Rockies white water kayaking accident

Rockies kayak accident leaves man in hospital

Last Updated: Tuesday, July 14, 2009 | 8:20 AM MT Comments24Recommend38

CBC News

A kayak accident at a Rocky Mountain national park has left a young man in critical condition.

The man, in his early 20s, was kayaking with a small group in Yoho National Park on Monday when he overturned and hit a rock.

He was knocked unconscious and help was called. The man was airlifted first to Golden and then taken to a Calgary hospital.

The man was kayaking at Wapta Falls, the highest volume waterfall in the park, which is 30 metres at its highest point. The park is on the B.C.-Alberta border.

kayaker breaks world record in 200 ft plunge

Extreme Kayaker's World Record Plunge

Tyler Bradt Plummeted Nearly 200 Feet Over Palouse Falls in Washington for a New World Record

By LEE FERRAN
July 28, 2009

If you had been walking by Palouse Falls in Washington state in late April, you may have caught a flash of a red kayak barreling toward certain doom over the falls.

Bradt braved the 180-foot-plus plunge over the falls, reaching estimated speeds of nearly 100 miles per hour during the drop, and crashed into the foamy white water below. All the action was captured by Bradt's production company, Revolutionary Innovations.

He survived the feat with only a sprained wrist.

"I was expecting to take quite an impact and potentially hurt myself," Bradt told "Good Morning America."But he said he did not expect to be seriously hurt, otherwise, "I would not have done it."

Bradt says, "Just got a sprained wrist at the bottom," when the paddle he was holding pointed straight down, snapped upward on impact.

"Not even broken. Happy days," he said about his wrist.

The feat set an unofficial world record for longest drop by a kayaker.

Bradt said he doesn't know what he was thinking on the way down, "I really couldn't tell you," because he was concentrating so hard on landing in the correct landing position.

Bradt set a previous record back in 2007 when he paddled over the 107-foot Alexandra Falls in Canada's Northwest Territories, according to the Seattle Times. That record was broken in March by a Brazilian who went over a 127-foot waterfall, but Bradt questioned that record's credibility since the Brazilian reportedly landed on his head and not in a proper nose-first fashion.

Waterfall kayaking is an extreme sport that, for something like Palouse Falls, Bradt said athletes can't really train for.

"It's not like you can go out and do half of it," Bradt said. "Visualization is really important. Having kayaked for most of my life, I can really visualize what it's like to run a waterfall."

NZ shark attacks kayaker (old news)

New Zealand 

08.01.2000 

A kayaker on a quest for seafood nearly became a meal himself when a shark, thought to be a great white, attacked his craft. 

Michael Hogan was kayaking about 1.5km from shore, between Sandy Bay and Whananaki on Northland's east coast, on his way to get paua when he was lifted and dumped into the sea on Saturday in what has been described as a classic great white attack. 

"There was just this explosive 'whumpf' noise and then I fell out," said Dr Hogan. 

At first, he thought he had hit a rock, but the clearly visible bite mark on the bottom of his bright yellow kayak has been identified as belonging to a shark at least 4m long which probably mistook his kayak for a whale. 

The bite punctured the tough plastic on either side of the hull and measures about 45cm from the top outline of the jaw to the bottom. 

Dr Hogan said he was unafraid when he went into the water, and concentrated more on keeping hold of his paddle than on the grey-green shape he saw swimming away. 

"I thought it couldn't have been a shark because I didn't see any fin and then it just disappeared." 

But kayaking buddy Hugh Oakley-Browne, who was 50m away when the attack happened, had no doubts. 

"I heard a noise like a 'thunk' and when I looked over, the boat was just starting to flip and there was something grey attached to it that wasn't on it when we left." 

He paddled over to Dr Hogan and noticed a long, deep gouge in the bottom of the kayak. 

"I checked that he still had his legs, which were dangling in the water, and then I helped him get back in." 

The pair continued to Whananaki but made sure they hugged the coastline on their way back. 

Department of Conservation marine scientist Clinton Duffy, who keeps a record of shark attacks in New Zealand for the International Shark Attack File, had little doubt the kayak had been attacked by a great white. 

"There's really nothing else that could do it." 

He had never heard of a kayak being attacked in New Zealand waters, but a shark did puncture an inflatable boat some years ago in a similar attack. 

"It was lifted out of the water too." 

Mr Duffy said the shark would have probably seen the silhouette of the kayak from below and confused it for a small whale or large dolphin. 

"They usually attack from below and behind on their prey. They do one massive and incapacitating bite, then they let them bleed to death on the surface and come back and feed on them later. 

"This shark would have grabbed the kayak, thinking it was something yummy, and got a nasty surprise when it got a mouth full of plastic." 

Mr Duffy said recent publicity had highlighted the numbers of great whites in New Zealand waters. But they were no more common than in the past. 

Only nine sightings of great whites had been recorded last year, compared to the average of about 14 a year. 

This summer, great whites have been spotted in Whitianga and near Maketu in the Eastern Bay of Plenty. 

On Friday, in neighbouring Hahei, experienced fishermen thought they saw a great white only 500m from shore. 

Last month, a 2.6m shark was caught in a net 300m off the Takapuna Beach boat ramp. 

Mr Duffy said shark attacks were rare in New Zealand, and no one had died in one since 1976.

塘福泳灘已懸掛紅旗

Damn, just when things get interesting, I'm stuck at home, studying for JLPT

(星島)2009年7月4日 星期六 13:09

由於大浪關係，離島區的塘福泳灘已懸掛紅旗，顯示在該處游泳會有危險，市民請勿在該處游泳。

single-helm boy sails around the world

17 years old sails around the world, alone.

And his next project is Mt. Everest, apparently!  How nice it is to be 17~

If he publishes his book/ documentary soon enough, I wouldn't mind reading it.  I'm a bit of a chronic lone-wolf adventureholic myself, so it would be good to know how others grow up to be that way, what they get out of it, and how do they deal with the intense stress, exhaustion, and loneliness.

Volvo Ocean Race winners interview

An article with some excellent points on preparing a long, gruesome expedition. 

After eight months and more than 37,000 nautical miles over ten legs, the Ericsson 4 team has won the round-the-world Volvo Ocean Race.

Captain Brad Jackson speak to CNN about the challenges of life on "Ericsson 4."

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more photos »

The team's new title comes as no surprise: It had been clear for a while that "Ericsson 4" were unbeatable, having accumulated enough points to win long before crossing the finish line in St Petersburg, Russia, on June 20.

CNN's Mainsail spoke with Stu Bannatyne and Brad Jackson -- watch captains on the race winning "Ericsson 4" -- about preparation for the race, motivation and the challenges of having ten men on a 70ft boat...

CNN: What has been the most challenging aspect of the last eight months?

Stu Bannatyne: Perhaps the most challenging aspect has been the intense competition of these boats. All the teams are very good and we have found ourselves fighting for every mile and half a mile in a very competitive fleet.

CNN: You have dominated the race, what do you put your extraordinary success down to? What extra skills helped you during your time at sea?

Our success in this race has been entirely due to preparation as well as the commitment from Ericsson in deciding to do this race very early on. By starting early we have been able to make the best choice in designers, builders, sailing team, shore team, and across the whole team structure.

 See more pictures of the ups and downs of the Volvo Ocean Race »

Having put together the team early it was then easier for us to make good decisions from the start and spend the money the best way possible.

As for skills, if commitment is one, then that is a pretty important skill. As a team we have a clear goal -- to deliver a race winning boat and the commitment to win.

CNN: How did you motivate yourselves during the long periods at sea? With 10 men in a confined space for a long time, did you ever feel claustrophobic?

SB: On the boat you can for sure get claustrophobic at times -- 40 days at sea with 10 other guys on a 70ft boat in confined conditions. And for sure, there are low periods in the race when conditions are tough.

But we have a mutual respect for each other, and when things are tough we back each other up. We all have a common goal, which is to get there as quick as we can and we all work together with that.

CNN: What is your diet on the boat like? How much sleep did you generally get?

Brad Jackson: We mainly eat freeze dried food that is reconstituted with desalinated water. And we then supplement with snacks and lots of water.

We normally work a four-hours-off-four-hours-on watch system, which means that some of the guys are trying to get some sleep while the others are on watch. The reality is that this system is very much driven by the conditions and the length of the leg.

On the more recent shorter legs we have had little sleep. For example, on the 525-mile leg from Marstrand to Stockholm we probably only got a couple of hours sleep each.

CNN: How long did you train in preparation for the race? Do you train mentally in any ways?

BJ: We started training in Lanzarote in 2007 and spent about 18 months training there before the start of the race. This was a good time to be able to not only do the two-boat testing but also to iron out any of the personal issues amongst the team.

CNN: What is the prospect of being back on dry land like? Are you looking forward to a rest or will it take some adjusting to?

BJ: Like any event there are always mixed feelings when you reach the end of it. Some of us are going straight into other sailing events, some are taking a holiday or just time off with family and friends.

As this is a race with stops you kind of get used to being back on dry land, but it will good to think that we do not have to get up and leave on another leg straight away.

CNN: What comes next?

BJ: At the end of the race most guys go off to do their own things. "Ericsson 3" and "Ericsson 4" will come back to Stockholm for a season of corporate sailing and hospitality through to the autumn. Some of the crews are involved in that and the rest will have a break with family and friends and probably start the next sailing season. 

Seattle man accused of sinking his own yacht

By Mayra Cuevas-Nazario
CNN

(CNN) -- A Seattle man has been charged with insurance fraud for allegedly sinking his own yacht because of "financial pressure and frustration with the maintenance" of the vessel, authorities said.

On March 22, 2008, Brian Lewis, 50, scuttled the Jubilee in the Puget Sound Bay, then rowed a borrowed dinghy back to shore, according to court documents filed in February by prosecutors in King County, Washington.

Later that day, Lewis boarded a flight to take him to his job in Kodiak, Alaska, as a petty officer with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, according to court documents.

Three days later, Lewis filled an insurance claim with USAA Insurance reporting the Jubilee sank accidentally "due to unknown causes."

However, due to environmental concerns, the Washington State Department of Natural Resources salvaged the vessel at a cost to the state of $2,866.

An inspection found a hole was drilled into the bottom of the Jubilee, and that two main engine sea strainers appeared to have been broken with a hammer.

"The vessel appeared to have been deliberately sunk," authorities said in their probable cause affidavit.

Confronted by investigators, Lewis admitted he intentionally sunk his vessel saying the financial strain "caused him extreme anxiety and frustration."

Lewis told investigators "the engine trouble he experienced caused him to lose his temper. In his rage, he smashed the sea strainers with a hammer and drilled the hole to sink the vessel," the affidavit said.

"(He) wanted to clarify that his motive for sinking the vessel was anger and frustration, not greed," it added.

Prior to its sinking, the Jubilee had been listed for sale with Mahina Yachts for $28,500.

Jack Bateman, a broker with Mahina, remembers the Jubilee as a "beautiful" 1967 Chris Craft Cavalier. He said the Mahina has only seen this type of case one other time in its 30 years of operation.

"This is a very rare, not common occurrence" he says. Bateman added that Mahina has yet to see any real distress sales due to the bad economy.

The King County Prosecutor's Office has charged Lewis with making a fraudulent insurance claim.

Lewis filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2004. Messages left for him were not returned.

Cruise ship grounded off Antarctica coast

• Story Highlights
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Cruise ship owners hope high tide will dislodge ship

• All 65 passengers and 41 crew are safe, company reports
  
• MV Ocean Nova stranded in Marguerite Bay, about 900 miles from South America

(CNN) -- The owners of a cruise ship that ran aground in Marguerite Bay, Antarctica, are hoping high tide will dislodge the ship Wednesday, a company statement said.

The Ocean Nova, seen on a previous voyage, has a total of 106 people on board.

Connecticut-based Quark Expeditions said the M/V Ocean Nova became stranded Tuesday in the bay not far from an Argentine research base. Marguerite Bay is about 900 miles south of the tip of South America.

The ship is carrying 65 passengers and 41 crew members, Quark Expeditions said.

All those aboard the vessel "remain safe and calm," the company statement said.

The ship's captain is awaiting high tide to make another attempt to move the vessel.

"The midnight operation will occur in daylight, as the ship is below the Antarctic Circle, where the sun never sets during February. We anticipate a positive outcome," Quark Expeditions president Patrick Shaw said.

The captain is also waiting for divers from the Spanish naval ship the Hespérides to inspect the hull of the Nova to make sure it's not damaged, the statement said.