What I Learned from Getting Pinned on the Dulas

Lesson 1 - Don't drop into a rapid mid-conversation and end up tail gating the paddler in front of you.

That's pretty specific, but it's how I got into this mess. The lesson should really be about the dangers of complacency. I do know better, I am a better paddler than this, but the whole drama was caused by my complacency. I have become very comfortable on grade 3 (4) rivers over the year before this happened and this river was well within my comfort zone; that bit me in the butt. On a river that was pushing my comfort zone I don't think this particular event would have happened because I would have been paying attention. This was the 2nd river of the 2nd day of paddling, we were nearing the end of the river, and me and Paul were chatting about something (I forget what). I didn't give Paul anywhere near as much space as I should have done dropping in and I caught him up, on this continuous G3 section. This might not have mattered so much on a different river but the Dulas is narrow and technical. As I was trying to maneuver away from him I turned my boat sideways to loose speed, and had to take a less than ideal line, to avoid bashing into Paul. I could see what was about to happen but before I could react I was wedged sideways with my cockpit facing upstream between that boulder and a rock face, and somehow ended up holding myself up on my paddle.

I was getting mildly waterboarded by water lapping over my face at unpredictable intervals, and I was less than comfortable. But I assessed my situation (which sounds much calmer than what my mind was actually doing) and realised I was probably better off staying put. I couldn't really get out from that position and even if I did I think I would have found myself pinned against my still-stuck boat. If I let my kayak capsize, it could have worked, maybe, but I wasn't convinced it would go all the way upside down, or if it did whether I would have the room to get out underneath it anyway. And I preferred the idea of staying stuck with my head above the water than risking being stuck beneath it. Which brings me to lesson 2.

Lesson 2- Don't Paddle Alone, and preferably with people you trust.

Looking back I was rather impressed with my cool head and the fact that I was actively making decisions instead of just freaking out. But a good part of the reason for that was that I knew, without a shadow of a doubt, my friends were already on their way and I'd see them climbing over that mound of rock any second. And if I kept myself stabilised they would get me out. So I leaned as far forward as I could to get as much of the water off my face held on to my paddle and pushed my feet against my foot plate and set in to hold myself in place, staring at the shelf of rock I knew they'd climb over. Waiting for someone to come get me.

Its worth mentioning 2 weeks before this I took a bad step on the stairs at Mile End Mill and I sprained my ankle. It was still very sore and I probably shouldn't have been paddling. I'd been hobbling about that weekend using my paddle as a cane with someone else carrying my boat. So this was not an ideal situation to find myself in, whilst pushing my feet against the footplate in order to keep myself up, my ankle was communicating, quite effectively, to me that it didn't like that.

Within a minute I saw, first Mark, then Paul climbing their way across the slippy mossy rocks. By this point, I had substantially less calm as I was starting to struggle to keep my grip on the paddle that was holding me upright and my ankle was screaming at me.

Within 2 and a half minutes of getting pinned they had freed me and my boat from the pin. Paul put his foot on the downstream side of my boat to stop it from capsizing upstream and basically stood on it until the bow moved upstream, it was quick, simple, and effective, my boat capsized as it was released but by that point we were free from the pin and I just swim out.

The whole situation had been pretty damn scary but I can honestly say that it was much much less scary because I trusted the people I was with to have my back. It definitely solidified something I already practised, which is don't paddle alone. I was well within my comfort zone and everything still went sideways. But it was also a reminder of how important it is to paddle with people who have your back when you are pushing those comfort zones.

Lesson 3- I am more resilient that I believe

Despite spending most of my spare time on the river its surprisingly easy to forget the sheer power of it whilst you are on top of it. But in moments like that when you physically feel the full force of the river, acting upon your body, it is terrifying and humbling.

In my first year of paddling (and all the time in the rest of my life) I had problems with anxiety. People were telling me I was progressing very rapidly but I doubted my ability, and when I had any sort of knock back or swim I took that as confirmation of my doubts and it affected me for weeks. I haven't taken my ozone back on the Upper Tryweryn since I got a concussion in it a year ago. (Conveniently, or maybe less so, I got the scorch 4 weeks later, so not taking the ozone became an option).

(I am pleased to say since writing this I have been back on the T in my Ozone and I have beaten that particular demon!!)

So one of my biggest fears in paddling became my own fear. I was terrified that something would happen that would make me want to quit this amazing thing that my whole life revolves around. I have walked rapids not because I didn't want to do them, or didn't think I could and not because I was scared of being injured but simply because I was scared it would affect my mindset if messed it up.

So when this happened I kind of sat back and took stock of my mental state. Sure I was shook up right after. But even paddling the rest of the river I wasn't nervous. It hadn't had any effect on my confidence. "But I was still in shock," I told myself and for the next few days and the next few times I paddled I waited. I was so sure that anxiety was going to kick in and I was going to start second-guessing myself and getting anxious on the river. Even after I had a nightmare 2 nights later, where I drowned because I was stuck and I couldn't get out of my kayak (clearly some processing going on in that dream), it didn't shake me up like I thought it would, it was just a nightmare.

I plan to write in the coming weeks about how much credit I give paddling for strengthening my mental health, better than any pills or therapy ever could. But I don't think there's any better evidence than this. I took the knock and I just rolled with it. Which might seem like very little for some people but for a perpetually anxious person like me. It's huge.

For me, this is the most important lesson I learned from this scary experience and it's a very positive one. Its kind of ironic that making a mistake and ending up in an unpleasant situation has, instead of knocking my confidence, actually given me more. I'm a lot tougher than I give myself credit for, and I know that now.

Special thanks to Paul and Mark for saving my ass.

Written by Stephykayaks

Posted 11th June 2024

Some thoughts on the rescue from Paul

A few thoughts from someone who was involved in the incident. I’m not an expert, or a trainer, so please take this for what it is:

1. It took me a minute to get out of my boat and to the scene of the pin. This felt like a frustratingly long time, but it was slippery, very uneven and covered in loose fencing wire. Take as long as it takes and don’t become a casualty that will divert resources away from the main event

2. Steph was very calm, and resisted the (presumably very strong) temptation to just try something. She was very close to capsizing upstream while pinned. If you can hang in there until help arrives, you probably should

3. Mark had got there much quicker than me, had already got a line on the boat and was reassuring Steph when I arrived. Reassurance is probably the number one thing to prevent panic

4. I got another line on the front for two reasons. The first was in case the boat capsized upstream so I would have something to use to pull it out. The second was to give me 5 or 10 seconds buffer to think before jumping in and doing something quickly without thinking it through

5. Steph was losing her grip on the supporting paddle quickly so we needed to get her out of there fast. The quickest way I could think of was to stand on the downstream side of the bow until the boat pivoted around the rock it was pinned on and released. Luckily it did, but if it hadn’t we had two lines on different parts of the boat and we could have pulled her out, but that would have been tricky, and probably quite painful

6. There were three other very competent paddlers on scene; one further down on the rocks waiting to help, and two in boats downstream waiting for a swim and kit retrieval

7. What I learned from it – Practice your rescue skills somewhere safe

Practice getting out of your boat in difficult places

Carry a throw line and a carabiner always

Invest in good boots or shoes

Be prepared to be the person that has to do something

Quick and dirty might be the best option for rescue