Two men reported missing on kayak fishing trip, bodies found

Sad story. Small weather window on the ocean, unfamiliar with their equipment. If they had families, I hope they had their life insurance premiums paid up. Tip a Foster's at Spot's clinic tonight.

Terrible. Thoughts go out to their families. Not to add any further dampers to this great sport but if you do have life insurance, check the fine print. Often times they exclude payment for deaths related to skydiving, mountain climbing AND kayaking.  Mine through my company makes no exemptions from kayaking but a risk manager on another forum said many do.

Sorry about the bummer but it's worth looking at.....


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So sad 

From the article:
"They were making their maiden voyage in kayaks which had small motors attached, with no previous experience on the small watercraft."

I wonder if they had been using other (non-motorized) kayaks or if they had no previous kayaking experience, its hard to tell from the article. It would be interesting to find out if the kayakers were wearing immersion gear of some sort or had a VHF radio.

Just one more reason that it bums me out that I cant make Spots clinic. Knowledge is power, and never right a check that your butt cant cash. My prayers go out to the 2 Aussies families and hope that others learn from their misfortune.

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/8382183/bodies-found-as-police-seek-kayakers
Some video of the search and a news report.

The inspector said that the life vests were the only kind of safety equipment they were using that he was aware of. Immersion gear and VHF's may have saved their lives.

Also it seems that they were essentially new to kayaking before their first and final trip.

This is a tragedy but in all likelihood a preventable one.

I wonder if they had been using other (non-motorized) kayaks or if they had no previous kayaking experience, its hard to tell from the article. It would be interesting to find out if the kayakers were wearing immersion gear of some sort or had a VHF radio.


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This is really sad and scary.

I'm glad I finally bought a dry suit. I've also been buying more safety/survival gear these past couple of months.

They had PFDs, so I wonder if they just got caught in some huge surf around rocks. I think I might invest in a kayak helmet for surf launch/landing.

I was reading this morning the kayakers were most likely got caught off guard by an incoming cold front. Apparently they pushed off early in the morning to beautiful weather, and were most likely unaware if the incoming front. The winds that day suddenly switched directions when the front passed with sudden winds upwards of 30-35mph.

Very Sad!

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I think I might invest in a kayak helmet for surf launch/landing.
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That is an excellent idea. Your kayak when tossed about or up-ended by waves can put the hurt on you for sure (damhik). Pelagic also sustained a concussion from his kayak.

You don't have to lay out a bunch of cash for a kayak specific helmet, an old bike helmet or a multi-sport model from Target will give you decent protection. Anything is better than nothing when it comes to an impact of a rod holder or your keel and your skull.

What he said.  The Nutcase brand makes affordable and durable helmets for a variety of uses.  They also have swell patterns. 

Including the old school Benny Beaver.

http://www.nutcasehelmets.com/collections/street/gen2/benny-beaver

Sorry, Lee, no Precious Moments ones.

Stop hating bro.

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