A kayaker off central Vancouver Island was rescued yesterday after getting dumped in to Johnstone Strait. He ended up in the water north of Kelsey Bay near Campbell River, and activated his SPOT satellite global positioning system about 2 PM. His distress call was relayed to local RCMP and despite the fact that he was was being swept away in strong currents, he was picked up an hour later by a local tugboat. He was suffering from mild hypothermia.
Local rescue officials give credit to the SPOT beacon for the timely rescue.
We at Kayak Yak always take our SPOTs with us when we venture out on the waves.
The family of this person is so very grateful and express our heartfelt thanks to everyone involved in preventing a tragic loss. The bravery under extreme pressure of this person's teen age daughter was a critical aspect of this chain of events.
ReplyDeleteAs as family of believers, we see a long chain of events that needed to occur for this successful rescue.
But again, many thanks to those people at the scene who saved this much loved person
It would be helpful for the kayaking community to know how the kayaker ended up in the water.
ReplyDeleteAlan
It's real easy for any kayaker to end up in the water, no matter how expert and no matter how good the weather. I'm so glad to hear that the paddler is okay, and the daughter too!
ReplyDeleteKudos for the SPOT team and the tugboat -- I take my SPOT whenever I go on the water or hiking or camping. So far, our paddle group has only ever sent ok messages, but that's good too.