Kayaker goes missing off West Vancouver during windstorm

with respect to the Oru buckling noted by ELS and Peter-CKM during a x-rescue, airbags [or say especially fitted or made-up airbags - using a doubled storagelike feature mentioned by kayakwriter] would add some structure - especially if there were some longitudinal stiffeners across the ckpt region.

Jurfie, if you didn't go with a sit-in would you have considered making a folder to your own specs? [using say somethingk like the yostwerks method http://yostwerks.org/]
 
mick_allen said:
Jurfie, if you didn't go with a sit-in would you have considered making a folder to your own specs? [using say somethingk like the yostwerks method http://yostwerks.org/]
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I hadn't really; mostly because I wouldn't know where to start to modify the standard specs. I suppose with some research, I could figure it out.
 
I had been considering going the Oru route when I started getting into kayaking but there was a couple with them in my first Kayak Academy safety class. I was kind of excited to see them in action because I thought they would be a good solution to having a kayak, and small car, Fiat 500. But my interest in an Oru kayak faded fast during the rescue portion of our class. Both the man and women struggled with assisted and self rescues in spite of excess help from the instructor. And the women was never was able to reenter the Oru no matter how much assistance she was given.

I decided to find another solution to hauling a kayak on a small car.
 
We are about to UPGRADE to a larger, more spacious car - a Mini. Fiat 500 with a proper rack should be fine, at least for shorter kayaks.

2012-10-17 13.48.26.jpg
 
Hey Bill - waiting for your Stuart Island trip report to show up. :)

I remember seeing a Geo Metro convertible with an exoskeleton of light piping to hold a kayak. That person had their priorities right.
 
Dang! I should have taken a photo of my Seda Swift on top of the Buick Park Avenue (matching colors). It looked great in downtown traffic. But the Jeep and Mariner Express aren't bad.

Here's a photo of them taken at Springtime (April) in Seattle:
SeattleJeep.jpg
 
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Even if un-folded, one would think the panel assembly would still float and possibly be seen/found.

Looks like he was still in a wind shadow, but getting close to the blurred margin. Too bad he wasn't closer in to shore:

Oru-incident-revised.jpg

[screenshot cropped plus near field de-emphasized]
 
So if the guy was heading out to test his dive equipment wouldn't he be wearing a dive suit? Also the cops stated that he was an experienced kayaker and and diver but no pfd and going out on a foldable boat doesn't make sense.
 
Zoe11 said:
So if the guy was heading out to test his dive equipment wouldn't he be wearing a dive suit? Also the cops stated that he was an experienced kayaker and and diver but no pfd and going out on a foldable boat doesn't make sense.
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Yeah, I found that weird too, and wondered if there'd been a misunderstanding. From my diving days decades ago, the kind of neoprene drysuit worn for diving in the PNW is way too thick, cumbersome and has the arms cut in the wrong orientation for paddling. Other diving gear, like the tank and weight belt, seem like they'd tear right through the hull of a ORU before you got ten meters off the beach.

I took my Rescue Diver cert, which including a bit about body recovery, but fortunately I never had to do that for real. Whytecliff Park, where this kayaker was supposedly headed, is a popular dive site. I hope no "civilian" diver makes a grim discovery on a future day out...
 
kayakwriter said:
Yeah, I found that weird too, and wondered if there'd been a misunderstanding. From my diving days decades ago, the kind of neoprene drysuit worn for diving in the PNW is way too thick, cumbersome and has the arms cut in the wrong orientation for paddling. Other diving gear, like the tank and weight belt, seem like they'd tear right through the hull of a ORU before you got ten meters off the beach.

I took my Rescue Diver cert, which including a bit about body recovery, but fortunately I never had to do that for real. Whytecliff Park, where this kayaker was supposedly headed, is a popular dive site. I hope no "civilian" diver makes a grim discovery on a future day out...
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Off topic...I did my open water SCUBA cert at Whytecliff Park. That spot has a crazy dropoff that goes deep...very deep. So a novice with poor buoyancy control has a pretty good chance of sinking rapidly into real trouble. Never understood why this was a good place to certify new divers.
 
mick_allen said:
Even if un-folded, one would think the panel assembly would still float and possibly be seen/found.

Looks like he was still in a wind shadow, but getting close to the blurred margin. Too bad he wasn't closer in to shore:

View attachment 16518
[screenshot cropped plus near field de-emphasized]
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It looks as if he was still paddling when this video was taken.
 
Gary Jacek said:
Off topic...I did my open water SCUBA cert at Whytecliff Park. That spot has a crazy dropoff that goes deep...very deep. So a novice with poor buoyancy control has a pretty good chance of sinking rapidly into real trouble. Never understood why this was a good place to certify new divers.
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Yup, at least one student fatality there,
https://globalnews.ca/news/2993283/female-dies-during-scuba-diving-class-at-whytecliff-park/
plus various others over the years not specifically student related. Partially that sampling bias is going be precisely because it's such a popular dive spot - kinda like most car accidents happen on roads, because that's where people mostly drive.

I really liked Whytecliff for night dives, because you often found octopuses in the cliff cracks at ninety feet or deeper. I vividly remember one such dive where I put out my hand to shake with an exploring tentacle as I gazed into obviously intelligent eyes. The tentacle drew back, apparently put off by the neoprene texture of my dive glove. On impulse, I slipped the glove off, and let that tentacle pursue a gentle, exploring caress against my bare skin. The response included no Hollywood Kraken attempts to pull me in or eat me - just a leisurely examination of a new thing in its environment.

Back to the buoyancy control issue: people can be really odd and short-sighted about gear. I remember when I took my drift/current diving cert, the instructor stressed that if any of us made the decision during the course that we needed to ditch the weight belt for safety, the school would cover the cost of it. They didn't want anyone thinking "I'd rather die than lose this expensive belt..." Not sure a student would remember that was an option. Or that they'd remember how important it would be to exhale all the way up.
 
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Not that it matters too much at this stage, but:

The video does not actually show him anywhere"near Bird islet". It's Millers Landing on Bowen Island in the background. So he is actually just off the north point of Whiteclif Marine park, and looking at Bowen Island hills sky line, the cam is probably located at one of the houses along Arbutus Rd or the one at the end of Arbutus Pl. This is consistent with a witness seeing him heading north after rounding Whyte Islet.

So he's still north of his starting point (Bachelor Bay) at this stage and probably trying to get back but has quartering sea from the west-southwest, making it difficult to keep his heading and stay upright. The ferry at this location passes 800 m from shore. He's probably ~200 m from shore at most at this moment.
 
Body found in water near Rocky Point in Port Moody Saturday Dec.7
No specific details available. Death does not appear suspicious. Possibly the missing kayaker??? Gender was not disclosed.
 
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