Kayakers Flip off Plum Island

[Mysticbos]

Anyone know more about this story ?

Glad everyone was ok.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

June 5, 2006

A Coast Guard helicopter crew rescued two kayakers from waters south of Plum Island about 1:30 p.m. yesterday. Keith Attenborugh of Marlborough alerted the Coast Guard about 11 a.m. via hand-held radio that he and John Raleigh of Newburyport were in separate kayaks when they got caught in a current that caused their kayaks to flip. They climbed atop one of the overturned kayaks and launched a flare. Both were reported in good condition.

[djlewis]

http://cbs4boston.com/local/local_story_155164644.html

Coast Guard Saves Kayakers Off Plum Island

(CBS4) PLUM ISLAND Two kayakers are safe after they were plucked from waters south of Plum Island on Sunday afternoon.

According to the Coast Guard, Keith Attenborugh of Marlboro, Mass., and John Raleigh of Newburyport, Mass., were caught in a rip current, which caused their kayaks to flip.

Attenborugh contacted the Coast Guard on his hand held radio.

Both men, who were wearing life jackets and dry suits at the time of the accident, waited for the Coast Guard to arrive on top of an overturned kayak. The men lit a flare to alert the Coast Guard as to where they were stranded.

Attenborugh and Raleigh were transported to Plum Island Airport, where they denied medical attention, though both are said to be in good condition.

“The four attributing factors to these men surviving were the life jackets and dry suits they were wearing, in addition to the flares and hand-held VHF radio they had on board," said Lt. Greg Callaghan, Coast Guard Sector Boston duty officer.

---------------------

and lots of repetition here...

http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&tab=wn&i..._155164644.html

[kattenbo]

>Anyone know more about this story ?

>Glad everyone was ok.

>

>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

>June 5, 2006

>

>A Coast Guard helicopter crew rescued two kayakers from

>waters south of Plum Island about 1:30 p.m. yesterday. Keith

>Attenborugh of Marlborough alerted the Coast Guard about 11

>a.m. via hand-held radio that he and John Raleigh of

>Newburyport were in separate kayaks when they got caught in

>a current that caused their kayaks to flip. They climbed

>atop one of the overturned kayaks and launched a flare. Both

>were reported in good condition.

Well, that's not a bad summary - we ended up using two radios (after the first 90 minutes the battery in mine gave out so we switched to John's - not a cell phone as one radio report mentioned), and 8 flares (once we received confirmation via radio that someone was close enough to see them) used to help the Coast Guard and Ipswich Harbor Master pinpoint our location. We are in good condition after being in the water for probably 2.5 hours (we probably went in around 10:20 - 10:30, spent the first 30 - 40 minutes trying to get ourselves extricated, then called the Coast Guard), thanks to dry suits, adequate fleece and fuzzy rubber hoods (if anyone finds a white Tilley hat with a Qajaq USA patch on the front, it's mine). Our hands are a bit beat up and sore from hanging onto John's boat, and we both were a bit chilled, but other than that ok.

Coast Guard (thank you thank you thank you) sent out two boats, which couldn't get to us due to conditions and lack of sufficient depth, so brought in a helicopter with swimmer to pull us out. Ipswich Harbor Master (thank you thank you thank you) couldn't get to us either due to breaking waves, etc., but was intrumental in vectoring the Coast Guard to our location and (thank you again) managed to retrieve both of our boats.

We'll be writing up a more thorough after action report with a description of conditions, what happened and lessons learned, but it will take a bit to get it all down and sorted out, so look for it next week.

Bottom line, thanks to right gear, training and the Ipswich Harbor Master and US Coast Guard, we're ok. Thanks to all who were involved.

Keith

[ccarlson]

Keith, glad you're both OK... must have been a harrowing experience!

There are a few photos that were taken by the Coast Guard... I posted them on my Webshots page.

http://community.webshots.com/album/551087040MudEqJ

[djlewis]

OK, is this Keith or John dangling?

http://image64.webshots.com/164/9/59/25/28...22XTMPZa_ph.jpg

[eneumeier]

Keith,

I am really glad you two are okay. Give my best to John.

Liz N.

[mumichog]

While your gear would lead me to believe you were experienced paddlers, your decision to go in such conditions does not. What were you guys thinking?

Certainly, I am glad you survived unscathed and I'm sorry about the possible loss of your boats - that has to hurt. But unless you forced to go kayaking for some unexplained reason, I am baffled about what type of responsible paddler would decide to go out in fairly dangerous conditions, knowing that an accident could result in his death or the injury or death of people forced to go and rescue you.

[sings_evil_twin]

You paddle? You risk taker!!!

Life is safer when you stay home all day and watch TV. Best adventures are on TV. I love working my fingers on the remote.

sing

[rick stoehrer]

i disagree with you - what's really dangerous to one person may not be as dangerous to another person with different skill sets, experience, etc.

seems you're guessing circumstance and presume errors made - it's probably better to get the story first. you don't know yet, do you?

for instance - if you are going to presume wisdom and experience via gear...what's that say? that stuff conveys experience/wisdom? i disagree. it means you bought stuff.

my 2 cents.

[RogerPollock]

Whoa, whoa . . .

You could hear this coming a million miles away . . .

We don't yet know what happened, nor all the details . . . too early to pass any judgement, if ever at all . . .

There are paddlers who venture out on only flatwater, those who paddle the ocean in only fair weather, those who spend the time they could be paddling steeped in the on-line nitpick society, and that's their perogative, and there are some who seek conditions to challenge their skills - which can be a fine line, and things can go wrong. These guys were as prepared as could be to deal with that potential - which we all tell each other TO be - where others not as prepared may not have made it back at all.

We each accept the risk we're willing to accept, and, God forbid and say a Hail Mary, there are those of us yet who may ride the line into the sky . . .

[Jed]

. . when your name gets in the paper. But in this case it sure beats the alternative. Glad to hear you are both safe. The 'sound' can get a whole lot uglier than many people imagine. Take care of yourself and don't fret too much over the comments that the flat-water paddlers will toss into this thread.

Cheers,

Jed

The ability to defend our beliefs with absolute certainty . . .

   . . . is often inversely proportional to our level of experience.

[cmfos]

Glad you guys are alright. I hope in the coming days, you'll give us an account of what happened so that we can all learn from your experience.

Jim Fessenden

"Two Eskimos sitting in a kayak were

chilly, so they lit a fire in the craft.

Unsurprisingly it sank, proving once

again that you can't have your kayak

and heat it too."

VCP Avocet, Aqua

NDK Explorer, White on White

[PeterB]

No one needs to be lecturing anyone else on safety, gear, or judgment at this time ,especially before all the facts are in. For my money I will defer to the paddlers own after- action report ; when it is shared with us I hope its author does not have to weather any more undeserved comments.

I know one of the paddlers and I would go out with him any time: if he’d have me.

[Michael_Crouse]

Thanks Peter, if I was a more articulate person that's exactly what I would have said.

Glad to hear everything turned out ok.

[Nick Schade]

>We'll be writing up a more thorough after action report with

>a description of conditions, what happened and lessons

>learned, but it will take a bit to get it all down and

>sorted out, so look for it next week.

Keith, I'm glad it all ended well.

Anything you write will open you up to criticism, but it will be quite valuable for people to see how an experienced paddler can still get in trouble. While you may feel embarrassed in some ways, it would be a great service to have a comprehensive report on what when wrong and what you did to deal with it. Getting it written down quickly will help keep the details fresh in your mind.

Hopefully people can keep the idle speculation to a minimum until we have a chance to learn more details.

Thanks,

Nick

[Gillian]

Keith, to echo the others, I'm incredibly glad you're both safe and appreciate that you'll share your story when ready, especially as someone still fairly to the pursuit of sea kayaking . . . I for one would consider myself lucky to paddle with you some day . . .

[Dave]

Hey, my login still works! Lol.

Was watching the late news last night to find out about a couple kayakers here in Uxbridge (who were rescued and OK) and saw the report on Keith and John.

Good to see that the right combination of gear and preparedness prevailed and very glad you are both ok!

Funny, I haven't been logging in lately... haven't had the boat wet in some time either... but I see many familiar names still posting very postive stuff. Great community.

Keith and John, I hope to read your story, in your words soon. Oh, and Keith... I hope you find your hat!

Dave English

[cathyfoley]

Really glad to hear you're both OK....just shows what good training does......so what happened to your boats? Hope they were recovered and returned to you.

[kattenbo]

Thanks to everyone for all of the comments, well wishes and honest expressions of opinion. They are greatly and sincerly appreciated, especially since I've been on somewhat of a haitus from club participation for a while.

John and I are starting to work on the after action report, but I was frankly a little trashed yesterday (bad pun intended) and had a full day of work to get through today, so I'll probably start drafting it tomorrow. I've already checked some of the times with the USCG (thank you) and am working a better positioning of the incident from the charts.

In terms of the very legitimate question raised about should we have been out there at all - that's really the first and fundemental decision any kayaker makes on any trip - whether to go out or not. The obvious, and very possibly correct, answer after one has had to be plucked from familiar waters by helicopter is "H*&% no". So part of the report will be about the decision process to actually launch in the first place. Hopefully it will not seem as totally irrational as it might first appear. And thanks to y'all who jumped in to get me a little time to lay out the response.

Finally for this note and echoing Jed's comment, this is not how you want to get your 15 minutes of fame. Especially when you get a call from your mother-in-law from Connecticut asking if you're ok and who was wondering why she had to hear about it from her cousin in California who saw it in USA Today. Not a pretty conversation.

More to follow (and yes, it will probably be one of my usual long reports).

Keith

[mumichog]

Man, some of the replies here infer some serious ignorance. The Coast Guard is not the savior of last resort for people who want to push the envelope just to get their kicks.

just look at these remarks-

"We each accept the risk we're willing to accept, and, God forbid and say a Hail Mary, there are those of us yet who may ride the line into the sky . . ."

"You paddle? You risk taker!!!

Life is safer when you stay home all day and watch TV. Best adventures are on TV. I love working my fingers on the remote. ;)"

How do you think these comments sound to the families of the rescuers? Such bravado is just peachy as long as no one dies trying to save people who didn't have the sense not take unwarranted risk or didn't possess the guts to live with their poor judgement and accept the consequences without endangering others. A friend of mine lost his best friend in small avalanche while on a rescue mission on Mt. Washington trying to save three climbers (all survived) that foolishly decided they could handle the coming weather conditions. My friend was crushed and the dead man's family and friends will never have this young man back because of the poor judgement of others. If they ever find themselves in a jam of their own making will the authors of the two comments quoted above have the bravery to either find their own way out or die rather risk soemone else's life trying to save them simply because they couldn't stand to "stay at home all day and watch TV?"

[Kevin B (RPS Coach)]

>How do you think these comments sound to the families of the

>rescuers? Such bravado is just peachy as long as no one

>dies trying to save people who didn't have the sense not

>take unwarranted risk or didn't possess the guts to live

>with their poor judgement and accept the consequences

>without endangering others. A friend of mine lost his best

>friend in small avalanche while on a rescue mission on Mt.

>Washington trying to save three climbers (all survived) that

>foolishly decided they could handle the coming weather

>conditions. My friend was crushed and the dead man's family

>and friends will never have this young man back because of

>the poor judgement of others.

I regret that you were personally touched by the tragedy you described, but I also want to point out the obvious that rescuers choose their profession and no one forces them to go. You would then have to ask why the rescuers themselves would take the unnecessary risk of trying to rescue those in trouble when they have loved ones at home. In a sense, one could say that sometimes rescuers have poor judgement as well since they can choose at anytime to abort a rescue mission.

In this case you cannot assume poor judgement was the cause until you get the facts from those involved. Life is about managing risk, not avoiding it (which is impossible). What may seem to be unmanageable risk to one person may be perfectly manageable to another who has experience and training.

[mumichog]

You're kidding, right?

[Poncho]

Albert Dow?

[SeanK]

Keith & John – I am happy to hear that both of you are doing well. I am also heartened to hear that you are willing to talk about your ordeal.

Dear NSPN,

I think it’s a lot easier to look into the limited knowledge obtained through news reports to cast an opinion on these events. As Keith has written in hindsight, his decision to go out was not the best of choices. Hopefully, he’ll let us know as to how and why he made that decision so we can learn from him as well as other things that ‘could have gone better.’

We are a club whose purpose is to provide and educate safe paddling for and from our membership. In this recent event, we have witnessed one of our more seasoned members undergo something that we as a paddling community usually would only read and talk about from someone outside our membership. As this hits close to home, I think that this demonstrates that we ALL are capable of making an incorrect judgment, regardless of our knowledge and technical abilities.

Over the past year we have seen the club torn on the issue of risk management and how we want to develop ourselves as qualified leaders and educated participants. The right decision and good judgment dictate whether we have a good enjoyable time on the water versus a bad trip occurring at the start.

I do not feel this is time to declare our opinion as to what is right or wrong. Rather I believe this is a time to learn to help our own decision making for future paddling excursions.

Sean

[B]

I'm glad you both are well. I am saddened and humbled by your experience. As usual, you continue to provide us all with valuable lessons. Thank you for your strength. It's always been a beacon for many of us to follow.

All my best to you and John. Your friend always,

B

Bob Burnett

Seattle

Puget Sound Paddlers Network