Maybe they just got the kayaks at the paddlesports show but wherever they got them, some instruction would have been useful. If the man still in his kayak had to hold the woman up, she probably did not have a pfd on. I also doubt that with this cold water they had either wet suits or dry suits on. Some basic skill with bracing strokes should keep one out of the water in a pond situation.
In fairly calm water such as a pond it is not hard to rescue a second kayaker if you are still in your own boat. You can empty the swamped boat and then stabilize it while the other kayaker gets back into their boat. This does take some training on both paddlers part but once learned it can save a life.
Quote:
WMUR.com
Kayakers Rescued From Pond In Dover
Man Found Holding Onto Woman Who Fell In Water
POSTED: 2:35 pm EDT April 12, 2010
DOVER, N.H. -- Two kayakers were rescued from a pond in Dover on Monday after a resident saw that they were in trouble.
Officials said a Lakeview Drive resident heard the kayakers calling for help from Willand Pond. When firefighters arrived, a woman was in the water, and a man was still in a kayak, holding onto her.
Crews from Dover and Somersworth launched boats, and firefighters were also assisted by a resident who had access to a boat. The woman was pulled into that boat and taken to Wentworth Douglass Hospital, where she was treated for cold-water-related injuries.
Officials said the man and woman were approximately 50 years old and had just purchased the kayaks and were trying them out.
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