Thread: Throw Bags
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Old 05-14-2020, 10:35 AM   #3
JPTolson
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Originally Posted by djstone View Post
The throw bag. I have one. I have never used it. I have watched videos on You tube but they all show someone on shore throwing it to someone in the water. What is the proper way to use a throw bag while seated in your kayak? Do I just hang on to the loose end? Wrap it around myself first? Keep it attached to my deck rigging?
I am no expert, but Stan has offered excellent advice. Do not tie the rope from a throw bag to yourself or your boat if the rope is being used to throw to a swimmer. Do not let yourself become a victim. You have to be able to let the rope go, if necessary. (It's OK to tie or clip the throw bag onto your boat when it is not being used.)

Throw bags are most often used from shore in our sport, but there can be instances where throwing one from a boat may be necessary. A swimmer trapped in a low head dam hydraulic, too far to reach by throw bag rope from shore, comes to mind. However, this is getting into a tricky and sometimes difficult rescue situation that can be a high risk for the rescuers. These rescues can involve tethering boats and rescuers from shore and/or other boats far enough downstream to keep a rescue boat/rescuers from crossing the boil line and getting in trouble themselves. There are a couple of good books that delve into the physics and techniques of whitewater rescue: Whitewater Rescue Manual by Walbridge and Sundmacher and River Rescue by Bechdel and Ray. There may be other more recent publications and I'm sure there will be a bunch of YouTube videos.

Since you asked, tossing a throw bag from a seated position in a kayak or canoe would be done best by throwing it overhand, like a baseball. On shore, the underhand toss is probably used most often. (Make sure to hold onto the loose end regardless of how it is thrown.)

Using a throw bag effectively from shore takes some training and practice both for the rescuer on shore and the swimmer. If not adequately belayed, the rescuer could be easily pulled into the water by the force of the swimmer holding onto the rope in the current.

Last edited by JPTolson; 05-14-2020 at 02:48 PM.
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