A 35-year-old Nebraska man was pulled from the chilly waters of Bellingham Bay and taken to St. Joseph hospital with hypothermia Wednesday afternoon, Oct. 30, after he overturned his kayak and clung to the boat for nearly a half-hour, according to police. The man, who told deputies he had been drinking before he went out on the water, said he stood up in the kayak around 2 p.m. to take off a sweatshirt, lost his balance, and fell in, said Whatcom County Undersheriff Jeff Parks.
A Coast Guard aircrew from Air Station Port Angeles, Wash., and a boatcrew from Station Bellingham, Wash., assisted an overturned kayaker near Birch Bay, Wash., July 31, 2013. A concerned citizen on shore contacted watchstanders at Station Bellingham at about 8 p.m., after seeing the man’s kayak flip over.
Originally Published at USCG Newsroom on July 24, 2013 8:31:56 PM EDT
SEATTLE—The Coast Guard rescues a kayaker who used a handheld radio to call for help after becoming disoriented from the fog in Rosario Strait near Cypress Island, Wash., today.
Sector Puget Sound was able to obtain an approximate location of the kayaker by tracking his radio transmission through the Coast Guard’s Rescue 21 communications system.
At 11 a.m., Sector Puget Sound received a distress call on VHF Channel 16 from a person in a red kayak who had lost awareness of his surroundings due to area fog.
A 25-foot response boat from Coast Guard Station Bellingham was diverted from training on the east side of Guemes Island to assist the kayaker. They located the mariner next to the Reef Point lighted buoy at approximately 11:35 a.m.
The boat crew brought the kayaker aboard and transferred him ashore in Anacortes.
“It’s proven that VHF radios save lives on the water,” said Chief Petty Officer Eric Loyd, the command duty officer at Sector Puget Sound who assisted in establishing the kayaker’s location. “We can get somebody on scene and in a perfect position to help.”
Rescue 21 is an advanced command, control and direction-finding communications system operational along the entire coast of the continental United States, the Great Lakes, Puerto Rico, Hawaii and Guam. The system uses towers along the coast to generate lines of bearing to the source of VHF radio transmissions, establishing an approximate location of the vessel in distress.
Though the accuracy of the system can vary, Loyd said in this case he and his team were able to establish an excellent fix that put the boat crew within one nautical mile of the kayaker’s position.
The Coast Guard recommends that all mariners carry a VHF radio aboard their vessels. Radios are more reliable than cell phones and can be used to alert nearby vessels in the event of an emergency.
MOUNTLAKE TERRACE, Wash. -- A quick-thinking fisherman is being credited with saving a kayaker who capsized in Mountlake Terrace Friday.
"(I heard) 'Help!' and it was in the distance out there," Jon Pulling said pointing where the rescue took place.
Pulling was out on Lake Ballinger after a day of fishing with friends when they saw a man whose kayak had capsized.
"The immediate response was just to run back down with the boat and launch it and run out and try to help the guy," Pulling said.
With the sound of sirens in the background, Pulling went after the man -- a complete stranger who wouldn't let go of his boat and appeared to be in hypothermic shock.
"And he went under, holding onto the kayak," Pulling said. "I dove and pulled him up and just held onto him and at that point I was yelling for the other boat on the lake."
Other boaters on the lake ignored his pleas for help, and making matters worse, the kayaker's life jacket didn't fit right. It was hindering him more than helping.
"He didn't tie it in the back and so he was starting to sink," Pulling said. "His head went under a couple of times and I had to reach and pull him out."
Eventually, fire crews arrived and took the man out of the lake. The man was later able to thank Pulling for the rescue.
"He shook my hand very sincerely and didn't really want to let go, and just thanked me for helping him out," Pulling said.
Pulling had a camera in his boat because he owns a video production company that often records outdoor sports.
Fire officials wouldn't identify the victim but said he was treated at a local hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.
Pulling had a camera in his boat because he owns a video production company that often records outdoor sports.
Monday night post: A kayaker is in grave condition tonight after his boat overturned and crews pulled him from the water between the Key Peninsula and McNeil Island, according to Key Peninsula Fire.
Two men in their late 20s were kayaking in the area known as Pitt Passage when their boat overturned, fire chief Tom Lique said.
One man made it to shore and was able to call 911 about 7:30 p.m. from a home in the 3700 block of 140th Avenue KP South, when residents there let him use their phone.
Multiple agencies responded with vessels to search for the missing kayaker.
The crew of a nearby Coast Guard vessel pulled him from the water, and he was taken to St. Anthony Hospital in Gig Harbor in grave condition, Pierce County Sheriff’s spokesman Ed Troyer said.
The man was in the water for about an hour, and detectives are working to determine what caused the kayak to overturn, Troyer said. Both men were wearing life jackets, he said.
The stranded kayaker was wearing waders, which may have counteracted the life vest, Troyer said.