A belated posting on the flickr site and gallery of the shots from Bangkok Patana’s Northern Thailand residential.

The Bangkok Patana teaching staff led by Lucy Livingstone conducted a great residential program which we provided the logisitics and all activities for

Operating under our Wild Planet name we are based in the Mae Teng valley for this program and raft the Mae Teng River.

This river is great providing fun grade three rafting with the reassurance of bank side access for the whole section. Also the Meng Ngat resevoir and surrounging valleys provide a great biking, paddling and trekking location.

The normal Wild Planet crew ran the program in conjunction with our long time partners in the North, Alex and Lynne Brodard

This is one of our orginal locations and programs first run in 98’ but is still one of our favourites.

Water levels were great, weather was great and as you can see from the pictures a great time was had by students and staff alike.

Mention to be made of Danny our trip photographer and his great shots.

 

Robin

 

Just before Xmas we ran a training course for the team members of the World Society for the Protection of Animals Disaster Response Team.

In addtion to the Emergency First Response program in Bangkok, we ran a residential program at the lodge designed to give  the team a grounding in basic outdoor skills

  We covered rope use and acess on steep ground, and self resuce and basic safety in a swiftwater enviroment.

We used the High Ropes course on site and thenThan Rattana Waterfall and Nakon Nayok whitewater course for situation scenarios.

 

The team is based in Bangkok and was set up in early 2008 to cover disasters in Asia. They were most recently on the ground helping in Burma in the aftermath of Nargis.

We were gald to provide them with some skills that will hopefully be useful to them in the field and look forward to working with them in the future.

A great team and a great bunch of people.

 

A useful video, published on the NOC website.

Whitewater Creeking Instruction: False Lips from Christopher Port on Vimeo.

Below is an abridged set of guidlines published by the guys at www.americanwhitewater.org.
If you are paddling on moving water but read though this and say uhhhh? then maybe for your own safety and the safety of others you should consider a training workshop.

Guidelines for River Rescue

Recover from an upset with an eskimo roll whenever possible. Evacuate your boat immediately if there is imminent danger of being trapped against rocks, brush, or any other kind of strainer.

If you swim, hold on to your boat. It has much flotation and is easy for rescuers to spot. Get to the upstream end so that you cannot be crushed between a rock and your boat by the force of the current. Persons with good balance may be able to climb on top of a swamped kayak or flipped raft and paddle to shore.

Release your craft if this will improve your chances, especially if the water is cold or dangerous rapids lie ahead. Actively attempt self-rescue whenever possible by swimming for safety. Be prepared to assist others who may come to your aid.

When swimming in shallow or obstructed rapids, lie on your back with feet held high and pointed downstream. Do not attempt to stand in fast moving water; if your foot wedges on the bottom, fast water will push you under and keep you there. get to slow or very shallow water before attempting to stand or walk. Look ahead! Avoid possible pinning situations including undercut rocks, strainers, downed trees, holes, and other dangers by swimming away from them.

If the rapids are deep and powerful, roll over onto your stomach and swim aggressively for shore. watch for eddies and slackwater and use them to get out of the current. Strong swimmers can effect a powerful upstream ferry and get to shore fast. If the shores are obstructed with strainers or under cut rocks, however, it is safer to “ride the rapid out” until a safer escape can be found.

If others spill and swim, go after the boaters first. Rescue boats and equipment only if this can be done safely. While participants are encouraged (but not obligated) to assist one another to the best of their ability, they should do so only if they can, in their judgment, do so safely. The first duty of a rescuer is not to compound the problem by becoming another victim.

The use of rescue lines requires training; uninformed use may cause injury. Never tie yourself into either end of a line without a reliable quick-release system. Have a knife handy to deal with unexpected entanglement. Learn to place set lines effectively, to throw accurately, to belay effectively, and to properly handle a rope thrown to you.