Norm's annual cold water rant

[bloomp]

Heard that it was an eight and the coach’s launch that swamped... that’s one hell of an overloaded launch for those conditions.

[fullmetal]

One launch is rarely enough to handle an eight in the best of conditions. If there's even a chance that the weather could cause a coach's launch to swamp...the ergs are calling.

[olympicpuddles]

Pictures from the scene look like terrible conditions. What was the coach thinking? I once took a swim in a major US river in April... doing a corporate row! It was hosted by a local boat club. I said conditions look bad and are going to get worse. HC of program (I had no affiliation with club) told the organizers that it would be no problem. I was in the drink less than an hour later. 2 out of 4 eights swamped that day. Never again. I was young at the time, but now, I would put my foot down and refuse to row. It was total luck that we didn't lose anyone that day (a major US company would have been down a number of executives). Makes my blood boil to this day thinking about it.

[Sarge]

https://kcby.com/news/local/uo-crew-wat ... terrifying

17 fished out of the lake in Oregon. Not much information except the conditions changed quickly. Good to think about "what would you do". Good reminder to check safety procedures and stay close to shore in unfamiliar waters.

[fullmetal]

There are a lot of unanswered questions there. I didn't know Dexter Lake could produce 4 ft swells though. That's...nuts.

[samtaylor]

Wave height tends to get wildly exaggerated. But even 2ft waves would be a huge issue.

Dexter can be a lovely place to row, but it's also in a canyon right at the edge of the Cascades, weather can and does come up very quickly and winds can get really strong- if they're blowing right down the lake it'll get super rough. Don't know the circumstances here but glad everyone made it out OK.

[fullmetal]

Note to coaches: eyes on forecasts and know your home waters...

[Norm]

Close one. I've said over the years, that the "big one" is going to happen with a college club sport due to lack of experienced coaching, bad equipment and university oversight. Maybe I'm too negative, but I just don't understand how we haven't lost more people in one of these mass swampings.

[WingedFoot]

Close one. I've said over the years, that the "big one" is going to happen with a college club sport due to lack of experienced coaching, bad equipment and university oversight. Maybe I'm too negative, but I just don't understand how we haven't lost more people in one these mass swampings.

How can we stress this to administrators? We row for a poorly supported D1 team (budget and support staff) with equipment that is okay but lack the ability to upgrade the fleet. We’ve had our share of minor incidents over the years and certainly have room to make improvements to internal safety measures but how can we stress this importance to an AD that doesn’t want to invest more than the bare minimum? You start throwing that “safety” word around too much and all of a sudden your program is cut instead of improved. What to do!?

[fullmetal]

I think the best you can do is to reduce your exposure to potential weather effects (also, it's kind of an imperative). Yeah it's spring and everyone needs water time, but if it had been a thunderstorm, you would have (should have) stayed in and erged. If conditions reach "prime sailing weather," you might consider doing the same. Even with two massive launches and lifejackets, it's still not worth sending out boats in weather that could result in swamping -- that's a whole workout wasted, and maybe equipment waterlogged as well.

[Fmr. Bant]

I think the best you can do is to reduce your exposure to potential weather effects (also, it's kind of an imperative). Yeah it's spring and everyone needs water time, but if it had been a thunderstorm, you would have (should have) stayed in and erged. If conditions reach "prime sailing weather," you might consider doing the same. Even with two massive launches and lifejackets, it's still not worth sending out boats in weather that could result in swamping -- that's a whole workout wasted, and maybe equipment waterlogged as well.

I agree with all of that. Some of my quick hits:

Coaches need to wear life jackets and cut-out cords. WAY WAY too many do not. You can't rescue people if you are a victim.

At the NEIRA Coaches Conference 2 years ago, one of the schools presented their safety/weather rubric. I adapted it to my own team. I think every program should create it's own and follow it.

[JD]

At the NEIRA Coaches Conference 2 years ago, one of the schools presented their safety/weather rubric. I adapted it to my own team. I think every program should create it's own and follow it.

Here is our matrix at Minneapolis RC where we row on a river than can be a puddle or a monster. Lead Coach and Safety Chair have ability to enforce and exceed restrictions. We follow flow numbers, water temps, debris and experience level.

https://s3.amazonaws.com/ClubExpressClu ... 090908.jpg

[WellRowed]

https://whdh.com/news/several-rescued-f ... s-capsize/

[Fmr. Bant]

https://whdh.com/news/several-rescued-f ... s-capsize/

I would love to find out how this happened. It's pretty rare to see eights flipping, let alone 2 back to back.
Were the coaches not paying attention?

[WellRowed]

They probably just swamped first. Really rough water out there this morning.