Kayak fatality at Bar Harbor

[bazzert]

Sun Journal

BAR HARBOR, Maine (AP) — Authorities say a kayak capsized off the coast of Maine, killing a New Hampshire man who was paddling with relatives.

The Maine Marine Patrol says it's unclear how the 43-year-old man's kayak capsized Sunday afternoon off Mount Desert Island. The man's companion jumped out of her kayak to try to rescue him, but Officer Colin MacDonald told the Bangor Daily News that the man was too big for her to keep him above water.

MacDonald says a sailboat eventually pulled the pair from the water, but the man was unresponsive and died. The kayakers had life jackets but weren't wearing them.

Three weeks ago, a 28-year-old man from Webster, Mass., died off Mount Desert Island while kayaking on his honeymoon. Strong winds were thought to have caused the accident.

[brambor]

The kayakers had life jackets but weren't wearing them. ---- This sentence should be the first sentence in any articles about kayaking fatalities.

Sun Journal

BAR HARBOR, Maine (AP) — Authorities say a kayak capsized off the coast of Maine, killing a New Hampshire man who was paddling with relatives.

The Maine Marine Patrol says it's unclear how the 43-year-old man's kayak capsized Sunday afternoon off Mount Desert Island. The man's companion jumped out of her kayak to try to rescue him, but Officer Colin MacDonald told the Bangor Daily News that the man was too big for her to keep him above water.

MacDonald says a sailboat eventually pulled the pair from the water, but the man was unresponsive and died. The kayakers had life jackets but weren't wearing them.

Three weeks ago, a 28-year-old man from Webster, Mass., died off Mount Desert Island while kayaking on his honeymoon. Strong winds were thought to have caused the accident.

[tyson]

These reports _REALLY_ need more information, even if it includes (and declares) a small level of speculation. How in the world can a person drown while within reach of 2 kayaks?! What actually happened?

It is so common to hear that they weren't wearing a PFD. ...or in car accidents, that "speed was a factor". But you never actually hear enough about what happened to learn anything. People go in the water without PFD's all the time and they don't drown. ...esp. with a flotation device so close. ...and people exceed the speed limit _all the time_ without crashing.

Much more detailed analysis is needed.

[tyson]

The kayakers had life jackets but weren't wearing them. ---- This sentence should be the first sentence in any articles about kayaking fatalities.

The last guy _WAS_ wearing a PFD:

http://touringkayaks.com/blog3/2011/06/%E2%80%98perfect-storm%E2%80%99-of-conditions-leads-to-kayaker-death/

http://downeastdenizen.blogspot.com/2011/06/avoidable-tragedy.html

_I_ don't respond well to "zero tolerance" type campaigns. They tend to lack reason and understanding. Though neither of these cases qualify, I still say there is no reason what so ever for a PFD in a context that I would freely swim unaided. Walden pond is an example.

If every article of a kayak fatality included information of the context the person was in, why a PFD would have helped and how one might have overlooked the need for one, then people who can be educated will learn something. We need to tell people _WHY_, in what contexts it matters and in what contexts they may not realize the full risks of not wearing one. ...but tell me that I need one for Walden pond and you'd better have good explanation or I'll label "you" as ignorant.

Cheers!

Ty ...who's PFD has been rinsed and dried after using it for every minute of paddling this past weekend. I don't free swim without aids in rocks with waves crashing against them.

[Gcosloy]

A company called "Ocean Kayak" makes SOT kayaks. I wonder if this oxymoron brand ever bothers the company when they read of tragedies like the above? In the 1890's after the discovery of photography, practitioners of this new art form had to learn the vagaries of wet plate chemistry, be prepared to carry perhaps a hundred pounds of equipment into the field and learn composition while under a darkened hood while the image appeared upside down on a ground glass and then do their own development one plate at a time. Some of their results were breathtaking! This was an experience available only to the dedicated and those willing to educate themselves in this arcane new art form. Sometime after the turn of the century Kodak changed all this by supplying a box camera loaded with 100 exposures in a roll. The camera was sealed and you needed to send it back to Kodak for development. Kodak's motto for this popular consumer item was "You push the button, we do the rest". Many of the images produced were conventionally uninspired.

While no one reportedly ever died from using this product, the same is not true of the use of recreational kayaks. Perhaps if sellers were mandated to charge the customer a tax on every kayak sold called the Search & Rescue and Search & Recovery tax, some might get the message that this is a serious sport that requires training and preparation?

[bazzert]

More detailed article here.

[PeterB]

A company called "Ocean Kayak" makes SOT kayaks. I wonder if this oxymoron brand ever bothers the company when they read of tragedies like the above? In the 1890's after the discovery of photography, practitioners of this new art form had to learn the vagaries of wet plate chemistry, be prepared to carry perhaps a hundred pounds of equipment into the field and learn composition while under a darkened hood while the image appeared upside down on a ground glass and then do their own development one plate at a time. Some of their results were breathtaking! This was an experience available only to the dedicated and those willing to educate themselves in this arcane new art form. Sometime after the turn of the century Kodak changed all this by supplying a box camera loaded with 100 exposures in a roll. The camera was sealed and you needed to send it back to Kodak for development. Kodak's motto for this popular consumer item was "You push the button, we do the rest". Many of the images produced were conventionally uninspired.

While no one reportedly ever died from using this product, the same is not true of the use of recreational kayaks. Perhaps if sellers were mandated to charge the customer a tax on every kayak sold called the Search & Rescue and Search & Recovery tax, some might get the message that this is a serious sport that requires training and preparation?

Theres no evidence that sit on tops are more dangerous than other sea kayak designs. No piece of kayak equipment is inherently unsafe, only unsafe if not used safely.

Blaming and/or taxing retailers for incidents such as this is misdirected.

[brambor]

After reading Barry's link it appears to me that the man either got trapped in the kayak or suffered a medical condition which caused him to be incapacitated and therefore unable to exit the kayak.

I find it somewhat puzzling as the kayak in the picture of the link appears to have a pretty large cockpit. Any capsize that I was part of where large cockpit of the kayak is involved makes the person pretty much 'fall out' of the kayak once capsized.

More detailed article here.

[Gcosloy]

Theres no evidence that sit on tops are more dangerous than other sea kayak designs. No piece of kayak equipment is inherently unsafe, only unsafe if not used safely.

Blaming and/or taxing retailers for incidents such as this is misdirected.

I was under the impression that SOT's are significantly wider and hence would be easier to be flipped or capsized in high beam waves. As far as blaming or taxing retailers my suggestion was to give the buyer pause before purchasing by realizing that kayaking should be taken a lot more seriously. I did not blame the retailer! Peter, I'm originally from NYC and while I have lived and worked in New England for almost a half century I need to be reminded sometimes that the natives don't handle irony very well.

[Suz]

After reading Barry's link it appears to me that the man either got trapped in the kayak or suffered a medical condition which caused him to be incapacitated and therefore unable to exit the kayak.

I find it somewhat puzzling as the kayak in the picture of the link appears to have a pretty large cockpit. Any capsize that I was part of where large cockpit of the kayak is involved makes the person pretty much 'fall out' of the kayak once capsized.

Large cockpits are not a guarantee of falling out. I have seen two instances where a person in a large cockpit boat went over and stayed in. BOTH tried to swim to the surface but were "stuck" on the back deck. Their lower body was rigid and legs were on pegs and they were locked in pretty tight due to their fear. Both were large cockpits but small enough that they had on very large skirts. I would have assumed they could only fall out. The skirt did nothing to impede them other than that they were on their backdeck and couldn’t reach the grab loop to disengage from the cockpit and were unwilling to bend forward (and get their head back underwater) to reach the loop. One eventually fell out of cockpit before I reached them. The other required a hand of god rescue.

Sit on tops or sit in’s, rec boats, sea kayaks, NONE of them are inherently unsafe. Just like a bicycle is not unsafe but perhaps shouldn’t be used on a highway.

[tyson]

I was under the impression that SOT's are significantly wider and hence would be easier to be flipped or capsized in high beam waves.

Surf skis are SOT's. They're not so wide and they are used in "big" conditions with great success.

[brambor]

Imho SOT's with paddle attached to the boat are the safest form of kayak for newbies and tourists, provided they wear their PFD and dress for immersion.

[EEL]

Sit on tops or sit in’s, rec boats, sea kayaks, NONE of them are inherently unsafe.

Perhaps it should be said none of them are inherently unsafe or safe. On second thought that could be said of anything including a thermonuclear warhead. Very good and sobering point about the problems people can have wet exiting even a rec kayak. Easy to underestimate just how problematic supposedly "simple" tasks can be for those who have not practiced them or who have not developed a modicum of comfort in an uncomfortable situation.

It is often said many things in kayaking are counterintuitive. I suppose wet exits are an example since you do not get out the way you got in or even how you get out when upright.

Ed Lawson

[leong]

Theres no evidence that sit on tops are more dangerous than other sea kayak designs. No piece of kayak equipment is inherently unsafe, only unsafe if not used safely.

Blaming and/or taxing retailers for incidents such as this is misdirected.

I think that Gene is referring to recreational SOTs (or for that matter recreational SITs). Since the wide flat bottom of recreational kayaks tend to sit flat, even on the slanted face of a wave, the paddler must continuously fight and lean to regain an upright attitude. A lapse of attention can easily capsize these wide kayaks. Therefore, recreational kayaks that are very stable on flat water are unsafe on the ocean when there is a lot of bounce. Of course, a real sea kayak isn’t safe on the ocean either if it’s skipper is inexperienced with bracing, rolling, etc.

[leong]

Imho SOT's with paddle attached to the boat are the safest form of kayak for newbies and tourists, provided they wear their PFD and dress for immersion.

Yes, on flat water. But recreational type SOTs (or SITs) shouldn't be used on rough water when conditions warrant an experienced kayaker in the cockpit of a real sea kayak.

[leong]

Surf skis are SOT's. They're not so wide and they are used in "big" conditions with great success.

Ty,

In the hands of a world-class paddler the surfski’s are successful in heavy conditions. But over the years I’ve had to rescue many of them after they capsized during various races. For instance, it was like a washing machine in Sandy Bay during the year 2000 Blackburn Challenge. Only 3 out of 7 surfski entries finished the race (I think I rescued two of the non-finishers).