Originally published at: Watch kayaker rescue a struggling man: "His eyes started closing" | Boing Boing
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She is an amazing hero! I was similarly saved by a rad surfer in Morocco and literally owe my life to them. I’m so glad she was out there and aware and so incredibly capable.
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Sally Wallick, come on down and get your halo.
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I almost drowned once in a pool, ironically during swing class because our instructor was a tyrannical asshat but im always thankful for a friend that saw me and grabbed me the second i went under.
The best advice i can give to someone that might be stranded and thankfully isn’t in bad surf is to remain calm at all times, if need be you can position yourself to float on your back and you can passively use your feet to push yourself towards the shore. You’ll use less energy than trying to float prone or doggy paddle.
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Before you get into a sea kayak take a self rescue course. Don’t paddle without that knowledge in yer nogg’n.
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The link to an article about surviving in the open ocean is kind of a joke. For example, it says:
Here are the tips on what an ultimately safe raft should have:
- Deck with a roof
A ‘safe raft’ should have a roof? Hmmm.
In the same section, it says:
While a modern raft is often costly, it can seriously brighten up your open sea survival pursuit.
your sea survival pursuit. Yeah, it’s a hobby anyone can pick up. Loads of fun!
I skimmed most of it but main reason i linked to it was for the swimming in open waters so it didn’t seem like i was pulling that out of my ass 
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I just watched a human saving another humans life… I needed that.
Thank you Sally
A lot of replies on the video saying she should have emptied his boat rather than try and pull him back to shore (turning one person that needed rescuing into two people that needed rescuing) and that both of them needed emergency/rescue training.
None of those replies strike me as authoritative. I know little about sea kayaking, but have some experience with whitewater rescue. The rescuer here does several things that are good. She evaluates the situation, establishes who’s making decisions and cheerfully ignores the vic’s objections. “You’re purple, here’s the plan.”
An X rescue to drain the boat is probably the right call, but it’s hard to fault someone wanting to get to shore. It’s hard to evaluate distance from the video but she seemed under a kilometer from shore. Punting over there to start warmup ASAP would be pretty tempting.
My main delta is that she’s working too hard. Adrenaline is a hell of a drug, but if you’re breathing hard, you are probably screwing up. Slow down, make good decisions, protect yourself.
As for the YouTube commenters: keyboards never pulled anyone out of a lake.
UPDATE: Asked ladyfriend who seakayaks: “You make contact, get the boat tipped out and put em in it. Water’s cold. Gotta get him out of the water.”
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