Extended Arm Tow
This tow is used with cooperative or unconscious casualties. It is the easiest tow if you relax the towing arm.
Your casualty should be towed behind you, not beside you which would be too much effort. Keep an eye on your casualty and look where you're going.
Hold on to the chin, not the throat, or the casualty can't breathe.
Swim with sidestroke or lifesaver's backstroke and don't kick the casualty.
Approach the casualty carefully.
Perform an extended arm rescue.
Pick up the casualty and extend your arm as you swim to safety.
This is the correct arm position for the extended tow.
Clothing Tow
Statistics from Japan say that about 80% of casualties are fully clothed. We can use that to our advantage with the clothing tow, a variation of the extended arm tow.
Approach the casualty from behind, get hold of the clothing just below the shoulder blades, and tow using sidestroke or backstroke. The clothes form a comfortable ring around the casualty's chest. This works well in turbulent water with a cooperative casualty.
