Kayak guide's death on Yellowstone Lake

The March 30 Missoulian contains an article which reports on an investigation into the death of a kayak guide on Yellowstone Lake in Yellowstone National Park on June 14, 2017.  There is a lot to be learned from this article. http://missoulian.com/lifestyles/recreation/details-revealed-about-kayak-guide-s-drowning-death-in-yellowstone/article_679fcf0a-5c29-50b7-b529-6e62a555743b.html . A few high points:

Yellowstone Lake contains 136 square miles, and is the second largest lake in the world above 7,000 feet.  On June 14, 2017, the water temperature was 38 to 43 degrees, the air temperature was about 53 degrees, and the wind was blowing 13 to 21 mph.  In those conditions, three kayak guides led an O.A.R.S. West commercial tour group of nine guests on what was supposed to be a three-hour 4-mile round trip tour to West Thumb Geyser Basin.  They were in sit-inside sea kayaks.  The guides and one guest were in solo kayaks, and the remaining 8 guests were in tandem kayaks.  The guest in the solo kayak tipped over, and the wind was blowing the group away from shore.  The guides didn't know how to get the guest back into his kayak, so two guides towed him to shore.  While the other guide was trying to rig the capsized kayak for towing, he tipped over.  He was 23 years old, and was wearing a ball cap, a shirt, lightweight pants, and Teva sandals.  The guest was showing signs of hypothermia by the time they got him to shore.  One guide remained with the guest while the other guide and a guest in a tandem kayak went to try to help the guide who was in the water.  He had been hanging onto his kayak, and had not been able to re-enter it.  He was floating listlessly in the water and was conscious but confused.  The guide and guest tried to pull him into the empty cockpit of the tandem kayak, but he was too lethargic to help, so they began towing him to shore.  Another guest arrived, and they were able to drape the guide onto one boater's lap.  They were about a quarter mile from shore and had difficulty making headway against the wind.  Park Rangers pulled him into a motorboat after he had been in the water for 20 to 30 minutes, but he was unconscious, had no pulse, and was not breathing.  Attempts to revive him via CPR were unsuccessful.

One of the surviving guides told investigators that she had received no training in how to get a client back into a kayak if they capsized, how a guide could use a paddle float to get back into a kayak, or how to contact authorities for help in an emergency.  One of the "guides" had only been in a kayak five times before the incident.  The guide who died was in his first season working as a kayak guide for OARS, and investigators could not determine what prior kayaking experience he had.

In other words, a typical recreational kayaking scenario.  On April 8, 2016, I was kayak fishing on Lindbergh Lake a week after ice broke up on the northern quarter of the lake.  The rest of the lake was still covered with ice.  Two kayakers came out to the edge of the ice in sit-inside kayaks wearing shorts and cotton tee shirts, with no PFDs.  If one or both of them had tipped over, they would have been in big trouble.  I took the picture of one of the kayakers when he returned to the boat ramp; I wish I had taken a picture of him by the edge of the ice.

I had just returned from kayak fishing in the Sea of Cortez when I read of the tragedy that prompted this investigation. Thanks for the rest of the story.
   Because of safety tips I found in the archives of this site, I have purchased and read 2 books this winter, "Deep Trouble," and "More Deep Trouble." They're on sea kayaking but in my inexperienced opinion they should be required for all of us new to fishing big, windy water. I'll happily send one or both on to anyone who wants to know more about what's potentially deadly to big water kayakers.
   The gist: hypothermia disables, then kills; immersion, without adequate immersion gear, can cause hypothermia within minutes in cold water and eventually even in relatively warm water; unanticipated wind is the major cause of capsize, hence immersion; I must get my kayak upright and get back in it, in wind and waves, before hypothermia disables me, have another means of rescue, or I shouldn't be out.
    Don't think I'm being negative, alarmist or fearful. I love fishing, live for it, and have a LOT of fun at it. I want to keep doing it, for a long time, and without worry on the water or by others onshore. From my reading I've learned I needed better safety gear and training. I've gotten both, though the training will, I think, continue to be a work in progress.
    Just remember, we're human. We make mistakes. Hopefully, we can learn enough from the mistakes of others to survive our own. Tight lines, safe and fun fishing!

http://nwsportsmanmag.com/kayak-angling-safety-reminder-whatll-kill-you-and-how-to-mitigate-that-risk/

I'll post this article up to the front page when I get a chance. 

-Mark-

Spot, thanks for the great article with so many reminders that we all need to see and practice regularly. I do hope everyone will take the time to read this and follow your advice.

As a side note, I was a fishing guide on Yellowstone Lake back in the '60's. It's a huge, deep and very cold lake and storms could come up faster than we could get off the lake in a powerboat, let alone a kayak. Hard to believe anyone today would pose as a kayak guide service on those waters without appropriate training.

This article about this tragedy is enlightening and I particularly like the comment at the end.

Good post.  SH*t happens, and it happens fast!!  A few years ago, I was fishing at Point No POint in WA for salmon, it was Jan 30, my buddy and I were out about 1/4 mile from shore, I hear him yell "Ter!"--I thought he had hooked up, I looked over and saw him in the water, about 100 yards away.  I pedaled over and could not get him back into his boat, he had on a heavy (cotton) parka with a wet suit bottom, and had been in for about 10 minutes, trying to get back on his Hobie Revo. Wind was a problem, boat kept drifting away.  Water temp was 43.  I grabbed him by his PFD, and pedaled my Hobie Adventure for shore, took a good 10-15 minutes, and by the time I got him ashore and into his truck for dry clothes, he was blue.  Took about an hour before he was ready to drive back to Tacoma, and a couple days before he was back to normal.  We both bought dry suits the next week.  If he had been alone, or if I had had a sit-in kayak, the story would have had a tragic ending.  Even in the summer, Puget Sound is about 53 degrees, too cold for a long swim.  Present temp in my home waters (Quartermaster Harbor) is 49 degrees. 

Wearing clothing on top of a dry suit can make it harder to climb back into a kayak.  I was kayak fishing in my Revolution on a cool day, and put on a pile sweater over my dry suit and under my PFD to keep warm.  A storm suddenly came up with strong winds which sent fields of whitecaps running down the lake towards me.  At one point a whirlwind of spray developed at the front of one of the fields of whitecaps and ran from right to left along the front of the field, and passed about 30 yards in front of me shortly before the field hit me. I'm a whitewater kayaker, so I pulled up my Mirage Drive and started paddling for shelter behind a point.  Before I reached the point I got hit by a violent gust which blew spray about 6 feet above the waves.  I braced like crazy, but the gust tipped over my kayak and dumped me in the water.  I snorkel and spearfish for pike while wearing a dry suit, and am used to climbing back in a kayak while wearing 13-16 pounds of weight on my body and about 3 pounds on each ankle, but I  was surprised at how much more difficult the wet sweater made it to climb back into my kayak.

This incident has made me be more cautious about kayaking in high winds.