After talking with a former employee of Ken's I now have a clearer picture of what happened. Ken and a student/ friend when out to pratice rolls. As I said in an earlier post, the area they were rolling in has a large tidal flat with scatted rocks. Power boats have hit rocks here because the flat extends out almost to the dock at New Thompson Harbor. Ken rolled a couple times o.k. then rolled and stayed down for a short time then wet existed the boat. He had a bloody gash on his temple. He told the student he was o.k. and reentered the boat and began to paddle to shore. He then appeared to pass out and roll over. His friend got to him, Ken had appearently regained conscousness by this time. She tried to tow him in but he passed out again. Someone in a dingy (row boat) saw the situation and rowed over got Ken in the dingy and began to administer CPR, but to no avail. EMT's arrived but could not revive him. I do not know if the cold water tempertures (46 degrees) contributed to the accident. Ken's appearent mistake was not checking the depth of the water before each roll. With the wind (15mph) and the tide flow the boat was moving somewhat and each roll would have been in a different place. Also a helmit would have saved his life, however I will be the first to admit that I rarely wear a helmit when practicing rolls. In my white water days I always wore a helmit but now in a seakayak, except when I know I am going to be surfing, I don't wear one. Though I have a feeling next time I practice rolls I will wear one. All and all it was a freak accident. Had he been a couple of feet to one side or the other he might not have hit his head. Also the temple is one of the worst places to get hit. Having watched a friend die in a whitewater accident a number of years ago I know how his student must feel. Even knowing there was nothing she could have done guilt can become a part of the grieving and takes a long time to work through. Alas we cannot change the past but we can be wiser for the future. Check the depth before you roll and wear a good helmit. Bob Alaska *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Thanks Bob for posting the details. This is indeed very tragic, and my heart goes out to everyone involved and who knew Ken. Not being present at the accident, it is impossible to know whether Ken had tucked as he flipped over. I'm not trying to second guess, but the take-home lesson for anyone following this, is to always tuck forward whenever you flip over. This is something that I teach to anyone who is learning to roll, regardless of their intentions to paddle whitewater or ocean. "Kiss the cockpit coaming," is the proper mental vision. This reflex needs to be instilled right from the start of a paddler's career, regardless of whether they ever successfully master the eskimo roll. A tucked paddler draws surprisingly little water. Obviously, this tucking reflex is much more important in whitewater, but kayak surfers need it too, and sadly, even the most conservative sea kayakers could eventually need this reflex. Kevin Whilden ----- Original Message ----- From: "Rev. Bob Carter" <revkayak_at_mtaonline.net> To: "paddlewise" <paddlewise_at_paddlewise.net> Sent: Sunday, November 11, 2001 10:09 PM Subject: [Paddlewise] tradegy in Alaska > After talking with a former employee of Ken's I now have a clearer picture of > what happened. > > > Ken and a student/ friend when out to pratice rolls. As I said in an earlier > post, the area they were rolling in has a large tidal flat with scatted rocks. > Power boats have hit rocks here because the flat extends out almost to the > dock at New Thompson Harbor. > > > Ken rolled a couple times o.k. then rolled and stayed down for a short > time then wet existed the boat. He had a bloody gash on his temple. He told > the student he was o.k. and reentered the boat and began to paddle to shore. > He then appeared to pass out and roll over. His friend got to him, Ken had > appearently regained conscousness by this time. She tried to tow him in but he > passed out again. Someone in a dingy (row boat) saw the situation and rowed > over got Ken in the dingy and began to administer CPR, but to no avail. > > > EMT's arrived but could not revive him. > > > I do not know if the cold water tempertures (46 degrees) contributed to > the accident. > > > Ken's appearent mistake was not checking the depth of the water before > each roll. With the wind (15mph) and the tide flow the boat was moving > somewhat and each roll would have been in a different place. Also a helmit > would have saved his life, however I will be the first to admit that I rarely > wear a helmit when practicing rolls. In my white water days I always wore a > helmit but now in a seakayak, except when I know I am going to be surfing, I > don't wear one. Though I have a feeling next time I practice rolls I will wear > one. > > > All and all it was a freak accident. Had he been a couple of feet to one > side or the other he might not have hit his head. Also the temple is one of > the worst places to get hit. > > > Having watched a friend die in a whitewater accident a number of years ago > I know how his student must feel. Even knowing there was nothing she could > have done guilt can become a part of the grieving and takes a long time to > work through. > > > Alas we cannot change the past but we can be wiser for the future. Check > the depth before you roll and wear a good helmit. > > > Bob > > > Alaska > > > > > > *************************************************************************** > PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed > here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire > responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. > Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net > Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net > Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ > *************************************************************************** > *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
The risk is not just head but neck and spinal trauma: Whenever I am in unfamiliar waters practicing rolling, I make it a habit to stick my paddle vertically straight down (another advantage of Greenland paddles?). That assures a good 7 ft clearance. For the same reason I avoid rolling in surf. Tom Joyce *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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