Keep it clean !! A short article on how the clean line principle has evolved.
I remember attending my first ever rescue class in the uk in 1996 as a fresh faced 19 year old kayaker. I had attended the course as I wanted to learn more about rescue & river safety.
During this time in the UK & Europe there was this new trend called the"Clean line principle" starting to gather momentum. Stories were coming to light that the handles in the end of your throwbag were potentially dangerous and could cause a snag hazard resulting in potential fatal accidents.
The clean line principle advises us that a loop in either end of a throwbag is a potential snag hazard. This means that the loop could potentially become snagged in a tree root or around a rock thus creating a potential entrapment hazard We have always been taught that "Rope & Moving water are a bad mixture". A swimmer or an object could then become entrapped in the snagged rope escalating a bad situation. By removing any loops from your throwbag you were reducing the probability of creating a snag hazard.
In my eyes over the years the clean line principle has now evolved into the "Clean Principle". We have taken our leanings from the clean line principle and applied them to our personal Personal Protective equipment (PPE) set up.
Unfortunately on my travels I am still seeing and hearing lots of stories of entrapment's and near miss situations that could have been avoided in the "clean principle " had been applied.
In this post I would like to give some examples of accident and near misses and discuss some common solutions on how to avoid them.
1. Open gate carabinners
Probably one of the biggest causes of entrapment caused by having non locking carabinners stored on the outside of rafts, pfd,s or around the waist
This video has been on you tube for a while now. As the guide hits the hole he falls back onto an open gate carabinner that is securing his throwbag into the raft. This then entraps the guide into the raft as it is surfing in the hole. This could have turned very nasty very quick.
Learings
"Clean line principle"
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| Any throwbag with a loop big enough to get a hand through is an entrapment hazard. |
In my eyes over the years the clean line principle has now evolved into the "Clean Principle". We have taken our leanings from the clean line principle and applied them to our personal Personal Protective equipment (PPE) set up.
Unfortunately on my travels I am still seeing and hearing lots of stories of entrapment's and near miss situations that could have been avoided in the "clean principle " had been applied.
In this post I would like to give some examples of accident and near misses and discuss some common solutions on how to avoid them.
1. Open gate carabinners
Probably one of the biggest causes of entrapment caused by having non locking carabinners stored on the outside of rafts, pfd,s or around the waist
This video has been on you tube for a while now. As the guide hits the hole he falls back onto an open gate carabinner that is securing his throwbag into the raft. This then entraps the guide into the raft as it is surfing in the hole. This could have turned very nasty very quick.
Learings
- If you need to attach your throwbag to the raft use a locking carabinner & keep it locked at all times .
- If you need to have locking carabinners on the outside of your PFD make sure they locking carabinners that are locked
Notice how the open gate carabinner has forced its way through the pocket of the PFD !
2. Incorrectly fitted equipment.
Loose PFD straps or poor designed kit lead to entrapment's The Video below sums this up. The kayaker was entrapped by a loose PFD strap that was not correctly adjusted.
2. Incorrectly fitted equipment.
Loose PFD straps or poor designed kit lead to entrapment's The Video below sums this up. The kayaker was entrapped by a loose PFD strap that was not correctly adjusted.
3. Flip line stored around the waist & over sized cowtails
I will put my hand up back when I first started guiding I used to wear my Flip line around my waist.
I remember been taught that having your flip line around your waist made it quick and easy to get to instead of having to route around in your pfd pocket during a flip. Unfortunately I then heard about a kayaking fatality from a friend who told me the kayaker had drowned due to becoming entrapped by the flip line wrapped around his waist.
Since then I stored my flip line between my pfd and body neatly rolled up which is easy to get to plus It can double up as a quick 5m throwline should I need it.
Another massive misconception I see is the use of the cowstail or affectionately know as a towing tether. the cowtail was first introduced by German paddlers in the 80s. Its intended use was to be able to attach a rescuer A (set of brains onto one end of a rope) or a quick way to attach a line to a entrapped person.
Over the years people have adapted the cowtail to be used to tow swamped kayaks. Some manufactures have even gone as far as to market the cowtail as a tow tether and increased its length to accommodate a tow. This has now led to massively excessively long cowtails dangling from pfds which 9 times out of 10 are attached to a solid point that cannot be released causing a massive entrapment hazard.
I will put my hand up back when I first started guiding I used to wear my Flip line around my waist.
I remember been taught that having your flip line around your waist made it quick and easy to get to instead of having to route around in your pfd pocket during a flip. Unfortunately I then heard about a kayaking fatality from a friend who told me the kayaker had drowned due to becoming entrapped by the flip line wrapped around his waist.
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| A flip line stored around the waist is a massive entrapment. Also in this picture note the 2 unlocked locking carabinners along with a cow tail that is too long. |
Since then I stored my flip line between my pfd and body neatly rolled up which is easy to get to plus It can double up as a quick 5m throwline should I need it.
Another massive misconception I see is the use of the cowstail or affectionately know as a towing tether. the cowtail was first introduced by German paddlers in the 80s. Its intended use was to be able to attach a rescuer A (set of brains onto one end of a rope) or a quick way to attach a line to a entrapped person.
Over the years people have adapted the cowtail to be used to tow swamped kayaks. Some manufactures have even gone as far as to market the cowtail as a tow tether and increased its length to accommodate a tow. This has now led to massively excessively long cowtails dangling from pfds which 9 times out of 10 are attached to a solid point that cannot be released causing a massive entrapment hazard.
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| Both paddlers here are wearing cowstails attached to there PFDS. The paddler on the left has a loose over sized cowtail that is an entrapment hazard . Whilst the paddler on the right has a snug tight fitting cowtail. |
Many Paddlers have now opted out of using a cowtail as most of the market available cowtails are too long. I have simply cut down a piece of webbing an measured my own cowstail to be a snug fit cutting down on the chance of it becoming an entrapment hazard.
summary.
You are your own unique individual it is up to you to make the judgment decisions and accept the risk of how you set up your personal paddling equipment. Here are my top tips for reducing equipment based entrapment.
- Always carry a knife that is easy to access with one hand in an emergency.
- look at your own personal set up look at ways to minimize entrapment hazards.
- Always ensure your pfd is correctly fitted and adjusted.
- Take out or reduce any big loops in your throwbags.
- Attend a whitewater rescue course and get tuition from a experience qualified instructor.
- Share this article with your paddling community so that your days on the river dont turn into near miss stories in the bar.
safe paddling
Mark