A Harsh Wake Up Call

I took my last BCU cert with Dave 2 summers ago. He was twice the sea kayaker I am. Please, please, please don't ever take the easy way when it comes to safety. Train, practice, take classes, know your stuff. The sea aint no joke, even when you're an "expert". Dave whent out doing what he loved.

This was posted to the OOPS list serve at 8:04 pm on Saturday evening by Fred Harsmin.

"I have to make a sad announcement. Dave Graham passed away in a kayaking accident on Saturday. There were 5 of us in conditions well within Dave's capability. He capsized in the surf and was never able to exit of his boat. Greg Clopton paddled up to do a hand of god and had him half way up when a wave knocked him away from Dave and capsized him as well. I went in and got Dave out of his boat, but he was unconscious and not breathing. I tried to give him mouth to mouth but he did not respond. We were just 150 yards from the beach and an ambulance took him to the hospital where he was declared dead.
Neither of us actually saw him capsize so we are not sure how long he was over but as Greg approached he lifted his arm. We are unable to explain why he failed to exit his boat. His helmet was off and floating but there were no bruises visible. The coroner might better be able to the factors that caused this very experienced kayaker to fail to exit. Dave started kayak surfing when he was 15 in the United Kingdom in short boats and began paddling long boats 7 or 8 years ago. He has a roll on both sides but neither of us saw him try. Dave has competed and placed in several kayak surf competitions in recent years and in the summer gets out 2-3 times a week, primarily to Indian Beach in one of his surf kayaks.
Dave will be dearly missed by his many friends and family. He was very bright and full of life. He had a knack for making others smile, and was very giving and well respected in his field at Intel. My personal loss has yet to truly sink in. I have done week long trips with Dave. This summer the two of us kayaked in the San Juans. He is one of my favorite people to paddle with. Diana, the love of his life and soul mate asked us to say a prayer for she and her family in this time of need.

With an unbelievable sadness in my heart,

Fred Harsman"

Sorry to hear about that. Didn't know Dave, but he sounded like a great guy. RIP.


Brian

My condolences to his family and friends. No joke is right. Lots of bad things can happen when someone huli's in the surf, even on an SOT.

My sincerest condolences to his family and friends!

The ocean is a harsh mistress. Never take your safety for granted.

-Mark-

He put out some great point of view video footage that really pumps ya up to want to get out there.

My heart goes out to those closest to him, especially this close to the holidays. 

So sorry to hear about this. My heart goes out to his family and friends.

- Karl

Most definitely a sad thing to hear about!  My prayers go out to his family and friends!

-Rudy

Most definitely a sad thing to hear about!  My prayers go out to his family and friends!

-Rudy

Very sad to hear and for the family and friends to work through. Jana' and I  are praying.
Holt

It's always sad to hear of a tragic death.  My thoughts are with his family and friends.  It sound like Dave died doing something he loved.  Respect the sea and never turn your back on it.

-Allen

My condolences go out to the family and friends of this man. I loved watching his videos on youtube. Truly sad.

My condolences to family and friends.  This kind of tragedy makes me very aware of why training and safety are so very fundamental. Even so, as ya'll have said, the sea is a dangerous mistress.  Be aware that there is always risk.  I guess the best way to honor  someone like this, one of the good ones, is to be diligent about the realities and respectful of the environment we choose to play in.

I'm sure Dave's family appreciates all the good thoughts.

It is sad, but it is true, at least he was doing what he loved.

Definately humbling & took me down a notch or two, as I'm sure it will for many people in the local kayak community.

My guess would be he maybe had a gasp reflex & heart attack or fainted from the immersion & cold water, and/or he was spent when he capsized and failed on a few rolls and went hypothermic, unconsious, and that was that.

I've almost fainted from flodding my sinuses with cold water while rolling. I can see how if no one knew you capsized and you don't roll right up which is often the case in the surf zone, that could be an issue.

Remember it is not just for you that safety matters-- but for those loved ones who will forever miss your companionship..

He put out some great point of view video footage that really pumps ya up to want to get out there.

My heart goes out to those closest to him, especially this close to the holidays. 

He had great video. Got me pumped too. When we met at the BCU cert, I recognized him from those videos. I said "did you make some videos of kayak surfing at Indian Beach?" He said "No must have been someone else."

I knew it was him and he knew I knew it was him, but he said it with a strait face so I let it go with that.

He had tons of experience surfing kayaks, but I remember him asking me before hand to talk him through a rescue & re-entry as he had never seen or done one before. I gladly talked him through it as he was my rescue partner for the day!

He did fine that day, but put all the scratches in my (old) new boat.

Here is the memoriam that I found on Intel's Intranet front page.

In Memoriam: David Graham   
 
 
     
 Employee Communications
December 14, 2009 
 
 
It is with great sadness that we inform you that David Graham passed away in a sea kayaking accident on Saturday, December 5.

Dave was the middle of three children born in the U.K. to Henry and Grainne and they lived in a large house in the Cheshire countryside. Henry was the local doctor, and he built canoes in his spare time – which no doubt is why Dave first became interested in the sport. Dave's mother is from Ireland and had come to Liverpool to study nursing after World War II. His parents met when they were both working at a teaching hospital. Dave has two sisters. The eldest sister Jill, married to John, has three children, one named Michael David in Dave's honor and he has certainly inherited Dave's love of traveling. His younger sister Sue is married to another David and they have two sons.

Dave was going to follow his Dad into the medical profession but after a year switched to a mathematics degree at Liverpool University. Dave’s brother in law, John, first met Dave in 1976 and even at that age noted “…he was not your average student. He had an extensive (and expensive for a student) aquarium of tropical fish and was always working on strange mathematical puzzles.” After university Dave worked for Plessey, a large U.K. telecommunications equipment maker, as part of the team developing the early digital telephone exchanges.

Dave started working at Intel in 1993. He worked on a variety of programs including: ProShare video conferencing, routers and switches, ADSL modems, residential gateways, wireless access points, and most recently wired Ethernet. He was a gifted technical puzzle solver and very competent engineer who impressed many with his ability to dive deep into technical issues and clearly communicate the issue details and solutions to his peers and our customers.

Dave spent most of his spare time kayaking. He made frequent trips to the Pacific ocean, Columbia River, and San Juan Islands as well as competing in an annual surf kayak competition in Santa Cruz. Dave was also a talented photographer, gardener, and had even dabbled in bee keeping.

Dave was a wonderful friend, a very talented engineer, and one tenacious technical puzzle solver. He will be greatly missed by all who had the pleasure to know him..

Dave was involved as a volunteer with CardioStart International (www.cardiostart.org) and had recently made a trip to Peru to improve community buildings in a remote village.

Details of Dave’s memorial service are as follows:

When:
    11 a.m. Tuesday, December 15
Where:
    Waud's Funeral Home
    1414 3rd Street
    Tillamook, Oregon
    (503) 842-7557