[Paddle] only one really

[cynthia m brown]

8 miles offshore!! My G---sh.  Well i reasoned they filled full of water &
overturned.  It musta been dark too.  The only rreally 'new' info this
article gives, is the REASON the main boat with the motor didnt go and
round them up. However, had I been the one in charge, I would have 'rounded
them up' long beforehand ... in fact, I would never have allowed them to
leave the 'group'. ... not one,  not one single kayak. But then, thats me. 
I wonder why the motor 'quit'. I wonder were provisions made for 'backup'
should a motor 'quit'. I wonder why all t hese people were out in such
atrocious weather. Poor boys. I wonder how their night was, I wonder what
were the thoughts that went thru their heads. Still, no reasons are given
for why they died ... was it drowning ... exposure ... what? Even w/o  life
jackets (still not mentioned yet), they could have treaded water for hours
(again, had they been trained/knowledgeable in such). One can tread for
quite a long time ... perhaps they grew too tired .... perhaps they even
got separated from each other. Being apparently 'thin' (ie, not much fat
ontheir bodies), they probably didnt float easily. Could be they died of
exhaustion (constant treading, which would have been necessary).  Add to
that the bad weather, their fear, their trepidation, non-adultness (which
theoretically would have led to calmly assessing/apprising the situation). 
certainly it wasnt cold.  Crud is all I can say. Had they been a bit
older/more experienced, they might have known what to do to increase their
chances of survival in such a situation.  Woe on the leader for having ever
let them out of his/her sight. 

cynthia m brown
cynmoon at earthlink.net



> [Original Message]
> From: Chad Skaggs <chadskaggs at mindspring.com>
> To: <cynmoon at earthlink.net>
> Cc: PaddleTally <paddle at paddletally.org>
> Date: 2/28/2005 7:36:47 PM
> Subject: Re: [Paddle] compass...
>
>     Here's a story from ajc.com, the on-line edition of the Atlanta 
> Journal-Constitution. It may answer some of Cyndi's questions.
>
> Chad, in cold Decatur, Ga.
>
>
> Bodies of Ga. teens missing on kayak trip found
>
> FROM STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS
> The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
> Published on: 02/28/05
>
> SUWANNEE, Fla. ­ Two Georgia teens who disappeared Saturday on a school 
> kayaking trip in Florida were found dead today by the Coast Guard in the 
> Gulf of Mexico.
>
> Darlington High School students Sean Wilkinson of Acworth and Clay
McKemie 
> of Rome, both 14, were found today, said school spokesperson Dr. Jim
Hendrix.
>
> A Coast Guard press release said a Coast Guard helicopter and a vessel
from 
> the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission located the two 
> teenagers about 8 miles offshore around noon. Their kayak was located 
> overturned about 3 miles away, said the press release.
>
> The boys became separated from their school group during the kayaking
trip, 
> authorities said.
>
> Coast Guard crews, wildlife officers and police searched throughout the 
> night Sunday night and into Monday. The boys were last seen Saturday in a 
> green kayak in an area about 100 miles northwest of Tampa, and they were 
> thought to be wearing blue life jackets.
>
> The boys had not been seen since they set out with eight other people who 
> traveled to Dixie County from Darlington High School, a 915-student
private 
> school in Rome, for a kayaking and camping trip. This was the eighth year 
> the school had taken the kayaking trip to Florida.
>
> The group had headed north in the Gulf of Mexico and intended to skirt
the 
> coastline for 4 1/2 miles until arriving at Coon Island, where they
planned 
> to spend Saturday night, said Capt. John Burton of the Florida Fish and 
> Wildlife Conservation Commission. The group, which included several
kayaks 
> and canoes, was led by a motorized catamaran raft.
>
> During the trip, the choppiness of the water and the inexperience of the 
> kayakers led some boats to get separated from the group, Burton said.
>
> As the catamaran neared Coon Island, a chaperone on board began circling 
> back to try to round up some of the lagging boats. But the boat's motor 
> quit as it began to get dark.
>
> All but one of the kayaks tied up to the raft, as 2 to 3 foot waves 
> developed in the gulf amid scattered rains and high winds, Burton said.
>
> About 9 p.m. Saturday, one of the chaperones, with a teenager, began 
> searching for the missing kayak because they thought they saw a light in 
> the distance.
>
> But they became lost as well, and the two paddled for three to four hours 
> until the chaperone was finally able to use his cell phone. He called his 
> wife in Georgia, who then called the Coast Guard.
>
> A Coast Guard helicopter located the six kayakers tied up to the raft at 
> about 3 a.m. Sunday and a rescue boat brought them to shore. About an
hour 
> later, the helicopter located and hoisted the kayak with the chaperone
and 
> teenager aboard.
> -----------------
>
>
>
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>
>
> At 07:07 PM 2/28/2005, you wrote:
> >i wonder if the poor boys even had a compass in the boat ... at least
> >perhaps they would have known to paddle N, could have hit "land"
hopefully
> >.... sigh. Wonder what actually "killed" them??? Was it cold? It wasnt
THAT
> >cold, was it??? drowning? shouldnt they have known how to swim??? Oh, in
> >high waves, if they had cockpit boats, they could have filled up with
> >water.  OIC. But did they know how to swim?? They perhaps coulda held on
to
> >a boat? At dark it mighta been hard for the poor young things.
> >
> >cynthia m brown
> >cynmoon at earthlink.net
> >
> >
> >
> > > [Original Message]
> > > From: Kenn Martin <kmartin at infoteam.com>
> > > To: <paddle at paddletally.org>
> > > Date: 2/28/2005 5:38:59 PM
> > > Subject: RE: [Paddle] Teen-agers lost on Florida Gulf kayaking trip
> > >
> > > --On Monday, February 28, 2005 4:24 PM -0500
> > > Floyd.Gene at mail.dc.state.fl.us wrote:
> > >
> > > >> Hi folks,
> > > >>
> > > >>     No doubt you know of this. Below is the URL for an AP story
which
> > > >> moved this morning.
> > > >>
> > > >>     http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/02/28/kayakers.lost.ap/index.html
> > > >
> > > >> While I can certainly understand Cindy's feelings, my feelings tend
> > > >> to  follow Gene's.  I was out this weekend and the weather was
> > > >> terrible.  You can maybe fault the leaders for taking on a trip
> > > >> above the skill  level of some of the paddlers, but the weather was
> > > >> certainly a factor.
> > > >
> > > > Weather can often be checked and planned around, and trips can be
> > > > cancelled with no loss of life. There is nothing to be gained by
> > > > proving how brave you are by leading a bunch of inexperienced kids
> > > > out on open water when the forecast is lousy. At that point, I'd
> > > > rather them be sitting in front of the Xbox.
> > > >
> > > > I'd like to find out what the forecast said when the trip leaders
> > > > checked it as I'm sure they did; if they didn't, then I will be
> > > > highly upset.
> > >
> > > Very true.  I knew about the rain ahead of time, but the winds and
> > > waves were probably some of the worst I've ever encountered.  I didn't
> > > stay out for long.  I don't typically go out when the forecast is bad,
> > > but was already out camping.  It is one thing to handle the
predictable
> > > waves from boat traffic (say on the intracoastal at Oleta River SP)
and
> > > another to handle the unpredictable waves and strong wind gusts I saw.
> > >
> > > I was not being callous and certainly not suggesting that the incident
> > > not be investigated, but rather that I'm not one to jump to blame
> > > someone without knowing the details.  There is too much of that in our
> > > society.  Bad things happen; some are avoidable and some are not.  The
> > > group leader did appear to be experienced.  That in and of itself is
> > > certainly not enough to exonerate him, as he certainly could have made
> > > mistakes.
> > >
> > > We should certainly be grieving for the loss of young life and praying
> > > for the families and the community.
> > >
> > >
> > > _______________________________________________
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> >
> >
> >
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