KAYAK SUCCOR

At length did cross an Albatross,

Thorough the fog it came:

As if it had been a Christian soul,

We hailed it in God’s name.

- The Rime of the Ancient Mariner

*******************************************************************************

I will be placing accident reports I learn about on this page. Hopefully this page stays small. I hate to report on such tragedies, but at the same time hope that we can learn from them.

*******************************************************************************

Rescue at the North End of Guemes Island

01/17/09

This report was posted on several kayaking forums in the area.  Everything turned out okay thanks to the group working together to rescue a capsized paddler that could not self rescue.

Some key things:

• Conditions changed quickly.  Welcome to the San Juans.  A beautiful day can change for various reasons.  Although I’m not saying this group was not skilled enough or prepared for such changes I do see many paddlers on the water that are not.

• The paddler tried to roll three times and could not.  He said he reverted to bringing his head up first.  This is obviously human nature that has to be overcome with practice.  I try to practice my rolls as much in rough conditions now as I do on calm water to get used to the disorientation of rough conditions.

• The paddler was using a wing paddle.  I must admit I know nothing about wing paddles and have never used one.  In this case it made it impossible to use the foam paddle float to perform a self rescue.  Obvious lesson is know how your equipment works before setting out.
• They credit whistles for getting the attention of the others.

The group and paddler that got into trouble were gracious enough to share their experience and open themselves up on the forums for critique.  I think this is great in that it offers a chance for others to learn from their experience.  This was one of those lucky cases where everybody came back to tell their story.  I wonder how many of these incidents happen that we never hear about and therefore can’t learn from.

Here is their accounts:
From the capsized paddler:

Went for a 15 minute swim on the NW end of Guemes Island yesterday.
> Water was a complete mess, got thrashed from every direction,
flipped
> in my Looksha 3, attempted to roll 3 times, kept bringing my head
up
> first so that didnt work.
> Ended up floating around in the water for about 15 minutes, yelled
as
> loud as I could, then used my whistle and the posse showed up. That
> Nookta is fast!!
> Thanks Mark, Ed, Wade, Jim/Nadia. Awesome rescue.
> -Rafting up works well.
> -Whistles work better than screaming.

From one of the rescue paddlers:

We were rounding the north head of Guemes Island, after having
lunch at Pelican Beach on Cyprus Island, having paddled about 15
miles at this point. Beautiful day out, wind picking up, and myself
only knowing one member of the paddle group – Ed Hand.
>
> The clapotis that occured in this area, not bouncing off any walls,
but bouncing off other waves in this area, formed huge waves, pointed
to the shy, well over 10 feet high. Made DP Dash look like a picnic.
>
> As usual, the group started to seperate some more, Nadja & Jim were
leading in a double, later was Ed and Wade, in the rear was myself
(Zebra kayak) and John, somewhere close behind. John and I were
making periodic contact verbally, lotsa “Who-whoo’s”, and John
finally said, “How are ya doing Mark?” I said “OK”, but “I am going
really slow in this mush.”
>
> I asked John about his feelings in this choppy water. He may have
mumbled something, I did not hear anything, but I sure heard his
whistle. I quickly tried to turned around, and saw him in the water,
about 40 feet behind me. I started tooting on my whistle, a whistle I
have never used till now. Over and over again.
>
> John asked, “Are they coming?” I replied, “Nope, no one could not
hear me”. John spat out again, “Keep on calling!”
>
> So I did, over and over again. Ed and Wade were way past us, Nadja
and Jim were not even in site anymore. Finally everybody had their
boat turned north again, and were heading toward us.
>
> I kept close to John the whole time, with us bobbing in the sea,
wildly and wickedly. I was so nervous about getting too close to his
kayak and knocking me out, I also knew that safety was in numbers, so
once Wade got close, we were able to start the rescue mission. Soon
all were on hand to assist and John was in the boat pumping out
excess water. We held him steady, as well as holding everyone else
steady.
>
> With spray skirt on, paddles ready, we slowly split apart, and
decided to cancel the circumnavigation around Guemes Island, Let’s
just go home!
>
> Lots of discussion about using marine radios, setting up a common
channel beforehand, and staying together for the rough stuff. The
slow can’t go faster, the faster ones need to stay back.
>
> We learned a lot, experienced a very rough water rescue, and great
teaming event.

From one of the assisting paddlers:

John had been attempting to re-enter his boat from the beginning, and was trying to get his paddle float into position, right after he capsized. In the very beginning, he had attempted 3 rolls to upright himself.

The condtions were so choppy, nothing was working well. So I stayed with my whistle blowing, unfortunately I was facing north, and everyone was going south. They still heard me.

Once we got together, rescue attempts went well, we all knew what to do, 1st was stabilize the boats, so the rescue could start. Then all went smoothly.

Again,

1. Set up a common frequency with a marine radio.

2. Have a marine radio with you and on.

3. Stay together when the conditions worsen.

4. Work together to facilitate the rescue.

5. If possible, change your route back to make it shorter to the landing site.

6. PS. Make sure your whistle works, and can be reached by your mouth, easily.

From another paddler in the group:

Here are my two cents from the front cockpit of the ‘Chiquita Nootka’
perspective…

Heading into it, Jim & I had been eying the visible solid white-
capped, rip off of Guemes island the entire time we were crossing
Bellingham channel- picking our lines carefully across the swiftly
moving, merging channels + stronger than forecast winds + increasing
currents…

I’d say it similar to rounding Deception Island at the last DPD, with
the increased wind + changing current creating bigger & bigger
chaotic waves…There were 3-4 foot waves, a few in a row if you were
lucky to surf on, then hits from just as big ones from the side, and
then they’d change direction again…we dropped off a few, surfed
down some straight, some sideways, got absolutely dumped from the
side a few times, etc…

When we hit the big stuff, we kept turning & looking around every
minute, counting all 4 singles and noting their positions to each
other. Glad to see that they were doubled up and staying together in
pairs…We were almost through it when Jim heard a whistle, I heard
the yells. We turned immediately around & made it back to Zebra &
John just on the heels of Wade & Ed. (unknowingly at the time,
setting a new speed PR of 14.7 mph = you would sprint too if you saw
your friend in the cold water)

The rafting up was an instinctual, automatic unspoken reaction for
all of us it seemed, allowing us to quickly & collectively help John
get back in his boat…

An important detail which I think is a crucial one to contributing to
his delayed self-rescue…He was paddling with a wing paddle and had
a foam block paddle float under the bungies of his kayak deck as a
self rescue device. These are incompatible. Therefore, while in the
water, he had to get to his non-winged spare paddle off of the back
deck of his kayak in rough water, put the paddle shaft together-as
his hands are going numb from the frigid waters- attach it to the
foam paddle float to finally begin attempting to get back in his
tippy, Looksha 3 kayak, in big messy wave action chop…*Hopefully
lesson learned is change to an inflatable paddle float when using a
wing!

To see pictures of this adventurous paddle go to:

http://picasaweb.google.com/expeditionpaddlers/CypressIsland#

********************************************************************************

Stranded Man Found after losing kayak, cell phone

by The Oregonian

January 2, 2009

The article below is an account of a man that was kept warm in his drysuit overnight after swimming ashore.  He had lost his boat and his cell phone that was in his boat.  The article recommends keeping a cell phone in a water tight bag on your person.  I don’t do this, but I almost always paddle with a VHF on my person so the same thing is accomplished.  Another issue was that the only means he had for a distress signal was the flash on his camera.  Good thinking, although it didn’t work.  My flares are always kept in my PFD.  I have also been considering a new purchase of a laser flare.

“A kayaker stranded after he was caught in a current and lost his kayak was found Friday morning uninjured.

Chris Watson, 63, of Portland, had been kayaking in the North Santiam River when he was separated from his kayak, according to the Marion County Sheriff’s office. He made it to the river bank and yelled to friends that he would walk out and meet them on a nearby road.

He did not arrive, and his friends called police around 7 p.m. Deputies were unable to locate him and called off the search until the morning.

Watson had been unable to climb out and his cell phone was in the kayak, said Lt. Sheila Lorance, spokeswoman for the sheriff’s office.

He did have a camera on him, and he tried unsuccessfully to use the flash to get the attention of residents in the homes across the river. But no one saw him, she said, noting that a big storm had hit the area.

A resident spotted him Friday morning around 8:45 a.m. and notified police. Paramedics checked and cleared Watson who was hungry but had been able to stay warm because he was wearing a dry suit, gloves, boots and a hood.

“It’s amazing that he is as lucky as he was,” Lorance said.

The Sheriff’s Office cautions people to carry cell phones in a waterproof container on them in case they are separated from their water craft.”

– Helen Jung; helenjung@news.oregonian.com

********************************************************************************

Man recounts 12-hour swim to N.C. shore after kayak tipped

The Virginian-Pilot
© July 8, 2008

By Patrick Wilson

A Richmond man who said he swam for about 12 hours in the Albemarle Sound after his kayak overturned Monday said he moved from buoy to buoy to rest and ate algae as he tried to get to shore.

“The whole way through I was pretty persistent to go to shore, and I was calm about it the whole time,” said Curtis Cooper, 19.

Cooper was kayaking on the sound, in North Carolina, when a big wave hit him and caused his kayak to capsize Monday afternoon. He made it to shore more than 12 hours later and found a couple who drove him to his family’s summer home in Roper, N.C., on the southern side of the sound.

Cooper was kayaking alone, wearing a black bathing suit and no lifejacket.

In a telephone interview Tuesday evening, Cooper said he’s a strong swimmer, and although he hadn’t kayaked on the sound before he thought the water would be smooth.

But the water was choppy, and a wave caused his kayak to overturn a little after noon Monday. It filled with water, so he said he decided to abandon it. He later regretted ditching the kayak.

“I kept swimming,” he said. “The current of the sound was directing me toward the ocean and I didn’t want to go there, so I had to fight the current the whole time.”

Cooper’s mother, Deborah Hedley, called the Washington County Sheriff’s Office to report him missing shortly before 4 p.m. At 5:33 p.m., the Coast Guard spotted his overturned yellow kayak floating on the water.

“We were trying to remain positive but we were definitely thinking more bad thoughts than we wanted to,” Hedley said.

Cooper said he used used crab pot buoys – used for catching crabs – as rest stops as he swam.

“I just kept going from crab pot buoy to buoy,” he said. “I used the buoys as a flotation device and the stuff growing on them – the green algae and seaweed -was my meal because I was really hungry.”

Cooper waved his arms and yelled when a plane went over, but he wasn’t seen, he said. The Coast Guard searched with planes, boats and a helicopter.

Eventually, it got dark.

“All that was going through my mind was that I had to keep going toward land, and I remained calm because you waste more energy by panicking,” Cooper said.

As he got closer to shore there were no more buoys. At one point, he thinks, he swam about half a mile.

He said he made it to shore on the northern side of the sound and collapsed.

“I just remember lying there on the sandy beach for an hour. And then I went to find help,” he said.

He walked barefoot down a long driveway and found an empty house. He knocked on the door of another house.

About 2 a.m. Tuesday, Cooper found a married couple who drove him to his family’s home.

“We got a call from a woman saying, ‘Your son’s in my car, and he’s OK. We’re on the way home,’” Hedley said. “I didn’t get her name.”

Cooper’s hands and feet were blue, his face and neck were sunburned and his throat was sore from shouting, his mother said. But other than that he was fine.

Cooper graduated this year from Fork Union Military Academy in Fork Union, Va., He plans to attend Marshall University in the fall.

He said he’ll wear a lifejacket in the future.

“I would not want to relive it,” he said.

********************************************************************************

Coast Guard Press Release June 6, 2008

COAST GUARD, BAINBRIDGE ISLAND POLICE RESPOND TO OVERTURNED KAYAK

SEATTLE - The Coast Guard and Bainbridge Island Police Department rescued two people from an overturned kayak near Bremerton, Wash., today.

Coast Guard Sector Seattle received word of an overturned boat at 10:40 a.m. An MH-65 helicopter crew from Air Station Port Angeles, Wash., was diverted to the scene.

A Bainbridge Island Police boat crew and the helicopter crew arrived at the site of the kayak within 10 minutes and found a woman clinging to the side of a kayak as a man, in his own kayak, kept the overturned craft from drifting away. The two were helped into the police boat and taken to shore before the helicopter crew returned to its patrol.

The cause of the kayak overturning is unknown and no injuries were reported.

********************************************************************************

********************************************************************************

05/23/08

Kayaker dies after capsizing while fishing in a New Jersey Lake.

NEWARK, N.J. – Authorities say a man kayaking on a lake in Monmouth County apparently drowned after the kayak capsized.

The man, whose identity was not released pending notification of his family, was found around 10:20 a.m. Friday by two teenagers who were fishing from a boat on Assunpink Lake in Upper Freehold Township.

The youths said the man had been fishing nearby when they first saw him, but when they looked back a short time later, the kayak had overturned and he was in the water. They then used a cell phone to call 911, and state police responded to the scene.

Capt. Al Della Fave, a state police spokesman, said the death does not appear to be suspicious.

********************************************************************************

04/27/08

The Coast Guard met with the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office Boating Unit on April 24th to discuss recent deaths amongst paddlers this last year. The local club WAKE is trying to be proactive and address some safety issues and offer free training in the area. REI is also helping by giving space for this training. However I personally feel that REI and other retailers are part of the problem selling products as sea worthy kayaks that clearly are more appropriate never leaving a swimming area of a lake.

One thing all six of these deaths had in common was that none of the paddlers had a VHF to call for help. Here is a recap of last year from the Bellingham Herald.

2007 local Boating deaths:

Nov. 15, 2007: Lanny “Bip” Sokol, a 48-year-old emergency room doctor at St. Joseph Hospital, died after his surf ski tipped in Bellingham Bay. Sokol spent more than three hours in the water before U.S. Coast Guard personnel found him. He died at the hospital two days later.

Sept. 19, 2007: Randy Sitter, 46, of British Columbia disappeared while kayaking in Chuckanut Bay. Sitter’s inflatable kayak, with his life vest attached to it, was found the next day on the eastern shore of Lummi Island. Coast Guard officials believe the award-winning Simon Fraser University statistics professor drowned, though his body has never been recovered.

April 29, 2007: Lummi Reservation residents Christopher Gust, 30, Bonnie Robinson, 31, and Guy Nutter, 44, drowned after leaving in a canoe bound for Portage Island. The bodies of all three were recovered during low tide weeks afterward.

April 12, 2007: Scott Scarberry, 45, of Kenmore was found dead, still attached to his kayak, near Point Migley on the north end of Lummi Island. An autopsy revealed that Scarberry, who was kayaking alone, died of accidental drowning.

********************************************************************************

04/13/08

COAST GUARD RESCUES OVERTURNED KAYAKER

SEATTLE – The Coast Guard rescued a 30-year old male after his kayak overturned north of Cape Arago, Ore., today.

Coast Guard Group North Bend received a call at approximately 1:37 p.m. from Coos Bay County Sheriff and a Good Samaritan that a man had reportedly overturned his kayak north of Cape Arago.

An HH-65C Dolphin helicopter crew from Coast Guard Air Station North Bend was diverted to the scene along with a 25-foot small response boat crew from Coast Guard Station Coos Bay.

Once on scene, the 25-foot small response boat crew was able to pull the man out of the water. The man was then transported to the Charleston Marina and Launch Ramp in Charleston, Ore., where local emergency personnel from Charleston Fire Department were waiting to take him to the hospital.

The man was reportedly suffering from hypothermia.

********************************************************************************

03/08/08

COAST GUARD RESCUES TWO KAYAKERS NEAR CANNON BEACH

SEATTLE – Two kayakers were rescued by the Coast Guard after they were overcome by rough waters near Cannon Beach, Ore., today.

At 4:51 p.m., the Seaside, Ore., 911 center requested assistance from the Coast Guard after it was reported that the two kayakers were in distress near Arcadia Beach.

When one craft capsized, the other kayaker went out to help without his kayak and ended up stuck on a rock.

Both individuals were beginners and training for ocean kayaking. They were not injured and were carrying safety gear.

An HH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew from Air Station Astoria, Ore., was immediately diverted and hoisted the kayakers to safety at 4:58 p.m.

The victims were transferred to an awaiting ambulance crew in Seaside where they were transported to a local hospital. No serious injuries were reported.

The kayaks were lost in the ocean during the rescue.

********************************************************************************

03/01/08

Coast Guard Press Release:

COAST GUARD RESCUES KAYAKER

SEATTLE – The Coast Guard rescued a kayaker from Chuckanut Bay, in the southeast end of Bellingham Bay, Wash., today.

The kayaker, Shelia Weinsheimer abandoned ship when her kayak took on too much water. She was then unable to get back in and decided to hang on to her friend’s kayak while waiting for help. The friend, Shannon Dickerson used her cell phone to call 911 and then contacted Coast Guard Station Bellingham.

Station Bellingham diverted a nearby 33-foot response boat crew, which arrived on scene within 12 minutes. “The female in the kayak waved us over with her paddle,” said Coast Guard Petty Officer 3rd Class Joe Whallon. “As we approached we saw her friend holding onto the side of the kayak.” The women were both wearing lifejackets, but were not wearing any dry suits.

“When we pulled the woman out of the water and wrapped her in a blanket we could see that she was boarder line hypothermic,” added Whallon. “She was in the 42-degree water for 15 minutes, but recovered after being on board with the heat on.”

After recovering Weinsheimer and retrieving her gear the boat crew brought Dickerson aboard and transported them safely to the Fairhaven boat ramp. Whallon said that emergency medical services had been notified but ended up not being needed.

No injuries were reported.

Kayaker rescued from Chuckanut Bay

From the Bellingham Herald 02/29/08

BELLINGHAM — U.S. Coast Guard crews rescued a kayaker who tipped over in Chuckanut Bay this afternoon.

Petty Officer Corey Barrett said a Coast Guard unit was patrolling the area when the woman’s kayaking partner called 911 at around 3 p.m.

The woman, who is in her 40s, spent between 20 and 30 minutes in the water and was unable to get back into her kayak. Aid units were called to treat the woman’s mild hypothermia, but she was warmed up without having to be transported to the hospital.

*******************************************************************************

4 KAYAKERS RESCUED AT SADDLEBAG ISLAND

From the Bellingham Herald 02/25/08

ANACORTES — A Coast Guard crew from Bellingham came to the rescue of four stranded kayakers from Saddlebag Island east of Anacortes.

No injuries are reported.

The Coast Guard says the four became stranded around 5 p.m. on Sunday after their kayaks washed away, while they were hiking on the island.

The Coast Guard says one of the kayakers was able to swim out to the three kayaks that washed away. It says the kayaker then paddled to the mainland to call for help.

Skagit County authorities contacted Coast Guard Station Bellingham to assist the remaining four kayakers.

********************************************************************************

BELLINGHAM KAYAKER RUSHED TO HOSPITAL AFTER CAPSIZE

10:00 11/19/07

The Bellingham Herald has posted another article about Bip Sokol. Bip has obviously made a wonderful impact on the community. From being an ER doctor helping people through their time of need to being a soccer coach for kids. There is never a good time to lose a loved one, but I can’t help but think that now before the holidays has to be especially tough.

3:00pm 11/18/07

It is with sadness that I report that Lanny “Bip” Sokol has past away Saturday. My condolences go out to his family, friends, and co-workers.

I will not try to think of any lessons learned at this time. It is far too soon.

9:50am 11/16/07

Lanny “Bip” Sokol is currently in critical condition at St. Joseph’s Hospital. To make matters even harder for everybody involved Bip is an ER doctor. The urgency his co-workers and friends must feel in trying to help somebody they know and work with must be tough. I’m glad he has a strong support group. The battle isn’t over and I wish all the best. Keep fighting Bip!

I’ll post more details about the entire incident on the accident reports page later. However I will let everybody know that Bip was wearing a drysuit. Winds were about 20 mph with gusts of 34 mph.

More details here and here.

Coast Guard press release

********************************************************************************

The paddler has been found. Bip Sokal is at the emergency room. I’m wishing him the best. Send all your positive thoughts!!!

A little more at Bellingham Herald.

*********************************************************************************

11/15/07

Details are still few. There is an active search for a kayaker in Bellingham Bay. Evidently he has been in the water since 4:45 Pm. Two helicopters, several vessels and a shoreline search is underway. I’ll update if I learn anything. I have a possible name for the paddler, but with no confirmation I don’t want to put it out.

********************************************************************************

10/21/07

Man dies after kayak overturns in Port Townsend Bay, WA

By Evan Cael, Peninsula Daily News

PORT TOWNSEND – A Seattle man has died and a Bellevue man was discharged from a Seattle hospital on Monday after a two-person recreational kayak they rented capsized in Port Townsend Bay one-half mile offshore.

Vishal Bhagat, 30, was pronounced dead at 11:30 p.m. Saturday at Jefferson Healthcare hospital.

He and a friend were rescued from an overturned two-person kayak that they had been clinging to for almost an hour in the cold Port Townsend Bay water between Point Hudson and Marrowstone Island, said Jefferson County Undersheriff Tim Perry.

Arvind Kumar Kaul, 30, was airlifted on Saturday to Harborview Medical Center for treatment of hypothermia, said East Jefferson Fire-Rescue Chief Mike Mingee.

During a weekend visit to Port Townsend with family and friends, the two men and others in their party rented kayaks from PT Outdoors to spend the afternoon paddling around Port Townsend Bay.

While others decided to go out to eat, Bhagat and Kaul elected to embark early on their kayak ride, said Walt Washington, PT Outdoors co-owner.

Washington said he asked the two men if they had ever kayaked before.

Kaul had, and was at an intermediate skill level, while Bhagat was a beginning kayaker, Washington said.

Because of both men’s relative inexperience, Washington directed them to stay within 500 feet of the shore.

“As far as you can throw a stone, that’s how far you can go out,” he said he told them.

“It’s something that we say more than once.”

After receiving instructions, the two men went out on their own in the kayak.

Members of their party soon returned to rent kayaks and meet up with Bhagat and Kaul.

They returned sometime later, reporting that they never saw the two men.

Washington spotted them through binoculars. They were about one-half mile from shore. He called for emergency assistance.

A Washington State Ferries vessel that was just leaving the terminal spotted the two men and deployed a rescue boat to pull them to safety.

When the ferry rescue boat brought the two men to shore, East Jefferson Fire-Rescue was waiting to treat the men.

Bhagat was in full cardiac arrest.

“He was comatose and unresponsive when they took him in,” Perry said.

Both men were taken to Jefferson Healthcare hospital before Kaul was taken by medical helicopter to Seattle.

It was the first serious incident Washington has experienced in the eight years that he has rented kayaks to people, he said.

________
Reporter Evan Cael can be reached at 360-385-2335 or evan.cael@peninsuladailynews.com.

*******************************************************************

10/09/07

Two Kayakers Die in Howe Sound, BC Canada

Photo courtesy of CBC News

40-year-old Denis Fontaine from Deep Cove, and 50-year-old Richard Juryn of North Vancouver, both experienced adventure racers, died after their kayaks flipped in the stormy waters of Howe Sound North of Vancouver, BC on Sunday at about noon. They were part of a group of eight paddlers all paddling two-person boats. They set out in stormy conditions with 7 foot seas and winds of 85 kilometers (46 kt). Now I’m not one that likes to pass judgment, but here is what one of the survivors said:

He had concerns about the stormy weather and steep waves, but said nothing to anyone except Beatty (one of the other paddlers).

Safety should always be something people can freely talk about and nobody should hesitate to voice their concerns. If I am paddling with people that I can’t discuss my safety concerns with then I don’t want to paddle with them. Now maybe the media just didn’t communicate what happened good enough. I know the media often is that way.

All were wearing lightweight athletic tights suitable for high-energy training, and not wetsuits necessary to survive in cold water. I know this is common with the fitness types, especially those on surf skis. You choose your level of risk and there is danger in everything we do. But the weather was predicted to be bad. A high wind advisory was in effect. Would a wetsuit or drysuit have helped? If you read the reports they say that nobody was wearing PFD’s. This has since been corrected and it is now being reported that all were wearing PFD’s.

I know it is always easier to look back on what others have done from the comforts of our home and think I never would have done that. But realistically most of us have made mistakes or been put in a position that was worse than we expected. So I really don’t want to judge any decisions that were made. But I also try to learn whenever I hear of such a tragedy. I teach people to ride motorcycles. I teach them that whenever they hear of a motorcycle crash to think, what could have been done to prevent that. Or if I was in that position what would I do differently. It is through this kind of thinking that I hope to prevent myself or those that I teach to ride from being in the same kind of crash. But I always worry that people will not understand that and just think that I am just passing judgment. That is not my intent. I just hate such tragedies and hope that some can be prevented by some hard afterthought. My condolences to the friends and family.

You can read more at:

Vancouver Sun

&

CBC News

***************************************************************************

09/20/07

Missing Kayaker in Bellingham, WA

Here is a press release from the U.S. Coast Guard. According to the Bellingham Herald the search has been called off.

Press Release Date: Sept. 20, 2007
Contact: Public Affairs

(206) 220-7237
COAST GUARD SEARCHING FOR MISSING KAYAKER

SEATTLE – The Coast Guard is searching for a 46-year-old kayaker after he failed to return from a trip Wednesday night and his kayak was found ashore at Lummi Island, Wash.

Coast Guard Group/ Air Station Port Angeles, Wash., was informed by Canadian authorities that the man’s wife called to report him overdue about 1:00 a.m today.

The man, who is a Canadian resident, told his wife he planned to return Wednesday at 10:00 p.m. Air Station Port Angeles launched an HH-65 Dolphin helicopter and Coast Guard Station Bellingham, Wash., launched a 33-foot vessel to search for the kayaker.

A helicopter crew from Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Wash., and several Coast Guard Auxiliary boats and aircraft have also joined the search. At 10:30 a.m., the man’s kayak, identification and life jacket were found on the eastern shore of Lummi Island.

Randy Sitter, the missing kayaker, is approximately six-foot tall, 200 pounds, with green eyes and a shaven head. Anyone who has information that could aid in the search should contact the Coast Guard District 13 command center at (206) 220-7001.

Randy Sitter Update 09/26/07

I don’t have any good news unfortunately. However I have some maps that show the area searched. I know some of the people involved in the search and know that they did everything they could. There was a large area searched. The kayak was reportedly found upright with no water in it. The PFD was attached to the kayak. The kayak was found on Lummi Rocks which as the bird flies is about 6nm from Fairhaven where he launched. Many more nm to go around the southern side of the island. He was paddling an Advanced Elements Firefly which is an inflatable Rec boat 7′10” long and 35” wide.

I wish the best to Randy Sitter’s family and friends. My condolences for their tragic loss.