leash your paddle!

People would likely prefer not to come and perform a rescue at 11:00 PM.

http://www.newslincolncounty.com/archives/163460

10:10pm
North Lincoln Fire Rescue is scrambling and heading to 2509 Three Rocks Road on a report that a kayaker drifting without a paddle (he lost it). The Coast Guard has been called but they say the area in question is probably too shallow for their motorlifeboat.
10:28pm
One fireman says he can see somebody waving a flashlight from out of the dark. Don’t know if it’s the kayaker. Checking to see from the reporting party whether the guy has a cellphone on him.

10:31pm
Fire rescue reports the man’s wife and children are on the south bank of the Salmon River. They say the man is stranded without a paddle. The tide is out so it’s likely the Coast Guard will be prevented from motoring upriver to rescue him. Thus far no word on a Coast Guard helo which could probably pluck him up in 90 seconds. But North Lincoln Fire seems intent to get the job done themselves.

10:36pm
Fire rescue has the area lit up and they can see the kayaker. Now they just have to get enough people together to get out there and grab him.

10:44pm
Rescue Command is now wondering whether access to the kayaker would be easier through Camp Westwind. Others are checking out whether it would be better to use Knight Park on the other side of the river as a staging area.

10:50pm
A group of Westwind staff is walking toward the area where the kayaker is stranded. It’s pitch dark so they need to be able to size up the area to know which direction to come in from – from the south bank or the north bank.

10:53pm
Westwind staff says they’re probably ten minutes away from the kayaker.

10:58pm
Sheriff’s Search and Rescue are with the kayaker.

11:02pm
Sheriff’s Search and Rescue says they’re getting the kayaker back on solid ground. North Lincoln Fire-Rescue can stand down.

Keep a backup in the hull too.


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Wow.  Looking at the site on google maps, if it was low tide the dude probably could have gotten out of his boat and walked ashore.  But yeah, leashing the paddle would be the second-best idea.  (best idea would be going out properly equipped to start with)

Jim

Aside from inconveniencing a lot of public safety people in the middle of the night, this was an expensive mistake, since he'll probably never see that paddle again.  If you choose not to leash your paddle, at least write your name and telephone number on it.  Over the years I have picked up two kayak paddles along rivers, and despite posting descriptions of the paddles on various bulletin boards and Craigslist, nobody ever claimed them.

The paddle could be the smallest expense he would see from this incident. If the organization that mobilized to bail his ass out deems his actions to be sufficiently negligent it is possible he could get quite a hefty bill in the mail to cover the cost of his rescue. We're talking thousands, if not tens of thousands of dollars.

Why couldn't this person just hand paddle it back in? This whole think just reeks of stupidity. Is this guy (YouTube video below) back on the water?




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There is 1 item on my kayak that I leash.... the paddle.

I'm not a fan of having multiple loose lines with weighted ends hanging off my kayak because of the potential for them tie me up in a huli.  Thus I don't leash my rods...or my net...or my gaff...or or or...

I'm guessing that the person in need of assistance was not wearing immersion gear. 

-Mark-

Keep a backup in the hull too.


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Yup. When paddling was my main form of propulsion, I carried two. One is none, two is one.

I keep a little orange collapsible  one leashed in my milk crate. I can actually move the TI with it but if two mirage drives and sail all fail I'll be moving pretty slow.


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