surf, then you really need the roll. The more dynamic the water you paddle in, the greater the need for multiple self-rescue techniques, and especially a roll. Most committed sea kayakers learn at least four techniques for self-rescue.
The “cowboy scramble” is a technique of climbing back into the kayak from the back. It is easier said than done. Climbing onto the kayak while preventing it from tipping over again requires practice. It is possible to clear the cockpit of most of the water before trying to scramble back in. This is an advantage. It does not require any rolling skills, just a bit of practice with keeping balance and supporting stability with paddle techniques. The cowboy scramble is effective and fairly quick, so it is a good technique.
The paddle float rescue is the next non-rolling rescue. Some kayaks have a clip-in padded seat that can also serve as a paddle float. But most need to have a paddle float brought with them. There are foam paddle floats inside special bags that the paddle blade fits into, and there are inflatable paddle floats. Each type has its advantages and disadvantages. A bagged foam paddle float is ready to use in a few seconds. It comes off the boat and fits onto a paddle blade. The other paddle blade is attached to straps behind the seat, with the whole paddle/float system now acting as an outrigger to assist re-entry into the kayak. A blow up paddle float takes us less space and has excellent flotation, but it has to be blown up while in the water. This is not always so easy. After it is blown up, it is treated just like the bagged foam system. Unfortunately, a paddle float rescue can be time-consuming and tiring. But it is relatively easy and works well in most situations.
A re-enter and roll rescue assumes that a first roll attempt has been blown and you had to exit the kayak. With rolling skills, a re-enter and roll rescue is good because it can be quick. It involves pulling the kayak onto its side, inserting the legs up to getting the rear end on the kayak seat, and then rolling up. The last stage usually has the head under the water, but it can be done quickly, and the whole process can be repeated if the attempt fails. It has the advantage of being quick, but the disadvantage of leaving a lot of water in the cockpit to pump or bail out.
The last rescue to discuss is the assisted rescue. If you are kayaking with others or just happen to bail out of your kayak while someone else is kayaking by, another person can assist you back into your kayak. Assisted rescues are part of essential rescue skills and need to be learned as a responsible kayaker.
When do you need a particular set of rescue skills? Assisted rescues, the “cowboy scramble” self-rescue, and the paddle float self-rescue are essential for everyone. Deciding to learn to roll will often depend on the types of water you paddle in and whether you ever paddle alone. If you want to be a solo paddler in waters that can or do have waves and currents, learning how to roll is strongly recommended. If you only ever paddle with others on calm waters, assisted rescue techniques and the two non-rolling self-rescues are adequate. As a guide, I want people to be able to use good judgment and think through potential problems on any sea kayak trip, whether it is for a couple of hours or a multi-day trip lasting several months.
No matter what level you are paddling, rescue practice is absolutely essential. Human beings do what we are trained to do in stressful situations. Learn how to do rescues from a highly skilled kayaker or professional so that you get the best techniques, then practice those techniques. After practicing them, you can put them to bed until the next season. Drag them back out and practice them again at the beginning of each new season. Make it fun and you will want to do it every time you go out! If you want to move on to the level of rolling, get help learning the body motions to roll. A good way to learn to roll is to connect with a group of river, or whitewater kayakers. They play in very dynamic waters and have rolling down to an everyday, mundane thing to do. I know a lot of my sea kayak paddling skills, including my roll, from doing whitewater kayaking on the side.
Ultimately, rolling a sea kayak is not absolutely necessary, but being able to rescue others and yourself is absolutely necessary. There are effective ways to do that without a roll, and you judgment needs to come into play to help you decide which techniques are best for you in your sea kayaking activity. Knowing and practicing safety steps makes for better paddling and can be a fun part of the activity. Building time into the beginning of your season to practice can make it a more enjoyable, as well as safer, paddling season for you and those you paddle with. So, get out there, practice your rescues, and have fun paddling your waterways.
Gary Ward has been leading trips and teaching in wilderness areas for 20 years. Having traveled from desert to sea, he spends most of his time now in coastal areas, exploring the boundary between land and sea, land and sky, and sea and sky.

Follow me!