Mapping Emergency Capabilities

Andy Singh

Spatial awareness, is the feel you have when attempting an eskimo roll in your kayak. Its knowing the position of your upper hand to the hull, the position of your knees to the hull, the touch of the paddle blade on the surface on the water, and feeling when the next wave will arrive. Spatial awareness is the art of shaping how and knowing where to apply knowledge in the time of a crisis.

Expeditionary kayaking frequently involves remote area paddling. Almost as frequently, when things go wrong, there is no mobile service coverage to plan exits options and possible rescue responses. Part of the risk management approach and float management plan requires a detail assessment of emergency response capabilities. Visualising this capability helps to frame and communicate the possible options and risks to all within the expedition.

The first part of mapping emergency capabilities is to understand your own internal resources. Who has mobile phones, UHF radios, VHF radios, satellite phones, SPOT trackers, EPRIBs, GPS etc. What is your ability to communicate out? Who will get your signal? What information will they be provided? What are they likely to do with it?

Firstly, you need to know where you are. GPS and mobile phones should be able to provide exact longitude and latitude numbers. But communicating these can be a problem in a crisis, so What3Words is a great assistance. Be ready to offer What3Words in advance of long/lat numbers.

Secondly, you need to know how to communicate out. EPIRBS and SPOT trackers are generally dumb - they alert emergency services to your distress - they will contact your home base and the ascertain there might actually be an emergency - but they give no indication of what the emergency is.

Thirdly, if you are in mobile phone range, then happy days, otherwise you really need a satellite phone. This is the five star service of communicating location, nature of the emergency, and with the ability to consult on possible rescue efforts.

Ultimately it is about understanding the redundancy in your systems. Communicating out is about Plans A through to F.

The Darling River trip was a good example of the scarcity of emergency response capabilities. Help is hours away. Seemingly, but in reality the river is dotted with farm stations every couple of hours of paddling (20-30 kms), many with dirt airstrips hidden from view from the river. There are land based emergency services in both Mendinee and Wilcannia, and aviation services out of Broken Hill and helicopters out of Orange. But we need to know where the stations and airstrips are located. In case of an emergency, we would probably have a) communicate with emergency services b) be able to provide first aid across many hours c) split the group to reach out and find additional support from a local station d) prepare to receive an emergency response (airstrips, landing sites - mirrors, orange sheets, flares).

Once the emergency capabilities are effectively mapped against the expeditions' expectations, then a considered risk management plan can be established. Most important of all, call the local coppers, email them details of your plan, check your assumptions against their advice - they are after all, the ones on the ground.

Modern technologies help to make expedition kayaking safer. Mapping emergency capabilities helps in the process of auditing the technological capabilities within the group, to the corresponding capabilities on the other side. In the inevitable gap between request and response, members of the expedition remain responsible for dealing with the situation before them. Understanding the time and space within this gap, could be essentia