RCABC River Rescue Basic & Advanced

This course offers a combined basic and advanced RCABC River Rescue course and will be delivered by a RCABC certified trainer.  The course will be run at various locations in the Barker Lake area north of Missinipe.  The course is designed specifically for paddlers and trip leaders who lead groups in whitewater.  

RCABC River Rescue Introduction

Basic and Advanced Levels of the River Rescue Endorsement are intended to give all participants hands on practice of rescue and leadership skills. The content is summarized as follows:

Basic:

Handling common capsize situations, from a rescuer’s perspective and from the swimmer’s perspective. The course is adaptable to accommodate participant’s needs including solo, tandem, loaded canoes and canoes with spray decks.

Advanced:

Skills needed for situations more serious than typical capsizes, including best possible leadership decisions and handling of pinned canoes or entrapment of canoeists with typical rescue gear.

Both levels start with a theory and safety discussion followed by skills practice. After basic skills are developed scenarios are created where participants’ skills can be implemented. The theory outline posted in Section IV can be reviewed for more content details.

River Rescue Participant and Instructor EndorsementsThe paddler level of the RCABC River Rescue certificate has no expiry date or recertification requirement. Repeating the course is encouraged to practice and gain experience with these skills.

RCABC RIVER RESCUE BASIC

Theory Discussion

· Course summary, goals and participation expectations

· First Actions After Capsize

· Rescuer Rules

· Rescuer Deadly Sins

· Rescue Leadership

· Selecting appropriate rescue methods

· Basic Rescue Equipment Knots

· Review of Moving water hazards, dynamics and terminology

· State of the swimmer

Skills

• Gear Check & Orientation

• Throwbag Rescues of Swimmers

• Swimming

• Self-Rescues (Swimmers With Canoe)

• Assisted Rescues of Swimmers With Canoe

RCABC RIVER RESCUE ADVANCED

Skills

• Basic Rescue Equipment (Detailed Review of)

• Swimmers and Entrapment Hazards

• Tethered or Live Bait Rescues (optional)

• Wading in a River

• Rope Across River

• Using a Canoe as a Rescue Vehicle

• Pinned or Wrapped Canoes - Simple Rescues

• Pinned or Wrapped Canoes - Z-drag

• Rescue scenarios