Randy's recovery "school" on Saturday was a success!

[richg99]

Even though the "recovery school" was officially cancelled..I, luckily, never got the message. We had the house interior painted last week, and my computer was under tarps.

So, on the frigid Saturday morning ( 50 degrees when I arrived) ....I showed up at Harmon Marina and was greeted by Randy; Firefly?; and John. Randy offered to do his "school" for just me! I suggested that he could just give me the basics on dry land. That way, I could have an "out of the water" experience..considering the air temperature that morning! He agreed and gave me a great verbal rundown of the methods to use for recovery when overboard, either by one's self or with an accompanying boat..

About that time, another potential victim...Whoops...kayaker/canoe owner by the name of Willie arrived. He listened and learned, as did I.

I decided to take Randy up on the use of his 8 foot paddle for the 12 ft. Old Town Canoe that I recently purchased. He was right. The 8 footer worked great with my wide ( and very stable) kayak-rigged canoe. It turns out that Randy has owned one of these same boats for over four years!

While dis-embarking, I stepped into a drop-off and swamped the canoe anyhow. So, wet as I was, we decided to get on with the in-the-water recovery demo. Randy donned his wet-suit while I stood shivering in the breeze...

To a non-boater friend, I described the class as "falling out and getting back in". Well, I have the falling-out part down perfectly!!!! Getting my 260 lb. butt back in proved elusive, but I learned enough to feel far more comfortable for my future fishing ventures in the bay. Luckily for me, the bay flats tend to be shallow enough that climbing back in shouldn't be as necessary as in a deeper venue. Following my wallowing demonstration, a more agile Willie jumped in. He is featured in some of the attached photos.

If any of you get a chance to attend one of Randy's free schools...I believe that you will gain a tremendous amount of knowledge in a very short time. Certainly, for me, it was worth the three hour round trip to Harmon Creek Marina ( a nice place, too).

regards, Rich

Demo of "Paddle swimming a yak back in"


Use of a Paddle float for recovery

and

success!


Getting a stranded boater back to shore without putting him into the boat!
(not approved by the US Canoe Assn..but..effective non-the-less.


Two boat assisted Recovery


A man truly in his element!!!! Our instructor Randy...

[Forever Fishing]

That looks like some fun and good instruction.

Randy is the BOMB!

[vampiro]

I am the guinea pig in the water.

Rich those are really good pictures.

The water was alright, not too hot nor too cold and as long you were in the sun it felt great, the light sporatic breeze on the other hand......brrrrrrr.

I had a good time and learned far far more than I ever expected.
Wish more people could have come as Randy has a wealth of invaluable knowledge and is a fantastic instructor.

THANK YOU RANDY you're the GREATEST !!

[richg99]

Here is a LINK to ALL of the photos that I chose to save. One good sequence shows all of the steps it took Vampiro to put himself back into the boat. regards, Rich
http://www.flickr.com/photos/21167841@N00/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[surfers77]

WOW, That Cobra can Hold some Weight. Thanks for taking the time out to share this info with us.

[upthecreek]

Hi All,

A bit bummed out ..thought the whole trip was off and Randy was headed someplace else. Was planning on heading up Sat morning.

upthecreek

[Randy]

With all due respect to ALL, I only canceled the Clinic. I went back over the emails and PM's,

Only 2 people CONFIRMED and commited to being there Saturday, before I decided to cancel the clinic. That made two participants. And we had a class for 2 people......
The Spirit of these Clinics and Classes is to promote safety and keep folks interested in this Sport.

I was told early on and even criticiszed for not charging to do these classes. I am still resisting that part, because I don't want to sell Safety.

I have driven Hundreds of miles , in the past, at my expense, , to do one class, and promote safety.

I am NOT "Tooting" my own horn, but don't fuss about missing something, if you can't commit.

There will be other times and and maybe folks can make it then.

My head is "Bald", it's not a "Crystal Ball", and I can't read peoples minds wether or not they want to, plan to, or are thinking about comimg.


Respectfully
Randy

[upthecreek]

Hi Randy,

I hope you did not take my last message the wrong way as I for one and sure many others in here really appreciate the work you do to promote safety and trying to setup and organize get together s.

Sometimes its hard to convey the right mood in a text message or and email.

I just should have checked a bit more thoroughly as to the status of the get together.

upthecreek