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

Any farther out & this coulda been real ugly...

I am glad your bro is ok!  ( A half mile offshore, 200 lbs. knealing backwards to get tackle from the stern, really?)   

This is a great story of teamwork and having done enough to stay alive, but wouldn't he have been fine if he could've gotten back on his boat?

I don't think the weight of the soggy cotton and winter coat would let him ... ???

It's great to hear it all worked out, but, wow ... like the guy said, what if he had been paddling rather than pedaling? His pal was able to hear him 1-200 yards away (radio was on the yak)? What if the wind had been blowing the other way? There was a lot of luck at work here.

Ben

just a reminder - water temp 1/2 mile off rat rock on Monday - 50 degrees...

From what I have read about hypothermia is that when the core gets extremely cold the blood in the body goes to core to protect the organs. Leaving less blood in the extremities. Hence the inability to do the simplest functions with arms and legs. If his core was protected better he may have also reserved the ability to climb on. Dont really know though, about his climbing back on that is..... Just speculating. Too many other factors were in play also.

No armchair QBing from me. I'm so glad to hear the rescue was successful.

The water temp is essentially the same as it is in my winter/spring paddling waters.

My imagination paints a picture of bulky, soggy upper body clothing, which would seriously hamper re-boarding even if the water was 60.

Geez, I got sketched just twisting around to free a stuck gaff handle last spring and I didn't even move my butt or legs. Not that I was fearful of the water I just didn't want to get soaked & have to pee in my wetsuit for warmth.

This is a very good cautionary tale. It has me also considering a drysuit, but like EWB our changing conditions here in CenCal make it a tough call. Sometimes its 38 in the morning then warms to 65 & bright sun with glassy water.

It has me also considering a drysuit, but like EWB our changing conditions here in CenCal make it a tough call. Sometimes its 38 in the morning then warms to 65 & bright sun with glassy water.

I wear a full drysuit, including latex gaskets on the wrists and neck.  I wear a full body paddling liner (Polartec one piece).  And I am normally prone to overheating, but not in this outfit.  What do/did I do to maintain comfort?  I bought a good breathable drysuit (Goretex) and I use a neck accessory ring to provide a little relief at the neck.  I only use that when it is warm and flat out.  I rarely get uncomfortably hot in weather to 70 degrees.  I occasionally pour water on myself for relief, and some have suggested just going for a dip if you get hot but I can't bring myself to jump in.

I personally believe the overheating thing is overrated.

-Allen

Thanks for your opinion Allen.
My only experience with a drysuit was about 10 yrs back, and it was a cumbersome thing. We did instructor training on the Russian River in the spring & our whitewater guy in the drysuit was dying in the sun. he had to stay immersed just to be comfortable. I wore a couple of layers of neo & don't recall being chilled, but we were close to shore & had plenty of hot cocoa & hot soup on the beach. Actually, now that i think of it I probably did change into a dry FJ for the paddle back to the launch.

Now that we have gore-tex, I'll look into the drysuit option more closely.

Allen, neck ring? Can you point me to one?

thx

Allen, neck ring? Can you point me to one?

thx

no.  But I can take a pic and send.  I got it at kayakacademy.com when I bought the drysuit.  It's just stiff hosing with a plug that allows it to close into a ring.  It's just large enough to hold the latex neck away from my neck.  I can pop the latex off it in a second.

The one time I've gone over in a kayak, I had the neck thing on.  I went full in and only got a little bit of water in my suit.  It was completely flat out, but I had a butt on some fish grippers and was reaching around behind me for a game clip.  You all know  ... "that" position that almost assures you're going over.  Silly me, I knew better.

Oh ... then there was that time I went over while seal launching.  I didn't have my fly zipped up.  D'oh!!!  Killed a cell phone too.

-Allen

Thanks for sharing this information with all of us.  It's a good education for us and could save someone life in the future.

IslandYak

Allen like this?

http://www.whitecaprescue.com/images/equip/suits/suit_neckring.gif

It doesn't matter what you're wearing if you can't reboard your kayak.

Allen like this?

http://www.whitecaprescue.com/images/equip/suits/suit_neckring.gif

Exactly.

If you're making one, make sure it is lose enough that as it moves up and down it doesn't keep banging your adam's apple.  BTDT.

-Allen

there is alot of luck involved when cheating death......good to read it all went well.