Body, boat, birthday: having fun with kayak rescues

51 Rescues at a local pool.

Today is Alec's birthday. We began the celebration by doing 51 rescues -- one for each year -- in a nearby pool: 20 T rescues, 10 reenter and rolls, 10 scrambles, 10 hand of Gods, and an all in.

Our friends and fellow coaches Big Aaron and Mark were there, so they joined us.

All told, we spent about an hour, including time debriefing and occasionally goofing around between sets. We noticed several things in the process:

• It's helpful to practice rescues when you're already tired. Too often, we (and people we know) practice rescues a few times, then move on to other activities. Doing more repetitions is a better simulation of the way you'll feel in a real rescue situation. 

• Communication between rescuer and victim is critical. This isn't a new idea for us, but doing so many assisted rescues highlighted the role that good communication plays in speeding up and cleaning up a T rescue. 

• Repetitions lead to natural variations, and sometimes to discoveries. Alec found a slightly better location for scrambling onto his back deck.

• We tend to wet exit and reenter and roll mostly on one side, and Sharon found her "off-side" reenter and roll awkward. Deliberate practice on both sides is another thing we've added to our list of pool practice activities.

• Time flies when you're doing rescues.

But don't take our word for it. Watch! (Our camera battery died after the T-rescues, but you'll get the general idea.)