Two men in a motorized dinghy drowned on the Hudson yesterday at 5:45 pm in the relatively shallow area just south of the 79th St. Boat Basin and within a 100 feet or so of the Manhattan shore. The accident reminds me of danger points in local waters that we should all be watchful for. The Harbor Safety Committee (an independent body initiated by the Working Waterfront Group) has just created a sub-committee to pinpoint crux points or hot spots where mariners in everything from kayaks to large motorized cruisers must be extra cautious (more on this further below). The waters in which the fellows drowned is one of these caution spots. Here is a description of the area (which runs from the last large pier at 59th St. up to the southern end of the 79th St. Boat Basin Marina: --The waters are quite shallow, which means that waves and wakes hitting the area tend to rise higher. As an example of this, when three of us were paddling up to help escort swimmers for the Boat Basin to Chelsea Piers swim on August 1st, we were hit on our blind port rear quarter by a huge wake just as we entered the area past 59th St. One kayaker tipped over and another just managed to do a delicate balancing act to keep herself from capsizing. The tendency for northbound paddlers, such as we were, is to relax a bit on entering the calmer looking area after paddling through the more hectic trafficked waters along the piers that run from the NY Waterways ferry slips around West 36th Street to the ocean liner piers in the West 50s. --This area is filled with the relics of old pier posts from a once very active, elaborate system of marine RR barge tranfer stations. At low tide, most of the posts reveal themselves. At high tide, they lurk just beneath the surface. Generally at high tide, it is wise to be paddling a bit further out in the river, outside the north/south line formed from the tip of the 59th St. Pier to the outer edge of the 79th St. Marina. I doubt that a paddler would get a hole in his kayak if he hit one since he isn't traveling very fast, but he might. More likely he would capsize. The newspaper description and radio account of the dinghy accident indicated that the boat was filling with water faster than one of the occupants could bail and it went down bow first. This would suggest that the dinghy may have hit a submerged pier post and holed as it hit the post with the forward force of its outboard motor. Regardless of the cause, the area is one of caution for paddler and motorboater alike. As mentioned above, there is a working group looking into marking on a chart and in booklet form and on a website all caution spots in the harbor from the view point of recreational mariners. (The commercial people tend to know these because it is their business to but some would be of importance for them too.) Among places to be included are those where waters can be tricky because of currents and subsurface obstacles and areas in which boat traffic may be entering or exiting from shore locations. For example, the embayment at Pier 26, home of the Downtown Boathouse, would indicate that kayakers may be coming out from the launch site there. Also to caution motorboaters from roaring into the embayment as occasionally some do; they are at risk to kayakers and to themselves...some submerged pier posts lurk there. Old pier fields would also be marked in the new Hudson River Park. If you have any cautionary places that you have observed in the harbor, please contact me directly as I am on that subcommittee and can get the information feed into the database being compiled. ralph diaz -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 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.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Hi All - Many thanks to Adam Brown, the Working Waterfront folks, and the Harbor Safety Committee for working to help us all to navigate and enjoy the harbor with greater awareness. And thanks to Ralph Diaz for alerting us to this latest cautionary Hudson River tale. A New York Times article seemed to contain some unaddressed contradictions: One witness described the two men as wearing life preservers, but they were then described as floating away. The article also opens with the statement that the two were left submerged after the boat flipped, but witnesses described them calling for help and being instructed to hold onto their boat. A brother of one of the victims said the water was "too cold" -- for a rescue? Or for the two to stay alive for long after the boat flipped? The Times doesn't give the statement context or verify the water temperature was a factor, although cold shock has a broader temperature range than I at one time thought. One witness assumes that at least one of the victims couldn't swim. It sounds that way, but alternatively, he could have injured himself (especially his head) when the boat flipped. Ralph, or others, have you come across any more information about this accident? Another question for kayakers -- if we came across this scene as it unfolded, what could we do to best help the boaters? It seems they were likely panicky and liable to tip a kayak attempting rescue. Separately, I've also often kayaked past that point, and even recently stopped to take a series of photographs of the burnt-out pier wreckage there at near low water. If I'm not mistaken, the area could be part of a Trump development -- are there waterfront plans that might make the area safer? Note to Downtown Boathouse people: The Borough of Manhattan Community College has informally offered to lend their water safety expert to us for a clinic or lecture. It might be a good thing to say "yes" to. Salted Regards, Erik *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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