Accident in Portland

[mjg]

Yesterday and today, we just found out about a tragic kayaking accident here in Portland. This really hit home in that I went out with a buddy on Sunday morning. We left at 7, paddled around Cushing Island and went by both Ram and Peaks Island. The morning was great and the Whitehead Rocks on Cushing Island were beautiful. Here's a photo of the area...

http://picpoke.com/im/2b36lw

When we got back to shore around 10, it was getting breezy and choppy, with 1-2 ft waves with whitecaps and the tide coming in. I paddled cross wind and found it difficult to stay on course. And there was lots of spray, but it wasn't scary. We stopped worrying about the waves when we spotted a 40' sailboat coming up the shipping lane that we were crossing. Once we got clear of it, we were into smoother water. Looking back over the crossing, it was pretty much whitecaps all the way back. After I got back to Portland, it was blowing even harder, with a small craft advisory in effect.

The two women left Peaks Island in the early afternoon to go to Ram Island, and then ran into problems...

http://wbztv.com/wireapnewsme/Kayaking.outing.in.2.1697831.html

An accident like this really made me take a step back and try to determine if I am ready for situations like this. While I am comfortable in my Kodiak, I realize there are conditions that can pop up beyond my skill. I wear a drysuit, use the spray skirt, have flares, mirror, and strobe light. I do think that I need more lessons so I can rely more on bracing if needed. Also, my wife has demanded I get a VHF radio, just in case, so that's in the works.

I guess the other lesson that comes from this is the importance of staying with your kayaks. The searchers found their kayaks Sunday evening, but didn't find the women until 9am or so Monday. If they could have stayed with the kayaks, they might have been found in time.

I hope their story helps you as well.

Myron

[davekru]

Myron, your warning is very timely. Word I got was the two young women were not attired for cold water protection at all, so that even if they had tried to stay with their boats, likely hypothermia would have made it impossible for them to hold onto them. One was found capsized; the other was upright. They can not have been very experienced in paddling your cold waters.

That you wear a dry suit speaks volumes about your awareness of the demanding waters you paddle.

I agree with your wife: a VHF is a critically important item for your safety kit in those waters. Get one rated from submersion, and tuck it into a PFD pocket.

What a sad thing ... so young and full of promise, and so gone, gone, gone.

[Rogue Paddler]

Your probably right about the water temp etc Dave. One wonders if they checked the weather forecast for that day, and their lack of clothing sounds like it would match a lack of experience kayaking in open waters. I'm guessing that when they reached the island and saw the wind picking up they decided to try and get back to their starting point before it got worse. If they had stayed on the island their survival chances would not have been an issue, even if they had to huddle together under a kayak....eventually they would have been found.
A sobering story, but a wake up call to the rest of us to raise our levels of planning and equipment.
David in Santa Monica
Yukon Exp, Kodiak Exp, and Citibot

[davekru]

These incidents seem to occur year after year, even though the information about cold water effects on the body and the danger of wind on the water is available. People ignore (or do not seek) advice and info on paddling, which seems like such an "easy" sport. I know before I got savvy, I had a couple of very nasty experiences which could have turned out badly for me.

Education is the key, but when people ignore warning signs and do stupid things, what can you do to help them?

[PeteS]

There are also stupid people out there. When I ran the marina, 4 guys were launching a 14' low-profile aluminum pram (I wouldn't be caught dead in it) with a 3 hp outboard. NO PFDs, no gas tank (only what was in the motor), 4 fishing poles, a bucket of bait and a cooler of beer. These jerks were going fishing! The Sheriff rented a sub-station at the marina so I told them these guys were going to drown. They were stopped before they got going. That would not have ended well. They didn't have a clue there was anything wrong with their plan.

[ozarque]

I don't want to sound like an old fogey, and I certainly don't want show anything but respectful reverence for the victims and their friends or families, but there seems to be a similar dangerous general trend amongst many modern casual recreationists.
'Live life without a plan' is sort of a mantra for the x-generation and beyond when it comes to how they use their free time. With the ability to achieve instant communication with smartphones and similar devices, a spontaneous mode of existence is made possible. This spontaneity often does not include any pre-planning. When the spur-of-the-moment opportunity arises to do something 'edgy' or 'extreme', the lack of proper safety equipment usually will not be a factor great enough to stop the determined adventurist from the activity.
The popularization of the 'skateboard mentality' that shows no heed for personal injury and in fact glorifies it, may illustrate the social prototype of this personality type.
In spite of this trend, these two young women are not the object of this criticism and their mishap is genuinely undeserved and sadly unfortunate.

[davekru]

John,

The more detailed article describing these two young ladies suggests they are not typical of the folks you describe. I suspect they were naive, and not at all devil may care. I agree that mentality is out there for the millenium generation.

Like you, I am sad for their deaths, but suspect we will see more of these as folks with little experience or training paddle on cold waters. 48 F is brutal if you are suddenly immersed.

[flatwater]

This thread makes me realize that when I'm out there enthusiastically promoting Folbot and paddling, I should also be promoting "smart" paddling. I need to work in the rest of the "stuff" that goes with the boat.

When I show people that the boat goes in a bag, I should also show them the rest of my bags with safety and cold water gear. And mention that I NEVER go on the water without WEARING my PFD.

If we promote our Folbots in the context of the rest of the gear and knowledge necessary for safe paddling, we'll be doing the best job possible. Our listeners are then responsible for learning to be smart paddlers as well.

[PeteS]

You are right on track with that Flatwater. Don't show people this picture! There is not one PFD on anyone....but the boats were much larger in those days...
You could afford to sit on your PFD.

[bagboater]

It sure would be nice if we could still get the flags.

73 Gary