This article appeared in the May 4, 1998 edition of Newsday, a Long Island daily paper: Man's Fatal Kayak Outing By Errol A. Cockfield Jr. STAFF WRITER An avid kayaker with homes in East Moriches and New York City died Saturday after paddling at Cupsogue Beach in West Hampton, Southampton town police said. At about 4:45 p.m. Saturday, a man walking on the beach noticed the body of Rudolf M. Oeding-Erdel in the surf several hundred feet from an empty yellow kayak, police said. Police believe he drowned, but they are waiting for the results of an autopsy by the Suffolk County Medical Examiner's Office. Det. Doreen Isola of the Southampton police said Oeding-Erdel, 35, left from East Moriches at about 3 p.m. He told a friend he planned to stay close to shore and would be back at his summer cottage within an hour. But by 5:30 p.m., when Oeding-Erdel had not returned, the friend, not knowing his body had been found 45 minutes earlier, called the Coast Guard in Moriches, police said. Isola said Oeding-Erdel may have encountered rough waters as he kayaked through the Moriches Inlet, where waves reached 6 to 8 feet yesterday. "His wife is devastated," she said. Copyright 1998, Newsday Inc. Man's Fatal Kayak Outing., 05-04-1998, pp A24. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
Bill Leonhardt wrote: > > This article appeared in the May 4, 1998 edition of Newsday, a Long Island > daily paper: > > Man's Fatal Kayak Outing > > By Errol A. Cockfield Jr. STAFF WRITER > > An avid kayaker with homes in East Moriches and New York City died > Saturday after paddling at Cupsogue Beach in West Hampton, Southampton > town police said. > At about 4:45 p.m. Saturday, a man walking on the beach noticed the > body of Rudolf M. Oeding-Erdel in the surf several hundred feet from an > empty yellow kayak, police said. > Police believe he drowned, but they are waiting for the results of > an autopsy by the Suffolk County Medical Examiner's Office. > Det. Doreen Isola of the Southampton police said Oeding-Erdel, 35, > left from East Moriches at about 3 p.m. > He told a friend he planned to stay close to shore and would be > back at his summer cottage within an hour. > But by 5:30 p.m., when Oeding-Erdel had not returned, the friend, > not knowing his body had been found 45 minutes earlier, called the > Coast Guard in Moriches, police said. > Isola said Oeding-Erdel may have encountered rough waters as he > kayaked through the Moriches Inlet, where waves reached 6 to 8 feet > yesterday. The Moriches Inlet is vicious (by the way Moriches is pronounced like vicious). It is one of the few inlets through the barrier beach of Fire Island and created by the Hurricane of 1938. Water not only stacks up as high as described it also rushes through there at incredible speeds with swirls and countercurrents. Depending on the tide cycle times, a hairy ride for even an experienced paddler. ralph -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Ralph Diaz . . . Folding Kayaker newsletter PO Box 0754, New York, NY 10024 Tel: 212-724-5069; E-mail: rdiaz_at_ix.netcom.com "Where's your sea kayak?"----"It's in the bag." ----------------------------------------------------------------------- *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
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