The Stirrup-assisted Rescue

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Key Points
You have finally emptied the kayak and all you have to do is put the paddler back into the cockpit. Suddenly, you are faced with problems you never anticipated. Some people simply do not have the necessary strength in their upper body or arms to haul themselves back into the cockpit from a swimming position at water level. If your patient has this difficulty, then the Stirrup Re-entry should solve the problem.

Whether you go for the long or the short stirrup depends entirely upon you. Try all variations in practice sessions. The simplest systems work best.

Method 1
For the long stirrup make a loop out of, say, 4m of 10mm rope or 30mm tape. Adjust the size of the loop to suit your needs. The rope should be the nonfloating kind otherwise you'll never get your foot into the stirrup! To make the foothold easy to find, thread a piece of hose-pipe about 140mm long on to the rope and make a small secondary loop by tying a knot just above it. To assist in the re-entry simply pull the loop over your head to around your waist. The other, long, end of the loop lies across the empty kayak with the stirrup hanging about two feet under the water. The weight and athletic prowess of your patient will govern how and where you hold the kayak, the paddles and the paddler!		  
Method 2
The stirrup can be looped over the bow of your boat and drawn along under the hull. The foot end is then dropped over the swimmers kayak. The weight of your own kayak means that you only need to hold the end of the line with your outside hand.		  
Method 3
Some rescuers prefer to loop one end of the stirrup on to the middle of a paddle shaft. This paddle is then placed beneath and at right angles to the two kayaks. The stirrup end of the loop is brought up between the kayaks, over the empty boat and allowed to hang down on the outside ready for the re-entry. All the stress is exerted upwards on the underside of the hulls and not on your rib-cage. But I find this method too time consuming and not something I would wish to do when it's very rough.
Method 4
For the short stirrup, you want a loop made from a piece of rope about 1.5m. long. Do not forget the hose-pipe, nor to knot the loop. Loop the stirrup round the part of the paddle that projects out over the water on the patient's side. Any downward strain is then taken by the paddle shaft pressing upwards under your armpit.		  
If you find it very difficult to re-enter from deep water, you may gain more success using a stirrup with three little aluminium rungs - rather like a rope ladder.