I mentioned yesterday that a 34-yr-old fellow capsized and disappeared in the Kaw River in Kansas City, Kansas on March 6, 2007. His body was recovered March 21 after it was spotted by fishermen. His name was Ladd Fish. He ans a friend were out fishing appently be casting small nets from their single seat recreational kayaks. The river was said to be up, running hard and rough. Water temperature was about 46-47 o F. The men were not wearing pfds or clothing for cold water boating (no wet/drysuits). One man was able to swim to shore, but Mr. Fish was visible at the surface for only a minute or two before disappearing from sight. There are a number of incomplete reports on the web from the Kansas City Star. The boat is seen in a photo accompanying the story at (http://www.thekansascitychannel.com/print/11185145/detail.html) I have obtained a photo from another source and interviewed a member of the recovery squad. The boat appears to be at least very similar to poly boat called the Necky Manitou 13. Large rec boat cockpit and about 12 ft long. The Kestral 120 by Current Designs is also much like the boat in the photo, but wrong color. The boat in the photo is entirely awash except the upper deck and cockpit rim, thus, no bulkheads or airbags bow or stern. Who can identify the boat? We go on about what to wear and how to train and we all go away and make our own compromises based on what we know and train to do. Mostly, when things go bad, we are able, with our skills and equipment (what ever it is), to solve our problems in a way that avoids death. We end up with various levels of training exercises. The hunting-fishing crowds, that not only abhor pfds, but totally reject such devices without any notion of any boating conditions, are coming into kayaking in a total state of ignorance about cold water issues. In this case, five kids and a wife no longer have a husband/father! Now say something about pfds, kayaks, training and the general public! I suggest that this is real life-- as opposed to subtle distinctions of wetsuits vs pfds in surf with or without boggieboards and fellow surfers in kayaks or not, blasting over or under waves and doing so intentionaly after years of training. Chuck Sutherland *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
skimmer wrote: > I mentioned yesterday that a 34-yr-old fellow capsized and > disappeared in the Kaw River in Kansas City, Kansas on March 6, > 2007. His body was recovered March 21 after it was spotted by > fishermen. His name was Ladd Fish. He ans a friend were out > fishing appently be casting small nets from their single seat > recreational kayaks. > Looks like an Old Town Loon to me. We use one at our club's annual safety and rescue clinic to demonstrate what happens when you swamp a boat that doesn't have floatation. I've seen that boat swamped more than I've seen it afloat, and the resemblance is pretty strong to the one in the article. -- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Wayne Smith wsmith16_at_charter.net Check out my website!: http://webpages.charter.net/wsmith16/home.html *************************************************************************** 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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