Last week I was camped (on Willis Island) next to a quartet of paddlers, in the Broken Group, West coast of Vancouver Island, BC. The four paddlers were evenly split into a pair of relatively experienced folks and a pair who were on their second or third jaunt in sea kayaks. Their second day in the Brokens, all four headed out past the chain of islands leading to Clark and Benson Islands, which are separated from the campsite by a half-mile-wide channel, exposed to northwesterly breezes. While on the protected side of the chain, the more experienced ones got a good ways ahead of the others, which so discouraged the slower ones the latter headed back to camp through a gap in the chain. They did this without confirming their intentions with the faster ones. Within minutes they were far downwind and invisible to the leaders. The leaders assumed the worst and began a search of the area for the "missing" ones, which lasted for a couple of hours. During that time, winds increased to 20 knots, and seas in exposed channels reached 2 - 3 feet, nasty short-period stuff. Where were the "missing" kayakers after those couple of hours? In their camp next to us. What were they doing? Fretting about their friends. As dusk approached, the two hours stretched to three hours, and we all decided to report the "searchers" as overdue to the local Canadian Coast Guard. Wow. What a speedy, efficient response. Within twenty minutes the local CG had alerted the Broken Group Warden, and she was on her way to out location, and the Rescue Coordiantion Center had begun to churn out a search plan (they said). Fortunately for all, the "missing" kayakers appeared in our cove before any other rescue resources were mobilized, and all stood down (we heard later). Some 35 minutes after the first alarm went out, the Warden came ashore off her Zodiac and took down the particulars, dispensing some tart advice as sauce. This was my first experience summoning rescue assistance, and I was very impressed at the speed with which the CG and the Warden responded. For reference: 1. The Warden said they have ten or eleven calls like this in a typical season, during which time some 4000 (!) visitors, mainly paddlers, will have occupied the Broken Group. The number of calls seemed low, given the relatively high proportion of inexperienced paddlers who visit the Brokens. 2. My 3W handheld VHF produced very clear transmissions to the CG's antenna on a nearby mountain top, but could not be heard by the Warden, who was located some five miles away (and obscurred by several 100-foot-tall islands). -- Dave Kruger Astoria, OR *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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