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I decided to share my recent accident in hopes that if your faced with a similar situation you'll make the right decision. For those that know me, they know Ive landed my parachute in water atleast a dozen times on purpose, and have felt comfortable with collecting my gear in water and the dangers that water landings pose.
About a month ago that wasn't the case. Resulting from a toggle issue I had a 90 off heading, away from the shore, off a 300 ft bridge. It put me in icy cold waters only about 30 yards from shore, no biggie, WRONG! I started to fumble around with the canopy to find the tail and drag my chute to shore. Having done a rollover I didnt have a pilot chute on and finding the tail proved difficult, I was starting to become intangled in my lines and hypothermia was setting in. For some reason I became fixated on getting out of my rig and undoing my chest strap. The cold water made this process impposible. Then a light bulb went off in my head, Im in grave danger my body was tightening up from the cold and I needed to get to shore ASAP. I debated with myself for what seemed like an eternity with my only viable option, to cut AWAY. Im only posting this because at that moment I had a flashback to a jump a friend of mine was on where the other jumper didnt cut away and drowned from hypothermia. I didnt want to leave my expensive chute behind but at that moment it was my only option. I barely made it to shore, and I mean barely, I was zapped of energy and had to be pulled out the last few feet. If I didnt have a friend on shore to help me I may have not made it. Im a strong swimmer, but the cold and my wet clothes almost killed me.
By the time I realized I was in a bad situation it was almost to late. and thats the point Im trying to make with this post. If faced with the similar situation dont hesitate, rememeber this post and save your ASS and cut away!!!!

God damnit, that shit follows you Tahoe boys around! The last time we worked on a project together it put me and 2 others in the drink. It nearly killed 2 of us. Same situation, I had a cutaway on the rig I was using, but fighting rapids, fighting for air and fighting for my canopy seemed to take over the sure fire thing I was taught all along. I say this for 2 reason...

1- think long and hard about your handle before you exit any object with the remote possibility of a water landing. Remember them handles are in a different place when your container is open empty and in water. And if you are like me who is NOT a water person, instinctual (not the right ones) life saving needs like oxygen, dry land and a canopy for the next load will take over your mind before you decide to let the water suck you under for long enough to get some handle you haven't thought of since your Aff course.

2. If anyone one from Tahoe suggests a water landing alternative... you've been warned.

If I get a sec later this evening I'll throw down the spicifics of the resulting chaos of that project... spoiler alert... it involves getting kicked out of all UT parks, 2 people nearly drowning, a missing helicopter, massive feets of engineering, a 6000' zip line, sneaking a massive Cable out of the world largest copper mine, hypothermia and me overdosing in an unknown bathtub in Provo.

I started this post with the intention of ending it with "and that's why we don't see eachother anymore Johnny" but after writing that last paragraph all I can think to say is "Up for round 2?"

Cheers bruv, it's been the better part of a decade since I seen ya, but I hope your well and keep wearing that nickname ironically.

I almost forgot about OD-ing in Utah, those Jack Mormons know how to party. Round 2, sure!!! We were very lucky not to have lost someone on that zipline shit show. One for the books for sure. But you do bring up a valid point to know where that cutaway handle is when jumping near water or with someone from Tahoe. Im thankful that I did a gear check prior and told myself I had a good chance of getting wet prior to jumping as the LZ was black diamond for sure. I had done a rollover off the same bridge when the water level was lower and there were more places to land.

I landed in a river one time. Instinct kicked in and I had cut away before I even thought about doing so. I ended up being washed down a set of rapids struggling to swim with all my gear on. Could barely wade out of the water on the other side, crawled out on the bank because I was struggling to stand. There is no doubt in my mind that if I had delayed cutting away I would have drowned. Never seen my canopy again, never even missed it :-)
Cold water is a killer. Like you I would consider myself a strong swimmer but after probably 2 minutes in the water I was done. If you land in cold water you need to get to shore asap and hope there are some dry clothes waiting.

Thanks for sharing your experience, thats awesome that you had the presents of mind to cut away, it literally is split second decision maiking. I dont think I mentioned that the cold water really impaired my decision making process, I was definitely confused! Afterwards I was hit with the most insane headache and then became deathly ill for nearly 2 weeks requiring antibiotics.

Thanks for sharing, scary stuff.

How long were you in the water for, before you realized you were going hypothermic? How long until you got to dry land?

Funny, I almost drowned a month ago as well. Closest I've come to going in (which is saying something).

2 in the morning, freezing water and 34 degree air, full winter jacket & boots, no one around. Landed about 50 feet from the shore due to very strong winds and a series of canopy collapses. If I'd been another 10 feet out I wouldn't have made it. My harness doesn't have leg/chest quick releases so I first tried swimming with the wing and then removed my gloves and undid the carabiners. Lines caught my knee camera but fortunately I was able to find and release the strap. Was having trouble keeping my head above water so I cutaway my helmet with $1,500 in cameras on it, no regrets about that.

Towards the end you're doing a few strokes forwards, then on your back, then on your side, desperately kicking down with your legs hoping to hit solid ground again. Unlike most other sky accidents, you actually have time to think about how stupid you'll look with your dead body floating just a few feet from the shore at sunrise. You see the sad faces of all your friends, the smug faces of everyone who voted for you on bounce bingo, and you start realizing how trivial everything in your life has been up until then. You think about the saying "you dry faster than you heal" and how you'd love to be on land with broken legs instead. You let your face go under between breaths, savoring every bit of air as long as you can. And then just when your whole body has cramped up and you can barely move, you touch the ground and realize your nightmare is over.

Just cutting away won't always save you, especially if you're wrapped in lines or the water is freezing. If you jump around water, you need flotation. Period. Get at least an inflatable belt pack or a Kingii (https://www.amazon.com/...tional/dp/B019YT2DZM).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sexdOYKO0Xg

Are you paragliding/speedflying at 2 am in the morning in high winds ... and your filming it ..

Can I ask WHAT FOR !!!!

Glad that you made it.. and that you share this with us.

As I understood, you are familiar with waterlandings ...
Question:
Imagine this would have been a skydive with skydiving gear.
Would your emergency procedure be the same (trying to drag the canopy to the shore, find the tail -or PC-, etc..)
If not, why?

Do you change your action, depending on cold or warm water?

Just curious ..

The weather forecast was for a perfectly clear full moon with light winds. We hiked up to Altissimo after dinner and made a fire on top for a few hours and I put flashes on my friends' risers for some cool aerial flash photos while flying. When it was time to fly down to Torbole (only a 4:1 glide from 2,000 meters) the wind had picked up but we expected it to be much calmer about halfway down.

Here's a screenshot of a weather station a few kilometers south of there. For just an hour the wind completely switched from south to crazy strong north wind on the lake, especially in Torbole because of the venturi effect (here's the LZ: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LB1pySkAAU). If we'd have gone an hour earlier or later we'd have been fine. When I made it back to my car 30 minutes later it had completely died down.

High winds and night flying are definitely dangerous, but doing it without flotation was stupid & reckless.

One time we jumped a sea cliff shitty landing area...landed dry at shoreline...but then a wave came...canopy got snagged..the only way was to tear the canopy as tide was coming in and within a minute was waste high in water...canopy was so heavy with the water..
Another time my friend landed same site...he was maybe chest deep..
In a place that would have normally have a serious rip tide.
Though sea was calm this day..so you were not being pull out to sea..
Also had to tear his canopy to get it free..
We most of the time used to stash two boogie boards at the shore.
If ever shit went bad...

For an actual emergency procedure (not a planned water landing at the Perrine): Fuck your canopy.

Unless your feet are touching ground you should be getting as far away from your canopy as possible. Canopies float so the only time you're at risk of losing your canopy is in moving water, in which case you want to get even further away from your canopy. You should get to the shore and only then think about retrieving your gear. Warm water makes swimming easier but it still only takes a couple lines around your boots to immobilize you.

I can see those big ears then you get like a collapse must of been intense...

So as this was an actual ermegency (not planned), why did you not follow your plan like stated above right from the beginning? ..


What I try to express is: if you have a plan for an emergency, follow it.

You´ve learned it the "hard" way and you are able to tell us about that freezing experience. BASE is cool, duh?

Again, glad that you survived.

I did follow proper ditching procedures. I released my helmet as soon as I felt it pulling me down. My harness doesn't have easy squeeze release buckles, the chest & leg straps look like this one: http://www.bozemanparagliding.com/...ges/gin/freeride.jpg

I swam away from the wing towards the shore until I started pulling the wing. Then I swam in place on my back while unbuckling the carabiners. Had I tried to release the carabiners immediately after landing there would have been loose lines all around me and I probably would have gotten wrapped.

With 3 rings it's much simpler. Cutaway as soon as you touch down and swim around or underneath the canopy to get the fuck away from it.

Oh okay, sorry. I thought that you used a BASE-Rig.

With a Paragliding-Rig, this is a little more complicated.... (I guess, never had one on ...).

No worries. Most harnesses have normal buckle releases, mine is for speedflying and doesn't. I also have an airbag (compartment underneath that inflates for crash protection) that becomes an anchor once it fills with water.

Glad you lived to tell the tale of caution.

I have two water landings, two tree landings,
but most my rigs do NOT have 3-rings, hence
my own emergency procedures are different.

Plenty of people with cutaway systems do not
use them in times of emergency... sometimes
with fatal outcomes. I firmly believe one can
jump with or without certain options, but this
requires the jumper to be mentally prepared.

RE: wet clothes

I have been on site for an accidental cold water
landing at night at at the Perrine. Once we got
the drunk out of the drink, each man on site
gave 1 piece of dry clothing to the freezing man.
This gave him enough warmth to hike out alive.


PS: as a kid in Pennsylvania I feel through the
ice and almost drown, so I know first hand how
cold water quickly drains one's energy and focus.

I live near an alpine lake, (lake tahoe) and have jumped skydive gear into the lake as well. As far as emergency procedures go I think it is situational but fundamentally you need to know that your chute is an anchor, period. In the past when I knew I was landing in the water I would loosen my chest strap while under canopy so I could quickly get out of my rig. Dont be fooled by the thought that the worst is over, yeah you made a jump and landed "safely" in water, but your lines are spaghetti and becoming entangled is highly possible. With the cold and adrenaline pumping my biggest point I was trying to make was that my decision making process was impaired. Had I not seen video of fatal water landing and had Frank Gambalie's death in the back of my mind I would have continued to try and get to the tail, thank whoever gave me the presence of mine to cut away, its IMPORTANT to know that COLD water will literally zap the life out of you, and even if your not planning on landing in the water to be prepared to. Ive had a couple of close calls before in my BASE career, but I have never been in a situation where I was able to contemplate my own death.

If I had to put a time on it I would say less than 2 minutes. Onlookers didnt even realize I was in danger, only my jump buddy on shore new how serious it was. I grew up surfing and lap swimming and the intense cold really zapped my energy, making the swim to shore extremely difficult. I dont want to site name but think snow melt run off for an idea of how cold it was.

a kiting suit could be an option when jumping around freezing waters. not a guarantee that's going to save you from drowning but definitely going to keep you warm while fighting your way out.

WINTER WETSUIT AND DRYSUIT TEST:
http://www.kiteworldmag.com/...it-and-drysuit-test/

From Google translate:

http://www.gardatrentino.it/de/winde-gardasee/
take care,
space

"BFL #111 Date: 2007 March 21 Nationality: Russian Object Type: Antenna Location: RUSSIAN FEDERATION, Vladivostok COD: drowning / Normal clothes Description: Reports indicate Mikhail, who began skydiving at age 14, was also a paraglider pilot and had about 20 prior BASE jumps. He'd contacted another jumper before this jump and they discussed various issues including any possible static electricity problems. He'd just taken delivery of a brand new BASE container that had separate cutaway handles for each riser although the reporting jumper says it's not known if this had any bearing on the fatality. The jump was planned for a dry landing but once open Mikhail apparently realized he couldn't make the LZ and he went into the water about a 100-feet (30 meters) from shore. He was then seen struggling for about twenty minutes before being overcome by hypothermia. The water temperature was reported to be 39.2 F (+4 C). Ground crew tried to get to him but could not do so in time. His body was recovered and taken to the hospital where emergency care was provided. "

"Your mileage may vary".

I've felt into a fast river once after landing on the edge of the railroad tracks and making a mistake of letting the canopy drop over the edge. I've cut away as soon as i hit the water out of reflex, and never saw the canopy again. I believe a few seconds delay would've killed me there.

On the other hand, i've landed in Lysefjord a couple of times in a wingsuit back in the day, and felt quite comfortable to find the tail and tow my canopy to the beach or wait for the boat without chopping it.

bsbd! Yuri.

My 2 cents:

1) Landed a WS on purpose in (warm) water, in summer, almost not flowing. Easy. But, I could not get into the boat myself as the suit was full of water. Needed a pair of hands to drag me in.
2) Canopy got one cell in fast flowing, cold water. (yes, I landed too close, my mistake, WS on) I saw it happening and thought I could hold it. Mistake: I got pulled in big time very fast, headdown dive into it. I could release the canopy otherwise I would not be writing this. No time for hypothermia though as I was out pretty fast. I was still close to the land. I got the canopy back that evening, some kayakers got it out. It was stuck to a tree. It took them much more time and effort than they thought, over 1 hour. And they had ropes and wetsuits.

Moral of the story. Never jump without a cutaway (or, at least not when you risk landing in water) Never underestimate the power of water. We live on land, just think about that.

Ronald

When you pre-flight your rig:
-does it have a cutaway system
-what are MY emergency procedures
-if water present, what temperature

Here is a good link to remind the internet
toughs how cold water affects your body:
http://www.coldwatersafety.org/ColdShock.html

Almost made it

I'm just getting back into Base. My preferred rig has always been a Velcro PII and I've used it for everything however it's not allowed at the Heli-Boogie so I got a beautiful Apex Summit with sewn-in risers.

Obviously water landings are an issue with these risers so I was thinking of installing a quick release onto the chest strap. There seems to be one or two good ones at Paragear. Not really sure what to do.

What do you guys do when you've got a rig with fixed risers and inevitably your going to jump near water some day?

John

Soft links and a hook knife are probably the best option. It's faster (and waaaay cheaper) to cut the soft links than it is to cut lines or risers. Plus, you can bring spare soft links with you so you aren't putting yourself out of action for the rest of the trip.

Personally though, I'll always go with a cut away system if there's a chance of water landing.

I did not find cutting softlinks easy or fast.
After a cliffstrike I had to bag the canopy before being evacuated. Using a polycarbonat hookknife - not the flimsy plastic one - I cut the first softlink relatively easy, but it got harder with each following softlink, on the last softlink the hook knife nearly came apart. Even if you have cut the softlinks you still have to cut the control lines.
My knives have gotten a lot bigger after that expierience.
I have a Jack the Ripper hookknive or a Benchmade Rescue Hook Knife on my rigs now.

I had one water landing in April at night with heavy boots, I was able to cut away and dive under the canopy. No chance I could have cut four softlinks and two controllines while being submerged.
With the chance of a waterlanding, I always will use a 3-ring system, else I would cut the risers.
I trade material for bones or life every minute of my day.

I meant by comparison with cutting the risers or the lines of the canopy. Cutting the soft links is easier and faster than either of the other options.

As I said, I still prefer having three rings for any situation where I might need to separate from the canopy.

 

Indeed. Instead of cheap or even mid-range hook knives, invest in a "seat belt cutter" used by EMTs and other emergency responders (here are several), or "aircrew survival knives" (here is just one example). They are generally much better made, with better steel -- and basically anything designed for cutting seat belts is the perfect solution for cutting risers or soft links.

Can you Riggers please advise:
Do I need this one or the NON Adjustable Version?

Paragear
H5045BK 1inch COBRA QUICK RELEASE ADJUSTABLE BLACK

Install onto Chest Strap (mine is 1") see attachment

This is an adjustable quick release, black anodized buckle. It can hold a strap width of 1 1/8" (28mm). Features a 2-Finger safety release. The integrated locking element permits fast adjustment of strap length. It is both compact and handy. The load capacity is 2000 lbs. (900kg).

Depends if you want to be able to adjust the chest strap or not. If you jump in summer and winter with warm clothing you'll probably need to be able to adjust it.

I don't see this working, though. Your leg straps are much harder to deal with than your chest strap, which you can undo in flight within ~10 seconds if a water landing is imminent. You could add B-12s but they're fiddly and can't release under load if you're hanging from a tree. And then you've messed up your Summit.

If it's all just for the Heli boogie I'd just buy an inflatable waist belt or Kingii and call it a day. You can still get entangled & drown with a cutaway but inflation almost guarantees your survival even if you're gift wrapped in your lines (assuming a nearby boat/friends).

Gharrop,

Cheers mate, much appreciated. Please have a go at this...

Adjustment:
The chest strap is already adjustable so if I insert the quick release in the middle of it then I don't need the adjustable version.

Escape:
I was sort of imagining that when going into the water I could activate the quick release on the chest strap and then swim straight out of the leg straps without undoing them. Kick out of them. Is that even possible?

Flotation Gear:
Definitely. (Good practical advice)

You can also route your chest strap swooper-style so you can release it with one pull.

You may want to jump in a pool with your Perigee and see how getting out of the leg straps works. I think you're gonna run out of arms to paddle with while you're pulling your leg straps down.

There's also no way to get out of your harness if you're planning on jumping your Sumo with the pants over your rig.

Gharrop - "There's also no way to get out of your harness if you're planning on jumping your Sumo with the pants over your rig"


Ah Jeez, thats exactly what I'm doing; never thought of that.

Chest strap quick release:

- Long chest strap.
- Fold it like you see in the photo.
- Grab the fold back and pull.

And your chest strap is undone.

It's only helpful if you can actually get out of the leg straps too.

Isn't it doubled over at the end to prevent the chest strap from slipping out and you falling out of your harness under canopy? Of course you have to weigh that possibility against the possibility of drowning.

It's routed correctly, the only difference is that instead of tucking in the excess you thread it back out the hardware. Lots of swoopers use that and at least one guy used to jump that at the bridge all the time. If it's tucked into an elastic keeper it stays pretty snug.

Guys, guys. All this cutting of lines, risers, softlinks, releasing the chest strap, getting out of the harnass, etc. takes time and is all "easy" on land when practised. Just try it in (cold) flowing water with your head under water being pulled by your canopy. And your lines / softlinks / risers are not going to be where you expect them to be either.
So, forget it. Just jump with a release, or jump where there is no water. Oh, and did I mention landing in a tree, or getting lines over a high lamppost

Of course :) That's the best idea.

All my rigs have a release including my lightweight rig that's a little heavier now. I've even released the canopy once because my feet were barely touching the ground. The canopy caught a branch and a pine cone.

However... I do sometimes release the chest strap for various reasons. I often set it up to release for quicker getaway.

I'm positive you can figure out a way to secure the end.

This should be blatantly obvious but if it's not: You can get out of a rig if you're truly prepared to and know how, but in fast water, you're fucked.

If you're not comfortable with folding it back, it's possible to get a chest strap with a cobra buckle from some manufacturers.

You also have to check the new chest strap systems on Squirrel and Adrenalin.
If some users could talk about them.
On my harness the chest strap is like the paragliding systems, 2 squares that are separable pretty easily (I think Adrenalin ABX is the same).
Like almost everybody I would not jump without a 3 rings system if I might have some chance to land in the water and have to deal with this myself.

Morpheus has offered a cobra buckle chest strap option for years. Personally, I find it easier to use than the "2 squares" systems.

http://austrialpin.net/...obra-quick-releases/

There's an American version called a Raptor buckle, too, but personally I think it's inferior to the Cobra (the raptor has a tendency to only latch one side if you're not careful).

They look good! Would definitely help for a quicker getaway.

Apex also offers the Cobra buckles on all of their rigs.

It's not a listed option, but if you can dream it (and it's safe) Todd will make it happen!