Definitely an interesting discussion. Kathleen and I spent many years paddling whitewater on day trips with our canoe club In Vancouver. Our goal was always to improve our skills to facilitate our extended trips on northern Canadian rivers, primarily in the NWT. On these day trips we continued to push ourselves: surfing deeper holes, ferrying across stronger currents, running rapids down increasingly more difficult routes. We eventually capsized, which was the inevitable outcome. Sometimes we were rescued by canoe-over-canoe, but usually we self-rescued. We followed the mantra: hold on to your paddle, grab the painter, get to the upstream end of the boat, check for your partner. Eventually we were able to swim the canoe to shore. We felt very confident. But then, our Mad River Explorer, fully air-bagged, with virtually no gear, rode high, and was fairly easy to haul, even in moving water.
We never tried to get back in the boat during self rescue. Only once did I see one of our club members do this. John was an excellent paddler, and very strong. He was paddling his MR Explorer solo, also fully bagged. He capsized in a Class II+ hole, which was recirculating him. He turned the boat right side up, manhandled his way aboard over the stern, and paddled away. I was very impressed.
Not everyone has those skills, though. I was once paddling Kathleen’s Mohawk XL 13 solo, on the Adams River in BC. Sally was paddling solo nearby, and, somewhat inexplicably, over she went. Sally was young, fit, experienced, and a better paddler than me. We were only about half-a-mile above the infamous and dreaded Class III Adams Canyon, with the current accelerating. I did the canoe-over-canoe, and said, “OK, Sally, roll back into your boat.”
”I can’t. I’ve never been able to do that.” I was very surprised, and towed her and her boat to shore, ferrying across the current. It was not easy.
Once, I was taking what could be called an advanced whitewater course on Vancouver Island. At one point the instructor asked each of the four students, all of us solo, to paddle into a deep hole and surf until we capsized. He wanted to see our self-rescue skills. The current was quite strong below the hole, and the river was filled with rocks, many of them quite large. Even with my canoe fully bagged, and virtually no gear, I went around three bends before I reached shore, at which point I was completely played out.
And now I come to my point. Kathleen and I generally wilderness trip in the NWT on our own. Fully-loaded boat, with a spray cover. Very cold water. You might think that I am full of hubris, or full of something else, but we are not going to capsize In calm water next to shore. If we were to capsize it would be in at least a Class III rapid, which has not happened so far. (All that practice with our canoe club.) Based on my preamble, I doubt that we would be able to quickly or easily self rescue. We have also paddled on large lakes, and made some fairly long open crossings. We paddle as hard as we can to reach the other side. A sudden wind, with a capsize, would be very challenging, to say the least. Suppose we missed grabbing the painter? When we surfaced, we would likely see the canoe drifting away in the wind,. We would never be able to catch up. Bad news indeed.
I have never been tempted to load my canoe full of gear, capsize it, and see if I can get back in. I was impressed with Alan’s video. But that was on calm water with no gear. Not at all representative of conditions where Kathleen and I might capsize. But then we have never capsized while wilderness tripping. As suggested by yknpdlr, we are not going to put ourselves in that situation. Kathleen and I do paddle challenging conditions. But that doesn’t mean that we are foolhardy.