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If you capsize your kayak, there are several rescue techniques you can use. What they all have in common is that you need to practise them in advance, so you know what to do – and what you can manage – when it really matters. After a capsize, first assess whether you can easily get to shore. If you can touch the bottom or are close to land, the problem is easily solved. If not, use one of the rescue techniques below.
The best-known self-rescue is the kayak roll, often called the Eskimo roll. It is spectacular and fun to master, but it takes a lot of practice. The Inuit of Greenland developed it to right themselves after a capsize without leaving the kayak – in ice-cold water, a swim could be fatal. Their kayaks had a small, custom-fitted cockpit with very little gap between the cockpit rim and the paddler's body, so hardly any water got in.
With a sweeping, semicircular stroke from bow to stern – ideally with the paddle on the water surface – while leaning your upper body back, close to and parallel with the rear deck, you can quickly return upright without leaving the kayak. The roll is mainly about technique rather than strength, but it must be well practised and second nature if you are going to rely on it. A Greenland paddle is popular for learning to roll.
A much simpler self-rescue is to use a paddle float. It is an inflatable float that you keep on the rear deck, attached under the deck lines so it is easy to release after a capsize. It can be pre-inflated or inflated when needed.
If you are paddling with others, a companion can stabilise the kayak by lying across your front deck from the other side and holding your cockpit. A paddle float can also be used when practising the roll: placed on the paddle blade, it gives extra lift. Some kayaks have fittings for sponsons – long floats attached along the hull behind the cockpit for extra stability – but most kayaks lack this option.
When paddlers help each other after a capsize, the simplest rescue is the assisted rescue, which comes in several variations. In its simplest form, you have fallen out of the kayak and a companion comes alongside. Together you turn the capsized kayak upright, emptying out as much water as possible as you do.
The companion places their kayak close alongside and parallel to yours, but facing the opposite way – their bow by your stern. They lean over your empty cockpit and take a firm grip with both hands on the front of the cockpit rim. The two kayaks now form a stable raft that does not capsize easily. You pull yourself up from the water on your stomach from the other side, head towards the stern and weight towards your companion's kayak. Lying on the rear deck, slide your feet and legs into the cockpit, then twist down into your seat. Pump or bail out the remaining water while your companion holds your kayak. If there are more paddlers, they can join the raft for even more stability.
In another variation, the companion pulls the capsized kayak upside down across the front deck of their own kayak to drain it, then turns it over and places it alongside. You then climb back in the same way. This is more complex and needs a lot of practice, but the advantage is that the kayak is quickly emptied of water.
The T-rescue needs to be practised together in advance and must be done quickly. If you capsize, you stay in the kayak upside down and signal to your companion that you want a T-rescue – for example by banging on your hull or with another agreed signal. If your companion is close and notices quickly, they bring their kayak in at a right angle to the middle of your kayak, with their bow against your hull. You reach for the bow, grab it and pull yourself upright. Keep hold of the bow until you have your balance, so you do not roll over to the other side, which is easily done.
The advantage is speed – you are holding your breath underwater – and that you never leave the kayak, so you can calmly paddle on afterwards. But it has to be quick, you need to have practised together, and in rough water it is easy to get hurt and hard to get close enough to each other.
Erik demonstrates the T-rescue.
When towing, the capsized kayak is first turned upright and a line is attached to its bow. Be prepared: everyone in the group can carry a coiled, floating tow line. The person towing attaches the line around their waist (or to a fitting centrally placed close to them) so that it can be released quickly. The swimmer holds on to the stern of their kayak, and the whole set-up is towed to shore or calmer water. It is important that the line can be released easily and that it floats, so it is easy to retrieve.
If you capsize, your paddle can easily drift away. Attach it to the deck lines on the front deck with a paddle leash with a carabiner. It is also a good idea for the group to carry a spare paddle, in case someone loses or breaks theirs – without a paddle, you are very exposed to wind and weather.
Always wear a life jacket, and in cold water a dry suit. Practise rescues in calm, warm water close to shore first – preferably on a course with a local canoe club – before you rely on them on a longer trip. You will find pumps, paddle floats, tow lines and more in our kayak accessories.
