Throwbags - Essential Safety Item

Throw bags have been standard safety items in the whitewater canoeing and rafting world for many years and most emergency authorities have adopted them too. As a Club we seem to have been slow to recognise their benefits - but we now have them aboard both patrol boats and have one permanently located beneath the Start Hut. (This should be left in place ready for instant emergency use at any time and NOT removed at the end of Sunday racing)

Basically throwbags are intended as a means of accurately and reliably throwing a rope. It is quicker and usually far more reliable to use a throw bag than to coil and throw a rope.

Where speed is of the essence, - such as when someone is in the water and needing help - it is usually far better to use the throw bag than to attempt to manoeuvre a boat alongside them.

The old fashioned lifebelts that are positioned by Thames Water at various points along the bank are not recommended. They are heavy and awkward to throw and can hurt the casualty if it hits them. Note that with most throw bags, if the first attempt is not successful, then the bag can be quickly retrieved and re-thrown with the water inside acting as a weight. For those not familiar with their use I will be happy to demonstrate.