Near Tragedy at Point-No-Point 1/31/11

   I and "X", my buddy, went to Point-no-Point yesterday to catch the last day for salmon in area 10.  We got there around 8am, air temp 38, water mid-forties.  We geared up and launched into 10mph north wind, about 1 foot chop, pedaled out -- I in my Hobie Adventure, X in his revolution.  Got about 1/2 mile offshore to the north of PNP, 110 feet of water.  We were in VHF contact, maybe 1-200 yards apart.  I started marking fish after an hour or so and heard X holler "TER!!"---thought he hooked something, then heard "I'm in the water!!"

   I turned and sprinted over to him, he was beside his boat, hanging on.  I was bow-to-stern with his boat, he was between the boats.  He was wearing NRS farmer john wetsuit bottom, sweatshirt over cotton long-john top, and a winter jacket, under his life vest.   Tried to get him onto his deck, he was unable to kick up----only 10 minutes in the water and he was getting immobile, his wet clothing was weighing him down (he weighs >200 lbs).  He had tried to kneel on his seat and reach his tackle box on the rear deck, and got too close to the gunwale and went overboard.  The wind took his boat about 10 yards away, and he had to swim for it. That took what energy he had.  He got one hand under my stern bungees, and held onto his boat with the other, and got one leg up on my stern.  I got a good grip on his lifejacket with my right hand and pedaled for shore.  It took me about 20 minutes to get us into the shallows, he was able to stand on his own, but was pretty blue and hypothermic.  Got his wet clothes off, dry ones on, and into his truck with the heater going while I retrieved the boats.

   I am rethinking my choice of Kokatat Goretex bibs and Koke semi-dry top with folding Velcro neck seal!  The waist overlap-folding seal seems to be tight, but I intend a pool test this week, including going in head first with the neck folded over.  Any leakage, and it's full dry suit for me.  I didn't blink an eye at spending $1800 on a new Hobie, but thought $500 for the Meridian Angler drysuit was too much!!  I have a different opinion today.  X and I had talked in the past about clothing for winter paddling, and he was content with the wet suit Farmer John, but is now of a different mind.  And---his VHF was in the boat, not in his life-vest.  He could not have made an SOS call if I had been out of earshot.  "Be prepared" has taken on new meaning, no longer theoretical.

   X is OK today, relatively speaking, but pretty shaken.  I didn't sleep well last night, kept seeing him in the water between the boats, my knuckles white from my death-grip on his life jacket, and trying not to think of more sorrowful outcome.  There were no other boats within sight.  The only loss was his paddle, it came off sometime during the rescue.  My quads and ass are sore today, I was grateful that I have spent a lot of time this year on the exercise bike and elliptical stepper. It was incredibly strenuous pedaling 2 boats and a guy hanging in the water in between!  But today, the sky is bluer, and the sun so sweet, for we both made it home OK.

   The Mirage drive saved his life----I could not have paddled to shore and held him with one hand.  God bless the guy who invented the Mirage drive!!  I intend to have a throw line, and equip my boat with pad-eyes and lifelines.  My SINK sea kayaks all had lifelines along the gunnels, now I see how useful they can be.
And some exit and re-entry practice can really pay off.
   

Way to keep a level head KT!

It doesn't take but a second for things to turn bad out there.  The buddy I had to tow in thru the surf had a farmerjohn and paddle top combo on as well.  Once the water gets in the top, it doesn't take long to loose a lot of body heat. 

Were there any PB's out there you could have hailed in the event you couldn't tow him back?

-Spot-

Nicely done Terry.

What was the thickness of the wetsuit and what was the water temp?

-Allen

Please everyone .... NO COTTON ON THE WATER!!

It is unbelievable how fast things can go from a fun day on the water to life threatening. I have been involved in life saving experiences on the water and my hat is off to you KT!

Just reading that gives me chills. Glad your friend is doing well.

Be careful out there ...

Wow, that is a scary story! thankfully mr X is ok.

You da man Terry!

Nice work on keeping a level head and averting disaster KT.  Glad to hear that gear was the only thing lost and not life. 

I've seen snorkeling guide do one of 2 things for people that can't get back up on the SOT.

1) Dive under and give the person a stirrup lift.
2) Hang a piece a rope with a loop at one end attached to kayak at the other ... again, think stirrup.

-Allen

good save!

I wore the bibs/tech-tour combo Saturday but was too chicken to swim. I'll have to try it out soon.

Here is another idea of getting an exhausted guy back in his yak.
Pull up on the outside of his kayak and extend a paddle or net across to him and try to leverage him from the other side.

Thoughts?

It would definitely be a bit hairy and put your balance to the test, but would be better than getting in the water to push him in.

Talking through these things could prove very valuable down the road.

it's easier in a SINK because you can use both paddles to bridge the boats together, lean over both paddles and onto the other guys boat, then you can "walk" up their pfd with both hands until they're on deck. It's called "the hand of God" rescue

it's hard no matter what. even worse when they're unconscious.

It's good to practice 500 different ways to tow and rescue/re-enter on those hot summer days when you want to swim.

perimeter lines on yaks are also good for sliding paddles under with a paddle float on to make an outrigger to stabilize yaks for re-entry. or to bridge SOT's together.

I use a Northwater tow belt for longer stuff, and have a short tow tether attached to my rescue pfd harness for quicker tows.

There was a boat over at Double Bluff, several miles away, we had made VHF contact earlier.  BUt nothing within sight.

   I think a rescue seminar would be invaluable.  Back in my SINK days around 1989 or so, I attended a 3-day seminar at Pacific Watersports, with a pool session to teach the paddle-float rescue.  Great for SINKS, but something else is needed for our SOTS.  I llike the stirrup idea, you'd have to have non-floating line and the swimmer would have to have pretty good motor control to keep the boat form flipping when he put weight onto the loop.----X was kind of at the end of his rope, energy-wise.   

stirrups present entanglement problems some times, so not always the best, but might have been useful in that situation. a paddle float under perimeter lines would keep the boat from flipping back over.

I probably would've clipped both boats together with the tow tether, or paddle bridge the boats and hauled him hand over hand onto my boat.

staying calm, cool, & collected and directing the swimmer forcefully helps as well. I always tell people to let their feet float up to the surface behind them, grab the furthest line they can and kick and slide back onto the boat rather than trying to pull their entire body weight straight up and flipping the boat back over. It's way easier for everyone.

There was a boat over at Double Bluff, several miles away, we had made VHF contact earlier.  BUt nothing within sight.

   I think a rescue seminar would be invaluable.  Back in my SINK days around 1989 or so, I attended a 3-day seminar at Pacific Watersports, with a pool session to teach the paddle-float rescue.  Great for SINKS, but something else is needed for our SOTS.  I llike the stirrup idea, you'd have to have non-floating line and the swimmer would have to have pretty good motor control to keep the boat form flipping when he put weight onto the loop.----X was kind of at the end of his rope, energy-wise.   

I attach it to the opposite side they'll be re-entering on, or combine it with the paddle float under perimeter lines.

There was a boat over at Double Bluff, several miles away, we had made VHF contact earlier.  BUt nothing within sight.

   I think a rescue seminar would be invaluable.  Back in my SINK days around 1989 or so, I attended a 3-day seminar at Pacific Watersports, with a pool session to teach the paddle-float rescue.  Great for SINKS, but something else is needed for our SOTS.  I llike the stirrup idea, you'd have to have non-floating line and the swimmer would have to have pretty good motor control to keep the boat form flipping when he put weight onto the loop.----X was kind of at the end of his rope, energy-wise.   

Northwater makes a stirrup kit as well. you'd have to jerry rig it for SOT's, as they're designed to go around the combing on SINKs.

Wow, that is a wake-up report.  This is exactly the type of real world post that benefits us all,  I'm so glad your friend is well.  I think I have decided to use my leash while yakking, keep my VHF attached to my vest, and always remember to have my buddy kayaking with me.  Good job out there.
-Scott