On January 1st last year a father and his two daughters, one a teen, the other a pre-teen, launched their new kayaks from the public launch site at Round Lake. Round Lake is a middling sized lake that lies north of Albany, New York in the foothills of the Adirondack Mountains. The temperature was unusually warm that day, hovering in the mid-sixties. The day was bright and calm. As the trio set out, only one, the youngest was wearing a PFD. The father and his older daughter had theirs stowed on deck or in the cockpit. No one wore or even owned a spray deck. Nor did they have paddle floats or pumps to aid in self-rescue.
The group paddled slowly away from shore into the center of the two-mile wide lake, enjoying the warmth and the beauty of the day. Without warning, a strong breeze began to blow and soon the lake was filled with whitecaps. This is not a large lake, so waves do not get very big, but they do come close together. And two-foot breaking waves are not what novice paddlers expected to deal with on that day. In no time, all three boats had capsized.
At about that same time, two women, experienced sea kayakers, emerged from a creek on the southeast corner of the lake and spotted the overturned boats. One immediately began racing to assist the paddlers, while her partner pulled out a cell phone and called 911. She soon was rushing to the scene with her friend. By the time they reached the trio, the youngest (the one with the PFD) had gotten back into her boat, but neither the father nor the older daughter could get back into their boats. One of the rescuers managed to get the teenager up onto her back deck, but there was no way to get the father back into his boat or onto one of the rescue boats. It was quickly decided to tow him in. The rescuers proceeded toward shore, dad being towed in by one kayaker, the older daughter clinging to the back deck of the other and the youngest slowly making her way under her own power.
By the time the group of victims and rescuers reached shore, dad was almost unconscious and his daughters were shivering uncontrollably. EMS units were waiting and immediately began treatment for exposure and hypothermia. The three were taken to the hospital where they treated. All recovered and were released. An examination of the boats and paddles showed some price tags still attached. Apparently this family was anxious to try out a new Christmas present.
What went wrong here? Well, almost everything.
1.It was January. Even though the air was warm that day, the water was not, and you dress for the temperature of the water, not the air.
2.The family was wearing lots of cotton. Wet cotton retains no heat. The adage, “cotton kills” is all too relevant here.
3.Only one was wearing a PFD. She was the only one able to get back into her boat and continue under her own power. It is impossible to put a PFD on once you are in the water. Never paddle without wearing your PFD.
4.It appears that they were rank novices, yet they paddled out into the middle of the lake instead of hugging the shore. When the weather changed, which it often does, they panicked and capsized. Their chances of surviving capsize were much greater near shore.
5.They did not have spray decks. This is not uncommon with large cockpit recreational kayaks. But, I never paddle without having my spray deck on me, and it is fastened to the boat ninety percent of the time. Once you need a spray deck, it’s usually too late to put it on. I am just more confident in edging my boat and making other maneuvers with the spray deck in place.
6.They had no self-rescue gear, let alone practice in self or assisted rescues. Everyone who kayaks should practice self and assisted rescues.
It was this family’s good fortune that the two women, experienced kayakers, were nearby. They took charge and turned what was quickly becoming a tragedy into a strong life lesson.
