In this podcast episode we chat all things safety in extreme conditions with Rob Mousley. Rob founded surfski.info based out of Cape Town SA, which is well known as the de-facto global website for surfski information. It is probably best known for the forums which provide an excellent global dialogue on all things surfski related. In addition to the forums there are boat reviews, race reports, and most relevant to our discussion today, many excellent articles on safety.
For the last decade, Rob has been very involved in the pursuit of safety in extreme conditions. He has worked extensively with Cape Town’s water rescue services known as the NSRI, covered several surfski rescues, and has studied and tested in real world conditions a vast majority of the safety equipment on the market.
In this discussion we discuss in depth the wealth of knowledge Rob has accumulated over the years. I’m really excited to be able to offer this podcast not just beginners, but also to the experienced paddlers who I’m certain will benefit. As the sport continues to grow around the world and in more extreme climates, we all need to continue this dialogue with our paddling mates and hold each other accountable for being smart and realistic about our safety on the water.
Below are some links to articles and resources that we reference in the Podcast:
- Article summarizing the findings of Rob’s rescue exercises with the NSRI
- Article recapping a Miller’s Run incident that thankfully turned out okay, but could have been much worse
- Here is a link to the entire safety section on Surfski.info with articles an various incidents and gear reports including Personal Locator Beacons which Rob spoke about on the podcast. Here is a specific link on an incident with a leg leash failure and a PLB failure
- And a detailed piece on the limitations and how to use PLBs
- We didn’t cover Shark Attacks on the Podcast, but here are a couple great articles and second article
- Link to a Cold Water Safety blog on the TC SURFSKI website
- Below are clips of Oscar Chalupsky demonstrating the remount in rough conditions and the brace stroke
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