[Paddlewise] A Southern California Tragedy

Yesterday, Len Goodman, the president of California Kayak Friends (CKF),
died while kayaking. He was supposed to have joined me and several other
friends as we paddled out of Carpinteria, California south of Santa Barbara.
Len called while I was enroute to tell me that he had had car trouble and
wouldn't make it on time so he was going to paddle by himself from Channel
Islands Harbor in Oxnard CA about 30 miles south of where the rest of us
went.
 
This was a place that Len frequently paddled from and paddling solo was not
unusual for him. Although his 76th birthday, would have been this coming
Thursday, Len was a strong and conservative paddler.
 
When I returned home from paddling, I found a message from the Coast Guard
Station, Channel Islands on my answering machine requesting I call them
about a lost kayak. When I called, they said not to worry about it that
everything was under control. I asked again for more details but received
the same answer.
 
Thinking there was nothing more here than a kayak that fell off a dock, I
proceeded to sit down to write a trip report about the fabulous day 9 of us
had in Carpinteria. Thirty minutes later, I received a phone call from Coast
Guard, Los Angeles - the HQ unit for the Channel Islands station. They asked
me if I knew anything about Goodman's boat. Putting two and two together I
asked if this was the boat that was found in Channel Islands. When they said
yes, I described Len's boat
 
The only information they could give me was that he had been rescued in the
water and turned over to the EMT's for transport to a hospital. They did not
know the hospital and they also had not notified Len's wife because they had
no solid information to give her.
 
I then called one of our other friends (Peter O'Sullivan) who was paddling
with me and is a retired Ventura County fire captain. He managed to find out
where Len had been taken. I called the hospital and of course they wouldn't
tell me anything. When I explained I needed to be able to tell his wife not
to worry that Len was being released and we would take him to his car or
that she should get to the hospital right away, they said although they
couldn't say anything, it did not look good and somebody should drive her to
the hospital.
 
While I met his wife and drove her the 30 miles to the hospital, Peter got
with his fire department friends and we managed to piece together part of
the story.
 
We know that according to Peter's wife, the winds in Oxnard started howling
at about 9:00 AM. Len was a conservative paddler and wouldn't launch in
those conditions, much less try take his boat off his car by himself with
that much wind. (it was an off shore wind). 
 
Just before 3:00 PM, a boater called the Coast Guard to report an empty
kayak drifting approximately 2 miles off shore. When Len paddled solo, he
usually stayed in the harbor if there was any wind to speak of. Otherwise,
he would paddle along the coast, in sight of land at all times.
 
As the CG was going out to pick up the kayak, they found Len floating in the
water. He was wearing a wetsuit and pfd. He was also a very thin man without
an ounce of fat on him and easily got cold. Although the air temps were
close to 80, the water temps were probably about 55 - 56 deg F. CPR was
started and Len was taken to the hospital. He had no cardiac response and
his core temperature was 80 degrees. They tried warming him with blankets
and by pumping warmed saline into his abdomen. CPR was continued
continuously for 6 1/2 hours while they raised his core temperature to 88
degrees. With out any coronary response, they finally pronounced him at
about 10:15 last night.
 
I'm still in shock over this and I see some immediate lessons to be learned
which I'll summarize. I'm sure there are more that escape me now and others
that someone else will have to point out.
 
Len did not have a VHF with him, since his died over a year ago and he never
got around to replacing it, That one piece of equipment could possibly have
saved his life.
 
He also did not have any flares, although if he did, they could have drifted
away with his boat, most of us who do carry flares, keep them in a day hatch
or inside hatch as opposed to on our vests. I know my flares are all too big
to fit in my pfd pockets. I don't know if he carried a signal mirror, laser
or not.
 
He did not have his name and phone number written in his boat. The only
identification that Len had was his name was written on the inside of his
wet suit and the hospital found it when they removed it from him.
 
If he had an "In Case of Emergency" (ICE) number programmed into his cell
phone, it was in a dry bag inside the kayak and I don't believe the CG even
found that - at least we had no indication that they did.
 
Len will be missed by all of his friends. Although he was older than most of
the "Old Farts" that paddle together, it was difficult to keep up with him
when he wanted to go fast. He was in very good physical shape and we all
thought he'd be paddling with us for many years.
 
For those of you who knew Len, if you want to say anything to his family,
please send it to me off line via email. I will be printing out all of the
emails I receive from his friends and passing them on to the family.
 
We don't know when the funeral will be, but Peter O"Sullivan and I will be
putting together a memorial paddle out of Channel Islands sometime after the
funeral. Anybody who will want to attend, should email me and I'll let you
know the details when they are firmed up.
 
Steve Holtzman
Southern California
***************************************************************************
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/
***************************************************************************