Kayakers keep rescue crews busy

[alcoons]

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-0...POE=click-refer

Kayakers keep rescue crews busy - USA Today - onllne 4/30/08

"Brandon Andrusic and Tim Gutmann were experienced kayakers planning a quick paddle around Wood Island off the coast of Biddeford Pool, Maine.

A mile offshore, they ran into much rougher surf than they expected. They struggled against the swells. Andrusic eventually lost sight of his friend and capsized, but he made it to Wood Island.

A large rescue effort found Guttman's body the next day. Nearly a year later, not a day goes by "without me running through things I wish I could change about that day," says Andrusic, an admissions officer at the University of New England. "We were too casual about going out. It was getting late; we were overconfident."

Popularity of sport growing

An explosion in the number of kayakers along the nation's waterways, on lakes and at sea is making harrowing stories such as Andrusic's all-too common. At the same time, it's putting a strain on Coast Guard and other marine search-and-rescue crews and prompting calls for new laws requiring kayakers to take boating safety courses....."

[djlewis]

Nearly a year later...

Here's are some contemporary accounts...

http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/news/loc...510kayaker.html

http://www.seacoastonline.com/apps/pbcs.dl.../NEWS/705100401

Guttman, the man who died, was wearing a shorty wet suit -- in Maine, in March, in marginal weather and conditions. That doesn't speak too well for his kayaking savvy, nor even for his companion, who, dry-suited, obviously knew better but failed to stop his buddy.

Conditions like "winds at 22 knots and five-foot seas were reported Tuesday evening, and a small craft advisory was in effect. Water temperature was approximately 44 degrees." do not often come up without any warning. Apparently some thought they were hit by a rogue wave, but it seems more likely that the prevailing conditions were to blame, with perhaps a larger but statistically probable wave.

Pardon my dissection, but I always like to look at these incidents and ask if the victims were truly experienced, properly equipped, and exercising good judgment. They rarely pass all those tests and generally fail two or three out of three. I'd say they certainly failed two in this case, perhaps all three. Only the Plum Island Pair has come even close to passing, so far.

--David.

[glil]

OK, there is obviously a lack of education/knowledge/common sense/etc with kayakers and sometimes things go really bad with experienced kayakers. We hear about tragic accidents, including a man from my town who was recently trapped in a hydroulic below a low head dam.

The following quotes are from the linked article. I appreciate that the need for education is being realized. I am all for education and NSPN does a great job with providing education to kayakers but why are kayakers getting the bad rap when in 2006 there were 27 kayaking fatalities out of 710 total boating relating fatalities. That's 27 too many, but why are kayakers being singled out as the "greatest risk in the recreational boating community"? What about the other 683? I understand the drain any accident can put on rescue crews and understand the potential risk to the rescuers, but how do 27 kayak fatalities "out drain" 683 other boating fatalities?

Gay

"Paddling represents our greatest risk in the recreational boating community," says John Fetterman, a member of the Maine Marine Patrol and president of the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators. For rescue teams, it's become "a huge drain."

"In the Coast Guard, the number of kayak rescues — many of which involve multiple boats and helicopters — is escalating. "It does take us away from other high-priority missions, like maritime security," says spokesman Brendan McPherson. The Coast Guard is tasked with protecting the nation's ports and harbors against terrorists."

"The Coast Guard does track boating fatalities. In 2006, the most recent year for which numbers are available, 27 people died kayaking. That's still a small percentage of the 710 people who died in boating accidents. Most died in motorboat accidents, when speed is often a factor. Statistics show 72 people died in canoe accidents during that year."

[JohnHuth]

There was a mass-mailing about on-water safety about a month ago, that included those statistics. From what I recall, motorboat accidents dominated, by far, the number of fatal accidents.

My impression is that kayaking accidents are more dramatic from the standpoint of a journalist. To that I would add accidents involving commercial fishing vessels. I can't quite put my finger on why this would be. One thought is this: a large fraction of the accidents with recreational motorboats are associated with alcohol usage. I'd imagine that journalists might want to skip over coverage of things like that and, in fact, forcus on rarer incidents. So - in some sense rare=dramatic.

I forget the statistics of drunk driving fatalities, but it's rather large in this country. Soon after 9/11, although that was horrifying, it dawned on me that, averaged over the course of a single year, we had far more fatalities from drunk driving than from 9/11 - yet a huge amount of rhetoric is/was focused on the dead of 9/11. Why? It was rare and dramatic.

[Div3SOPE]

http://a013.uscgaux.info/OP_PS/OP_PS.html

[cathyfoley]

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-0...POE=click-refer

Kayakers keep rescue crews busy - USA Today - onllne 4/30/08

"Brandon Andrusic and Tim Gutmann were experienced kayakers planning a quick paddle around Wood Island off the coast of Biddeford Pool, Maine.

A mile offshore, they ran into much rougher surf than they expected. They struggled against the swells. Andrusic eventually lost sight of his friend and capsized, but he made it to Wood Island.

A large rescue effort found Guttman's body the next day. Nearly a year later, not a day goes by "without me running through things I wish I could change about that day," says Andrusic, an admissions officer at the University of New England. "We were too casual about going out. It was getting late; we were overconfident."

Popularity of sport growing

An explosion in the number of kayakers along the nation's waterways, on lakes and at sea is making harrowing stories such as Andrusic's all-too common. At the same time, it's putting a strain on Coast Guard and other marine search-and-rescue crews and prompting calls for new laws requiring kayakers to take boating safety courses....."

Interesting in the statistics provided by Rick from the CG that cold water is not cited as a factor in any of the deaths, yet alcohol is.

[Pintail]

WARNING: philosophical content (therefore potentially boring?)

I agree with the person (Gay?) who asked why kayakers should appear to be made the butt of so many reports or allegations regarding safety...if the authorities are so damned determined to make boating sanitised, homogenised and pasteurised, why on earth do they stop there? Driving on the roads is far more hazardous, I would have thought -- and with good reason: the standard of driving is appalling in the United States. No, I am not in bashing mood; I am simply stating what every visitor or expatriate already knows: American drivers are <really> bad!

The ease with which any youngster can get his or her licence is amazing, compared with anywhere else I have lived. That, in itself, is not necessarily bad; but the attitude to road use <is>. Adults (and even most police) are guilty of setting a bad example almost all the time, it seems to me: if we profess to attain high standards in one field, then why do we accept lower standards in any other?

<We> here in this forum aspire, most of us, to good seamanship and technique; then why do we not aspire to similarly high standards in other tasks we perform (like driving)? In my professional flying days in Africa all my friends did likewise (performing "by the book"), yet when many of them got out of the aircraft and behind the wheel of a motorcar, their standards went out of the window!

Self-discipline is all that is required to overcome this sloppiness. Driving is potentially lethal and one hand on the wheel (as just one example) is totally inadequate and affords no control in the event of an emergency. If only we could imbue in our children a sense of responsibility (towards their fellow members of society, fellow road users). I am trying to draw parallels here -- not, in my opinion, irrelevant or out of place!

End of rant: do I make sense? I am also feeling less-than enamoured of the Environmental Police after a minor run-in last week; but that is another story! (Warning #2: the PFD rules are still in force and I am told that the Environmental cops are very powerful. They evidently do not know as much about boating as the USCG, who can employ some degree of discrimination)

[JohnHuth]

Stepping aside from the irritation, it would be interesting to know what the Coast Guard really thinks about sea kayakers. I'm pretty sure that there are people on the message board who have some contacts.

I could imagine that with an alcohol related power-boat fatality, there's not much that one can do about it - they just crash and burn, and there's no search-and-rescue operation, just a tag-em-and-bag-em. It could very well be that the nature of kayak accidents requires a more extensive diversion of resources, since deaths are rarely instantaneous. I'm not saying this is the case, but there must be some reason for the scrutiny that we feel.

[gyork]

And in related news today....

http://www.concordmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dl...EWS01/805010411

The headline might have been different, had there not been others nearby.

[PeterB]

And in related news today....

http://www.concordmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dl...EWS01/805010411

The headline might have been different, had there not been others nearby.

'The water was less than 40 degrees, Andrews said. Goodsell and Lemire, who were not carrying life jackets, were in the water for about 10 minutes. They turned down a ride to Concord Hospital for evaluation. '

I wonder if this article has the facts straight. I doubt that anyone who spent ten minutes in water that was less than 40 degrees would be turning down a ride to Concord hospital for further observation, let alone depart under their own power. I would guess that the article either got the water temperature or time spent in water wrong, probably the former.

I hope that nobody reads this article and then thinks that they can spend that amount of time in water that cold without more severe consequences.

[rcohn]

'The water was less than 40 degrees, Andrews said. Goodsell and Lemire, who were not carrying life jackets, were in the water for about 10 minutes. They turned down a ride to Concord Hospital for evaluation. '

I would guess that the article either got the water temperature or time spent in water wrong, probably the former.

I hope that nobody reads this article and then thinks that they can spend that amount of time in water that cold without more severe consequences.

Since a few hardy souls are swimminig in Walden Pond, also in Concord, and from rolling there I would estmate the surface water is in the upper 50s maybe even low 60s. I expect the temperature is way off, sub 40 degrees water really hurts.

Ralph

[EEL]

Winnipesaukee's temp is now 44 so a small pond around Concord, NH is likely a bit warmer, but not by much. Ice has been out only for a week or so even on some ponds. Still 50 is a good guess and that is a far cry from sub 40.

Ed Lawson

[spuglisi]

Since a few hardy souls are swimminig in Walden Pond, also in Concord, and from rolling there I would estmate the surface water is in the upper 50s maybe even low 60s. I expect the temperature is way off, sub 40 degrees water really hurts.

Ralph

Ralph,

I think the pond in the article is in Concord NH not Concord MA

[Pintail]

"...it would be interesting to know what the Coast Guard really thinks about sea kayakers..."

The last CO at USCG Merrimac (ie, Newburyport) was himself a kayaker. He and his family lived at Annisquam light.

[rick stoehrer]

"...it would be interesting to know what the Coast Guard really thinks about sea kayakers..."

there is a posting i think about a uscgaux event the 17th of may over on the commercial board.

(http://www.nspn.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=4651)

if you were really curious i suppose you could just ask one of the folks in those smart looking jumpers.

[rick stoehrer]

by all means, please feel free to contact the gent in maine with your concerns....i have highlighted his name for clarity

WASHINGTON, April 30 (UPI) -- The growing popularity of kayaking in the United States is prompting rescue organizations to call for laws requiring kayakers to take boating safety courses.

The head of the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators says an explosion in the number of kayakers along the nation's waterways has become a "huge drain" on rescue teams, USA Today reported Wednesday.

"Paddling represents our greatest risk in the recreational boating community," says John Fetterman, who is also a member of the Maine Marine Patrol.

Fetterman told USA Today he supports legislation to require kayakers to take courses that teach them the basics of water safety.

No government agency tracks the number of kayak-related rescues nationally each year but the U.S. Coast Guard does track boating fatalities. Twenty-seven people died kayaking in 2006, the most recent year for which numbers are available, USA Today says.

Experts says one of the reasons for the sport's popularity is that kayaks are relatively inexpensive and can be hauled and used with ease.

[jonsprag1]

the cynic in me says that the reason why the State of Maine Marine patrol says that kayakers are their primary worry is that for the past three years the state of Maine has been trying to pass legislation to require registration of kayaks(for a fee of course). Every time this matter comes before the legislature the rationale is that it costs money to search and rescue kayakers. I really don't see how this is a more significant problem now than it was 10 years ago.

[chetpk]

Missing Kayaker on the Connecticut River who doesn't appear to have been wearing his PFD.

PIERMONT – A search is resuming on the Connecticut River at this hour for a Vermont kayaker reported missing last night, after he departed for a paddle and an afternoon picking fiddlehead ferns.

Robert Swantak, 58, of Bradford, Vt., was last seen at 2 p.m. yesterday, when he left from a boat landing in Bradford on the Waits River, where it spills into the Connecticut River a few hundred yards downstream, according to New Hampshire Fish and Game Lt. Todd Bogardus.

Swantak’s upside down kayak, with a life preserver attached to it, was located last night on the Connecticut River in Orford. The location is several miles downstream from the confluence of the Connecticut and the Waits, Bogardus said.

[JohnHuth]

"Paddling represents our greatest risk in the recreational boating community," says John Fetterman, who is also a member of the Maine Marine Patrol.

OK, so we agree that, in fact, he is completely wrong in his assertion, as the statistics indicate otherwise.

[risingsn]

WARNING: philosophical content (therefore potentially boring?)

I agree with the person (Gay?) who asked why kayakers should appear to be made the butt of so many reports or allegations regarding safety...if the authorities are so damned determined to make boating sanitised, homogenised and pasteurised, why on earth do they stop there? Driving on the roads is far more hazardous, I would have thought -- and with good reason: the standard of driving is appalling in the United States. No, I am not in bashing mood; I am simply stating what every visitor or expatriate already knows: American drivers are <really> bad!

The ease with which any youngster can get his or her licence is amazing, compared with anywhere else I have lived. That, in itself, is not necessarily bad; but the attitude to road use <is>. Adults (and even most police) are guilty of setting a bad example almost all the time, it seems to me: if we profess to attain high standards in one field, then why do we accept lower standards in any other?

<We> here in this forum aspire, most of us, to good seamanship and technique; then why do we not aspire to similarly high standards in other tasks we perform (like driving)? In my professional flying days in Africa all my friends did likewise (performing "by the book"), yet when many of them got out of the aircraft and behind the wheel of a motorcar, their standards went out of the window!

Self-discipline is all that is required to overcome this sloppiness. Driving is potentially lethal and one hand on the wheel (as just one example) is totally inadequate and affords no control in the event of an emergency. If only we could imbue in our children a sense of responsibility (towards their fellow members of society, fellow road users). I am trying to draw parallels here -- not, in my opinion, irrelevant or out of place!

End of rant: do I make sense? I am also feeling less-than enamoured of the Environmental Police after a minor run-in last week; but that is another story! (Warning #2: the PFD rules are still in force and I am told that the Environmental cops are very powerful. They evidently do not know as much about boating as the USCG, who can employ some degree of discrimination)

"a sense of responsibility", good luck finding that! We have been teaching our kids for the last 50 years that it's not their/our fault (what ever it is) we are not responsibile. We had a bad childhood, took drugs (the drugs made me do it, yeah thats it), to much drinking and the list goes on. So there for it is simply not our fault that we... fill in the blank. So the solution is to give people back their responsibility, you fail a grade in school, you get 'left back' (remember self esteem comes from accomplishment), commit a crime 'pay the price', kill someone in a car or boat accident...you get the idea. Well their you have it all in the spirit of a good rant.

[rick stoehrer]

OK, so we agree that, in fact, he is completely wrong in his assertion, as the statistics indicate otherwise.

well, yes. but never let fact get in the way of a good sound bite, especially if you're trying to get something....like funding.

[JohnHuth]

well, yes. but never let fact get in the way of a good sound bite, especially if you're trying to get something....like funding.

Is there a thread on the Maine fee issue? I need to educate myself on this.

I know little about the world of sail and motoring recreation, but from what little glimpses I've had of it, there's a whole minor cottage industry that makes its living off of fees and licenses of various kinds, and it get pretty scruffy. Is it this: they've already milked the guys who drink and drive the motorboats, so it's time to turn to the fast growing sport of sea-kayaking? Seems a bit mafia-like. "Hey, that's a nice kayak. It sure would be a shame to see anything nasty happen to it."

So, let me get this straight - are you saying that the State of Maine collects the fees because the SAR's are expensive, but the Coast Guard actually conducts them? Does the CG get a kick-back?

[cathyfoley]

There is a really good article in this month's Seakayaker Magazine about a motorboat in Maine hitting a kayaker at night, cutting his kayak in half....bottom line to the article....the State of Maine did virtually nothing to pursue charges against the boater.

[jonsprag1]

Is there a thread on the Maine fee issue? I need to educate myself on this.

I know little about the world of sail and motoring recreation, but from what little glimpses I've had of it, there's a whole minor cottage industry that makes its living off of fees and licenses of various kinds, and it get pretty scruffy. Is it this: they've already milked the guys who drink and drive the motorboats, so it's time to turn to the fast growing sport of sea-kayaking? Seems a bit mafia-like. "Hey, that's a nice kayak. It sure would be a shame to see anything nasty happen to it."

So, let me get this straight - are you saying that the State of Maine collects the fees because the SAR's are expensive, but the Coast Guard actually conducts them? Does the CG get a kick-back?

There is no licensing or registration requirement for paddle craft in the state of Maine---YET

there have been at least two attempts by the state legislature to pass one---both times were defeated due to the efforts of the paddling community.

[rick stoehrer]

Is there a thread on the Maine fee issue? I need to educate myself on this.

I know little about the world of sail and motoring recreation, but from what little glimpses I've had of it, there's a whole minor cottage industry that makes its living off of fees and licenses of various kinds, and it get pretty scruffy. Is it this: they've already milked the guys who drink and drive the motorboats, so it's time to turn to the fast growing sport of sea-kayaking? Seems a bit mafia-like. "Hey, that's a nice kayak. It sure would be a shame to see anything nasty happen to it."

So, let me get this straight - are you saying that the State of Maine collects the fees because the SAR's are expensive, but the Coast Guard actually conducts them? Does the CG get a kick-back?

i don't believe there is funding going from local munie to feds in regards to sar's....but wouldn't venture to say definitively. better question for the uscg or uscgaux.

as for fetterman...his concern may be draining his budget and pulling resources away from homeland security (cause it's all about homeland security now, right?) to do the occasional sar. perhaps THAT'S what his comment about being a big risk to the rec boating community is even marginally referring to? compared to larger, more visible and restricted craft, we're more of a risk to his budget than really much else?

i'd think from a homeland security "boy can't they just get into everything" standpoint, kayaks are a real pain in the ass; we're essentially covert with no radar return and operate in almost silence (unless of course christopher is along in which case your cover is blown...chatterbox charlie), we can operate in very shallow water, we're portable and have suitable storage for a host of bad, bad things....so, if the guy were to say that kayaks are a nuisance from his pov in regards to his mission (homeland security, sars, drug interdiction...what else?) that would make some sense. not that the proposed regulation will have much to do with any of that BUT then at least there's another hurdle in place that may deter paddlers AND may toss some loot into his budget....then again, maybe i'm getting jaded in my <youthful> middle years.

as for what he DID say (or at least what was printed in the article...the press too is interested in the selling sound bite) and what that means, i think we're only left to wonder the basis for his comments.