Appendix c: Recovery of a Flipped ShellOnce you have properly taken care of your rowers who were involved in a capsize or swamping incident, your next step is to recover the shell. Not only is this a valuable piece of gear, but it also creates a traffic hazard for other users of the river. There are very definite steps to go about getting a shell back to the house and out of the water without creating additional damage. First an foremost, slow down, and assess the situation. One person needs to be in charge of the operation and give out direction to other helping parties. Then you need to be identify wind speed and direction, current speed and direction, and other hazards. Once you have these details in hand you can decide how best to move into position to work on the shell. Move slowly! First, recover all gear that has floated away from the shell, because recovery at a later time can be difficult. We are talking in terms of loose oars, coxboxes, speed coaches, etc. Clothes from the crew are secondary unless needed for emergency survival. For an 8 or possibly even a 4 you will need two launches and experienced coaches. You must determine if the shell is in danger of fully sinking due to damage. Then proceed: • If it is not already, roll the shell so that it is keel down. Before doing so remove the oars unless they are acting as floatation for a severely damaged shell. • Loop a rope through the bow or stroke seat footstretcher and fasten securely. Alternately you can attached to the stern or bow most riggers (i.e. bow pair). • Next, equalize and center the rope by looping it around the bow or stern (depending on which foot stretcher you tied off to, and secure with knots. Do this several times. Lead the remaining tow line out and attach to the stern of your launch. • At a slow and controlled pace move the launch away and towards your destination. As you get moving make sure that your prop is clear of the tow rope. Once the shell is back at the dock, the real work begins. You need to get as many people along the shell as possible as this will be heavy work. Make sure that everyone lifts from the legs and not from their lower backs. Everyone will lay hands on the shell and lift very slowly so that the dock side gunnel tilts up and the water side gunnel tilts towards the water. The idea here is to slowly drain as much water out of the shell as possible before attempting to lift the shell out of the water. all the way. The water side gunnel will still be in contact with the water. As people lift, the keel will be oriented so it is parallel to the dock. Once a significant amount of water has been drained in this manner, the shell can be lifted in a regular fashion. Alternatively, the shell can be placed back in the water and a water pumping device can be used to remove more excess water. The shell will still be heavy with water! Be careful. The shell must now be lifted over heads. First open and bow and stern deck ports. Alternating bow and stern, drop one end as low as possible while keeping the other end at heads. This will drain any excess water that is trapped in the boat. People will definitely get wet during this process, so make sure they have rain gear or extra clothing to change into during cold weather times. The same basic procedures for towing the shell can be used for moving a slightly swamped shell (gunnels above water), or dry shell as well. However,you may remove the oars and place them in the coaches launch.