Safety

Dunning Kruger effect (noun) When someone is so incompetent that they believe that they are exceptionally skilled.

You never think it will happen to you. . .

Its inevitable, the more you do something that has an inherent risk the more likely you will find yourself in need of help. It finally happened to me on a beautiful northwest day out of Makah Bay on the Olympic Peninsula.

I was a student taking part in a 3 day BCU 4 Star Coastal Leadership Training. The training was Sat. thru Mon. however I left from work Friday morning and made a bee line straight fro the coast. The weather forecast was for clear skies, light NW winds, and a NW swell of 6-8’ and falling all weekend. I figured I would show up early and get to the beach to get a few hours of playing in the surf.

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Life Jackets Could Have Prevented This Tragedy

From: The Olympian, Rolf Boone; staff writer

The body of a 31 year old man who went missing a week ago after a canoe accident claimed the life of his toddler son was found Saturday at Lake Limerick in Mason County, according to the Mason County Coroner.

The coroner was notified about 5 p.m. Saturday that the man's body had been recovered by a search team working with the Mason County Sheriff's Office. An autopsy is set for Monday.

Authorities began searching for the man last week after his son's body was found at the lake, which is about 8 miles northeast of Shelton, at 9:21 p.m. Saturday, March 17.

Witnesses saw two people in a canoe on the lake about 6 p.m. that Saturday and then later saw the same canoe unoccupied, floating free.

The boy’s body was found floating in the lake. He was not wearing a life jacket and likely neither was the father after two life jackets were found in the canoe.

The boy’s mother, said her son and her husband had gone for a canoe ride about 5 p.m. Saturday and then she became concerned after they were expected to return home about 6:30.

The man had taken his son out for a canoe ride to give his wife “a little break” on her birthday, Mason County sheriff’s chief deputy B. Dean Byrd said at the time.

Read more here: http://www.theolympian.com/2012/03/25/2044383/body-of-shelton-man-31-found-at.html?storylink=fb#storylink=cpy

Kayaker dies in an attempt to cross to the Falklands

A Malvinas war veteran drowned in an attempt to reach the Falkland Islands in a kayak from Ushuaia while his companion was rescued by an Argentine Navy patrol and is in hospital in a state of chock, reported the Buenos Aires press in the last day of 2011.

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Search suspended for missing kayaker near Bainbridge Island

Originally Published at USCG Newsroom on September 17, 2011 6:52:17 PM EDT

SEATTLE — The Coast Guard suspended its search for a missing kayaker near Bainbridge Island, Wash., Saturday.

The 27-year-old man went missing Friday while kayaking with a friend near Port Blakely, on the south end of Bainbridge Island. The Coast Guard and Bainbridge Island Police searched an area approximately 45 square miles and with six boats and two helicopters.

Three crews from Coast Guard Station Seattle, the Coast Guard Cutter Cuttyhunk and two MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crews from Air Station Port Angeles, Wash., along with two Marine Unit crews from the Bainbridge Island Police Dept., began searching for the man at approximately 10:45 p.m., Friday. The search was suspended 1:22 p.m. Saturday.

The man's kayak and a life jacket were located during the search.  On scene water temperature, at the time of the initial search, was 55 degrees with 10 knot winds and waves less than two feet.

Coast Guard suspends search for possible missing kayaker near Blake Island

Originally Published at USCG Newsroom on October 25, 2010 4:52:06 PM EDT

SEATTLE - Coast Guard Sector Puget Sound, in Seattle, has suspended its search for a possible missing kayaker at 7:45 p.m., in the vicinity of Vashon Island and Blake Island, Wash., Saturday.

Coast Guard Sector Puget Sound received notification from the Washington State Ferry Tillicum at 6:50 a.m. of an orange kayak, with a lifejacket and a paddle onboard, adrift in between Vashon Island and Blake Island State Marine Park.

Coast Guard Station Seattle launched a 41-foot Utility Boat rescue crew at 7:15 a.m., and searched a 33-square-mile area for more than 11 hours.

Coast Guard Air Station Port Angeles, Wash., launched an HH-65 Dolphin helicopter rescue crew at 8:05 a.m., which searched a 28-square-mile area for more than 2 hours.

"If this kayak had an Operation Paddle Smart identification sticker it could have assisted in determining whether or not there was a kayaker in distress or the kayak was derelict and accidentally adrift," said Lt. Scott Melton, senior watch officer, Sector Puget Sound.    

The bottom line is these Paddle Smart stickers can save lives" says Captain Chris Martino, Commander, Group/Air Station Humboldt Bay. "By enabling the Coast Guard to rapidly link abandoned or drifting paddle craft to their owners, these stickers help rescuers to determine if a mariner is truly in distress and, in many cases, the best search area.  Considering the harsh Pacific Northwest environment, minutes can often make all the difference. Even if it is determined that the owner is not in distress, these stickers can ensure that valuable property gets back to its rightful owner.  It's remarkable that something as small and insignificant as a Paddle Smart sticker can provide such an overwhelming benefit to the boating public