Re: [Paddlewise] A Southern California Tragedy

Some additional information I've heard about Len's death which hasn't been
reported here yet:

His paddle was found tethered to the boat with *an inflated paddlefloat
attached to it.*  Whatever happened out there, he didn't just suddenly die
of a heart attack.  That doesn't exclude the possibility of a heart attack,
but if so, it didn't completely incapacitate him.  Another paddler or even
the ability to call the Coast Guard might have made a difference.

The estimated time of death (by "drowning") was between 0900 and 1300.  He
was found at 1500.

His wetsuit was not in very good condition, being somewhat loose and
partially torn, and he didn't have much body fat.

Apparently he last participated in a rescue class two years ago, and then
only in the first half of the class, having become too cold to continue in
the water.   He did not participate in the re-entry and rescue practice many
of his paddling partners did once a month due to the cold.

He could not roll.

He probably had a cell phone with him, but it was never found.  It may have
been in a dry bag in the cockpit, and may have been lost in a capsize - but
no one knows.

This tends to point to a scenario of an unexpected capsize and failure to
self-rescue with a paddlefloat for unknown reasons.  The wind was apparently
blowing hard, so it is possible that he became separated from his boat.
With no boat or ability to communicate, the quality of his wetsuit may not
have made any difference.  Alternatively, he may have stayed with the boat
but still been unable to self-rescue, and was parted with the boat when he
was no longer able to hang on to it.

Either case sounds very tragic.
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