Four of us sat the CLG exam on Sunday (31st May 2009) in TMCC. The rest of the group got together to practice a few times before the exam, but I didn't join them, so I was a little worried about communications during team work.
When we got there, Mimi gave us two rolls of duct tape and a dry cloth to fix the CLG kayaks. Seems like a rather nasty omen; we did what we could but the kayaks were still "less than ideal." We donated copious amount of blood in the boat storage area too (mosquito feasted on us.) After that, we sat the written exam. The questions were simple enough:
1) List the characteristics of a CLG kayak.
2) List all the towing methods, and their use.
3) How would you treat a patient with an open wound on the palm that is bleeding heavily?
We all did okay. I got dinged on Q1 for saying CLG boats are fiberglass; apparently they don't have to be. Also got dinged for saying that they are in yellow and orange stripes; turns out some CLG's are yellow and white (was rolling my eyes at that point.) As for Q2, since I took my lessons in Chinese, then wrote my exam in English, I got some of the terminologies wrong. For example, I didn't know the linked towing method was called tandem-tow.
Then the practical. We started with 5 minutes of testing-the-boats. Then we paired up to go through the practical:
1) Jump Out, Deep water self-rescue (emptying the boat), re-entry
We launched two boats at a time to do the above mentioned procedures. I think I did well, but got reprimanded for tossing my paddle onto the beach before I emptied my canoe near-shore.
2) Bow-carrier, Stern-carrier
We had to carry a patient on the bow to the yellow buoy outside the swimming area, according to the examiner that was about 100m. I'm pretty sure it was way over 200m but did not protest.
We had to instruct our patients to get on and off our kayaks.
Paddled against the current with a human-anchor at my bow took a long time, and my patient kept asking "are we there yet =_=" Understandably; the swells that go over your head with nasty bubbles and garbage weren't very pleasant.
Points to keep in mind:
1) patient's head must not go beyond the bow
2) patient must not let go of the rescuer's kayak at any time.
3) * * * patient must wrap his/her legs around rescuer's bow =_=
We protested #3, it creates extra drags for the paddler, and it's quite an ab work out for the patient too. Man Sir said we can experiment and use whichever style we felt most comfortable with. But the examiner is really gung-ho about it and I got MP'ed right on my second task.
Stern carrying was no problem.
3) Long Tow then Side Tow
We had to tow a disabled kayak to a red buoy, then change it to a short tow, and tow him back to the original buoy.
Everybody else got dinged for tying the short tow ring around the painter line; I only got away with it because Sam's kayak hasn't got a painter line. Examiner explained we must tie ourselves to the toggle and not the painter line; I challenged the examiner about this point, explaining how you can use the painter line as a runner to check on the patient etc, I think he accepted.
I attached the beaner to Sam's toggle for the long tow, and tied a bowline to his toggle for the short tow. Examiner checked my knot and seemed satisfied with how I set it up; but for some reasons he reprimanded the others ... maybe it's because they took a long time to undo the bowline knot. (struggling to undo towlines while dinghy-sailing has trained me to undo a bowline knot rather quickly, even at rough sea, and even when the line is under tension.) Examiner insisted that we should setup a short loop with our long towline for side-tow, and if we insist to use a short line, we must have a beaner at the end of the line for easy clip-on/ off.
4) X-rescue
I don't think he so much as looked at me while I emptied Sam's boat. I stayed in the X position for a long time, waiting for him to look. But the examiner seemed just as determined not to look my way, so I gave up and put my patient back into his boat before hypothermia claims him.
5) Swimmer to Canoe rescue, jump out, resuscitation with a floating canoe
Think I did okay, but for some reasons the examiner got onto Ester's case for holding onto the painter line...? I thought there is nothing wrong with that. When my floatation aid is too high up, I find it difficult to swim back to shore with my patient.
Examiner also questioned us about the resuscitation, we had to explain it's the mouth-to-nose variety.
6) Eskimo rescue
Examiner had two of us at each side of the self-rescue kayak. The examinee was to capsize, then the examiner would instruct one of the bystander-kayaks to paddle over and offer either a paddle shaft, or a bow.
Ester got dinged for offering the shaft before her canoe was at the right distance/angle. The patient nearly fell off as her paddle blade slid off the patient's bow. She also had trouble getting up, she said the paddle leash was in her way (??)
7) ABC team rescue.
We had to play rock, paper, scissors -- winner gets to be patient while the rest of us played ABC. Wai won, so the tallest, heaviest guy ended up playing the dummy... =_=
Sam was B, I was A, Ester was C. For some reasons she got to the wrong side and had to paddle around again to offer me the bow. Sam also complained about being stronger on the RHS and was very unhappy that he had to lift the patient on his LHS. Oh well, deal with it. In real life you may have to do a rescue on any side, so now is as good a time as ever to find out if you can work it through your LHS. I think, when they got together to practice, they probably kept practicing on the RHS, so they got confused when I picked up the patient on the left. (not trying to be pedantic, but the cheung tsui trial-and-error rescue is still burning at me. So I think you really should practice rescue in all thinkable positions.)
8) CPR scenario
Finally, we did CPR. Wai was patient again, the examiner showed us how it is done, we only had to answer questions like "what's wrong with this" or "how many seconds per breathe" or "how many cycles before you reevaluate?"
I didn't like some of what the examiner said (found it very subjective), but at the end, he offered a comment that I really liked:
To be a CLG, a few things are quintessential: number one is endurance; it takes a lot of energy to go through a rescue, and there is no way around it. (I whole-heartedly agreed; nodded so hard I could have snapped my C-spine.) Next, you must be skillful, with good techniques. Finally, you must be a natural leader; without leadership skills, if you fail to communicate, to instruct during the rescue, you can't complete your task. (also agreed. Have to wonder though, if bossiness is the same as leadership skills :p)
Afterwards we had lunch, and after lunch, we paddled our CLG kayaks to "the Brothers." (the smaller of the two Islands, which happens to be off-limit.) Saw a pilot ship hoisting a H-flag, and a few buoys. Nearly got ran over by a small MSC tanker, but turned around in time. Everybody got really excited about the boat waves; which brings back fond memories of launching from Lamma.
Didn't get back until well past 6 and mimi got very worried; a few TMCC members were looking for us, they called around to check with the nearby beaches but they didn't see us, Mimi told me she was about to call the police when we got back. I thought it was irresponsible of me to agree to launch without leaving a trip plan, asking for permission, or bringing my cell phone. Seriously felt bad about it, even before I launched I sort of knew I shouldn't, but I can't seem to turn down an invitation to go "tripping." Oh well, Denny's last instruction was "don't paddle too close to the swimming areas," at least I made sure everybody stayed REALLY far from it.
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