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Howe Sound Kayak Accident

Sadlly, the news is getting worse. An informal report indicates that two have died.
 
mick_allen said:
cbc mention 2 that didn't make it:
Sounds like they intended to go out in those conditions:
i wonder what 'experienced' kayakers means?
.
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A TV news report I've seen describes them as "adventure racers." It is difficult to master all the various skills adventure racers need - running, swimming, climbing, paddling, etc.
And I don't mean that as a suggestion that specialized "single sport" sea kayakers might not have made the same bad choice to go out in those conditions as these folks did, or suffered a similar fate. Obviously, sea kayakers have died over the years. And I personally have no problem admitting I've made calls it was clear in retrospect were bad ones, and that I got through the situations by good luck rather than good management.
I think that applies to anyone who's spent much time at sea in small boats. When I heard anyone claiming to have a lot of such experience, and also claiming never to have been scared, I'm inclined to think they're:

A. lying about the amount of their experience

or

B. lying about never having been scared

or

C. a damned fool.
 
The CBC report points out that no-one in the group was wearing a life jacket. It seems such a fundamental error to be in a kayak, even in mild conditions, without a life jacket, you have to wonder what 'experienced' means
 
mick_allen said:
cbc mention 2 that didn't make it:

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columb ... ml?ref=rss

Sounds like they intended to go out in those conditions:
i wonder what 'experienced' kayakers means?
Click to expand...
I don't think it means very much after reading the following in the article:

"The survivors reported storm conditions with waves up to two metres high, but no one in the group was wearing a wetsuit or a lifejacket."

That's really incredible -- I can't think of any "experienced" kayaker that I know of that would paddle without submersion protection and a PFD.

Sad, but it's obvious that this could have had a much better outcome had these people been wearing safety gear (and perhaps shown better judgement about going out in what were clearly dangerous conditions).

*****
 
I just watched the video on CBC and you know what?
It may sound like I'm an idiot, but somehow I don't feel sorry--this was just plain dumb.

Hope everyone learned a lesson from that.
 
I knew Richard professionally, and he lives just up the street from me. I just found out he was a victim a few minutes ago. Its hard to believe he would be without a life jacket - but stranger things have happened. He was a super guy, dedicated so much of his time and efforts working on the things he was passionate about (mountain biking).

This probably isn't a good place to put a tribute to him, but it's hard to think poorly of him when he's done so much for me, even just last week.

R.I.P Richard, we'll miss you and your spirit
 
the cbc report has been updated:

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columb ... ml?ref=rss

very, very tragic that 2 top athletes didn't make it.

it is possibly understandable that they would not be wearing life jackets or wetsuits as they are elite athletes on a training mission - and rowers and other paddle sport athletes also do not (and should not) wear water exposure clothing during training, but i just feel sick that they obviously didn't even have rudimentary backups or procedures for the difficult situation they saw before them and intentionally entered into.

mind numbing to hear that one of the yaks paddled away.


.
 
It is always sad when you lose a good friend, It happened to me last week.
I think I know how you feel right now Houston.


But I still don't get why anyone, doesn't matter how good they think they are, will go out in 85km'h wind and 7' waves without wearing a wetsuit and/or pfd...
 
andreas said:
But I still don't get why anyone, doesn't matter how good they think they are, will go out in 85km'h wind and 7' waves without wearing a wetsuit and/or pfd...
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In all extreme sports there is a element of danger or death, but you just can't ignore basic safety. I could see them not wearing a suit or pfd in calm summer weather, but under those conditions.... So sad.

It always takes a tragity to make people think. I ride a sportbike and to make a long story short, I had to drag a dead mangled body from under a 5 ton truck this summer, not something you ever want to experience.
 
These 2 guys get my respect for being active in a truly awesome sport and having the guts to push the limits. The very,very poor judgement that lead to their deaths won't change that.
RIP
 
More tragic news. I don't think any degree of foolishness or oversight deserves consequences such as this, but it is an eye opener for the rest of us. Hopefully some good will come of it - i.e. the realization that paddling really can have risks associated with it and that gears and skill are essential (and yes, judgement is certainly a skill!).

I'm always cognisant of anyone being labelled as 'experienced'. One who has paddled every weekend for the last 4 years would certainly have lots of experience. But if all of their experience is staying upright in benign conditions, that experience (despite fitness or strength) does not necessarily equate to skill. Thus, being a skilled paddler can be far different than being an experienced paddler or even a 'strong' paddler - perhaps that distinction needs to be made more clearly.
 
Mark wrote: I'm always cognisant of anyone being labelled as 'experienced'. One who has paddled every weekend for the last 4 years would certainly have lots of experience. But if all of their experience is staying upright in benign conditions, that experience (despite fitness or strength) does not necessarily equate to skill. Thus, being a skilled paddler can be far different than being an experienced paddler or even a 'strong' paddler - perhaps that distinction needs to be made more clearly.

Well said. It would be a real job training the media to recognize and use the distinction between having experience versus possessing skill. It extends to many other aspects of life: hiking/climbing, traveling on isolated roads (viz, the sad case of the Kim family, of two winters ago, down in SW Oregon), etc.

In the case of many of the folks I paddle with down here, a slow to develop skill is the ability to recognize potentially dangerous conditions in the development stage.
 
rider said:
These 2 guys get my respect for being active in a truly awesome sport and having the guts to push the limits. The very,very poor judgement that lead to their deaths won't change that.
RIP
Click to expand...

Agreed, my condolences to the families.

I paddle some Tuesday nights with the race crowd down at Deep Cove.
A different mentality develops around racers in risk and gear. You train with not much gear paddling flat out, and a safety boat in the background somewhere. It's not uncommon to get wet, but you get back in and keep going. Anything that retains too much body heat is unfortunately out of place in this environment. One can see how this tragic scenario could unfold...

The lessons here are self evident. I'm with Rider, let's remember two guys who were not part of the half that lives on the couch for their spirit.
 
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