Coast Guard rescues 20 Kayaker idiots Deception Pass

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Paddle Party in Deception Pass . . . . . What could possibly go wrong?:nonono:
 
People who know and respect the elements dont do this stuff in fall and winter with barely 50 F degree waters and currents that run like a river, especially with the number of wind storms we have had around here of late.
Been blowing nearly every day for a month or more.
Do stupid things, win stupid prizes. Lucky somebody didnt drown!
Hope they learned something....
 
OldDan1943 said:
I am surprise folks are not getting hurt or dying at Bakers Haulover
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That used to be my inlet, when we lived in south Florida and kept our boat at a marina in Sunny Isles. It smacked me good one day!

The entire time we lived there, though, I was in constant amazement at how few boating fatalities there actually were.

From what we constantly observed, I would have not been surprised to hear that several dozen had died every weekend. :eek:
 
Group9 said:
From what we constantly observed, I would have not been surprised to hear that several dozen had died every weekend. :eek:
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Yup, put everyone fwd in a bow rider and serve them booze
 
Coast Guard rescues 20 kayakers.

BELLINGHAM, Wash. (AP) — Marine rescue crews, including a boat from Coast Guard Station Bellingham, rescued more than 20 paddlers caught off guard and capsized by winds during the Deception Pass Challenge paddling and rowing race.

The Coast Guard received reports at about 9:30 a.m. Saturday that several kayak and paddleboarders capsized during a race through Deception Pass, the Coast Guard said in a release Monday. No injuries were reported, the Bellingham Herald reported.

Callers estimated that 15 to 20 of the 75 racers had capsized and were in the water due to high winds, the release said. Many others needed help getting back to shore.

The Coast Guard Cutter Adelie was already nearby when the call came in, according to the release. The Adelie crew recovered five people from the water and helped 20 kayakers to safety, the release said. The Coast Guard Cutter Sea Lion recovered two people from the water and helped 10 others to safety.

Capt. Patrick Hilbert, the commander of Coast Guard Sector Puget Sound, said the incident "reinforces the importance of wearing a life jacket and constantly assessing the increased risks posed by the weather and water conditions that are always changing here in the Pacific Northwest.”
 
Seems like there’s more to the story. It’s an organized race requiring preregistration that has been held for 15 years and intended for experienced paddlers. I think with the exception of the helo all of the SAR assets were in place on the course prior to the start. A half hour into the race the organizers in concert with the CG chose to halt the race.

It’s not clear why conditions degraded so rapidly and whether it should have been reasonably foreseen. But there were dozens of professionals there at the time who would have been in a position to know.

Experienced paddlers go into those kinds of conditions all the time and in freezing water temps. The vast majority dress for immersion and have the requisite skills. Characterizing them as Darwin Award idiots is grossly ill-informed.
 
Porgy said:
Seems like there’s more to the story. It’s an organized race requiring preregistration that has been held for 15 years and intended for experienced paddlers. I think with the exception of the helo all of the SAR assets were in place on the course prior to the start. A half hour into the race the organizers in concert with the CG chose to halt the race.

It’s not clear why conditions degraded so rapidly and whether it should have been reasonably foreseen. But there were dozens of professionals there at the time who would have been in a position to know.

Experienced paddlers go into those kinds of conditions all the time and in freezing water temps. The vast majority dress for immersion and have the requisite skills. Characterizing them as Darwin Award idiots is grossly ill-informed.
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Thanks. You said what I was thinking.



Bill (an experienced and safety-minded kayaker)
 
Porgy said:
Seems like there’s more to the story. It’s an organized race requiring preregistration that has been held for 15 years and intended for experienced paddlers. I think with the exception of the helo all of the SAR assets were in place on the course prior to the start. A half hour into the race the organizers in concert with the CG chose to halt the race.

It’s not clear why conditions degraded so rapidly and whether it should have been reasonably foreseen. But there were dozens of professionals there at the time who would have been in a position to know.

Experienced paddlers go into those kinds of conditions all the time and in freezing water temps. The vast majority dress for immersion and have the requisite skills. Characterizing them as Darwin Award idiots is grossly ill-informed.
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Very well said! Thank you.
 
I agree with Porgy. It maybe wasn't the best judgement of the race committe or the participants or maybe the condtions deteriorated more rapidly than anyone could have predicted. In terms of boating stupidity incidents, I don't know that this even belongs on the list. You could spend a lifetime watching you tube before you'd reach this one.
 
Porgy said:
Seems like there’s more to the story. It’s an organized race requiring preregistration that has been held for 15 years and intended for experienced paddlers. I think with the exception of the helo all of the SAR assets were in place on the course prior to the start. A half hour into the race the organizers in concert with the CG chose to halt the race.

It’s not clear why conditions degraded so rapidly and whether it should have been reasonably foreseen. But there were dozens of professionals there at the time who would have been in a position to know.

Experienced paddlers go into those kinds of conditions all the time and in freezing water temps. The vast majority dress for immersion and have the requisite skills. Characterizing them as Darwin Award idiots is grossly ill-informed.
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I disagree. That they went into such conditions knowingly only proves the point as evidenced by so many of them having to be rescued by the CG. Darwinian behavior at its worst. Idiots.
 
78puget-trawler said:
I disagree. That they went into such conditions knowingly only proves the point as evidenced by so many of them having to be rescued by the CG. Darwinian behavior at its worst. Idiots.
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In the official report I don't see any mention of bad judgement of the conditions at the start of the event, only that it's important to wear pfd's and to be aware that conditions in that area can change rapidly.
 
I read conditions were acceptable at the start and the wind shifted twenty minutes into the race putting wind against current rapidly building waves. Ten minutes later they called the race. Many capsized, did self recoveries, rolls, assisted recoveries or “practice” as some participants called it. Some were assisted by SAR as reported. Everyone was back ashore in less than an hour.

So far as I’ve learned, none of the participants saw this as a big deal. It seems like a big deal to those who have no clue of the skill levels and abilities of paddlers and the steps taken, successfully, to avoid harm. It sounds more like the CG took this as an opportunity to advise less experienced boaters of the risks “wear a life jacket, weather can change” and some deserved self promotion PR, rather than a “Perfect Storm idiots be killed” moment. Or, rather than merely an opportunity to wallow in ignorance and engage in name calling.
 
Porgy said:
I read conditions were acceptable at the start and the wind shifted twenty minutes into the race putting wind against current rapidly building waves. Ten minutes later they called the race. Many capsized, did self recoveries, rolls, assisted recoveries or “practice” as some participants called it. Some were assisted by SAR as reported. Everyone was back ashore in less than an hour.

So far as I’ve learned, none of the participants saw this as a big deal. It seems like a big deal to those who have no clue of the skill levels and abilities of paddlers and the steps taken, successfully, to avoid harm. It sounds more like the CG took this as an opportunity to advise less experienced boaters of the risks “wear a life jacket, weather can change” and some deserved self promotion PR, rather than a “Perfect Storm idiots be killed” moment. Or, rather than merely an opportunity to wallow in ignorance and engage in name calling.
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Well, ignorance and name calling is much easier! Path of least resistance and all.
 
Porgy said:
Or, rather than merely an opportunity to wallow in ignorance and engage in name calling.
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…by people who probably wouldn’t be caught dead in a kayak at all or in anything less than perfect conditions. Deception Pass isn’t particularly challenging for an experienced kayaker any month of the year with a look at the tide and weather. I’ve paddled through it once at slack with a partner in December, once I rode the ebb with a guided group.

The USCG was on station because of the race, as is normal for an event that has been held every year for some time. I imagine these racers would have all self rescued or been assisted by race organizers if they had not.

I find the USCG Captain’s statement to be curious if not confusing. Everyone involved was doing both of the things that he warned about. How about “even experienced boaters can experience an emergency, this situation shows that proper preparation and gear can turn a life-threatening situation into a non-event.”

This fall I by happenstance was in the position to rescue a gentleman who had somehow managed - while sober - to fall out of a rowing kayak in a bay of Orcas Island during perfectly calm and still conditions - except for the wake of the ferry passing by in the channel. Oops. No PFD, no dry top or neoprene of any sort, no bailing device, no radio or beacon, too far to swim to shore easily, dubious re-entry skills etc. etc. I had him on shore with the deputies and paramedics and was back to my cockpit drinking my second cocktail when the USCG Dolphin - though canceled by then - passed overhead for a looksee before RTB’ing. The people racing this weekend weren’t this guy.
 
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Porgy said:
I read conditions were acceptable at the start and the wind shifted twenty minutes into the race putting wind against current rapidly building waves. Ten minutes later they called the race. Many capsized, did self recoveries, rolls, assisted recoveries or “practice” as some participants called it. Some were assisted by SAR as reported. Everyone was back ashore in less than an hour.

So far as I’ve learned, none of the participants saw this as a big deal. It seems like a big deal to those who have no clue of the skill levels and abilities of paddlers and the steps taken, successfully, to avoid harm. It sounds more like the CG took this as an opportunity to advise less experienced boaters of the risks “wear a life jacket, weather can change” and some deserved self promotion PR, rather than a “Perfect Storm idiots be killed” moment. Or, rather than merely an opportunity to wallow in ignorance and engage in name calling.
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If you need to be plucked out of the water by the CG, its a big deal. Any moron could see that this is really gnarly weather of late we are having around here.
I live about 5 miles as the crow flies from the pass and have some idea of local conditions, and lately they just plain suck.
To go out in tiny pieces of plastic in that area this time of year is just nuts.
That they needed CG help is all the argument needed. Dont tell me they weren't glad to see them, they were.
 
Yup, saw that one when driving over the bridge on Saturday, I think around 10-11. Multiple small rescue boats and one cutter. The cutter was very close into shore. I figured it was probably a training exercise due to so many boats zooming around, that or someone had jumped off the bridge, but they rarely have that many boats on just a recovery.

They have this race every year and lots of truly experienced paddlers. That said, conditions at the time were pretty bad. Experienced or not, the conditions were not the sort you go play in. Lots of energy coming into the pass.

Curious and I’m sure there actually is a good explanation, but If conditions really changed that quickly, why didn’t they just paddle into Cornet Bay and get a ride back to Bowman? Seemed the area just outside the bridge and just inside was where the action seemed to be concentrated when I saw it. As bad as the waves that can come in from the straight can be, once under the bridge the dangerous wave action is usually gone.
 
I'm not sure why everyone assumes they can judge the situation better sitting in their chair vs a bunch of people organizing an event right there at the scene. Why assume they are all idiots and that you are so much smarter. Do you really think you are?


Looking back at the current through deception pass, it was slack then. I'm guessing that's not just because they got lucky.


Glad everyone was OK.


What I can tell you is that down here it went from blowing a steady 20 kts to blowing just under 70 kts. That's hurricane force. My wife said her glasses almost blew off here face. I'm glad I wasn't in a kayak at the time.
 
Twisted, is that a paddleboard strapped to the rails. You said Kayak. I guess you took offense so I apologies for your hurt feelings.
 
Soo-Valley said:
Twisted, is that a paddleboard strapped to the rails. You said Kayak. I guess you took offense so I apologies for your hurt feelings.
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My comment wasn't directed at anyone in particular, and no offense taken. It's just that when you read the first wave of comments, they all pretty much say "what idiots, darwin at work, etc.".


Someone later commented that there must be more to the story. I think that's a much healthier starting point rather than assuming others are idiots and that you know better.


Not sure about the paddleboard strapped to the railing comment. Are you talking about my boat? If so, they are kayaks. I'd fall over immediately on a paddle board, deception pass or not, high winds or not.
 
This event is similar to what I used to do: Superbike motorcycle racing on scheduled dates at racetracks, rain or shine. We had corner workers and first responders, the kayakers had some rescue boats on standby, same sort of deal.

Guys would mostly lowside and pick themselves up, kayakers similar drill. If someone got up slow or was in the way we'd respond and pick them up, same as rescue boats here.
No big deal to those who have been there done that.

A lot of people avoid risks in life in order to make it safely to death.
 
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