Chris’s Story

For Chris Kelly, Sunday, April 12, 2015 was the perfect morning to head off from Crescent Beach in his kayak.
The tides were good. Chris was properly equipped with a Personal Flotation Device and a wetsuit. Winds were light from the southeast and the sky was clear. His wife was off to Granville Island with his two young children. As he made his way out from the beach the southeast wind began to pick up. By the time he realized he should turn back the wind had come up strong. Light ripples had become 2 foot waves. His yellow ocean going kayak was built for speed, not stability. His training told him never to let the boat remain broadside to the waves for long. He turned the kayak towards shore as quickly as he could. But quick as he could was not quick enough. Before he knew it he was in the ocean. Chris, a vice-principal at a local school, is accustomed to remaining calm in stressful situations.
Marine rescue boat

He remained calm and followed proper procedures. Managing to get his kayak upright, he pumped the water out. But the next step – reboarding the kayak was far more difficult. He considered leaving his boat and swimming to shore but he remembered his training and remained with his bright yellow boat an easy target for rescuers. Loosing body strength quickly, he straddled the boat to keep at least partially out of the water.

One of the dangerous things about hypothermia is you don’t realize how dangerous your situation is until it is too late. You go into a state of shock. The body reserves heat for the core not the brain. The average sea temperature in April is 7 degrees centigrade ( 44 degrees Fahrenheit and one looses body temperature quickly.
A woman in a home with binoculars spotted Chris in the distance, trying repeatedly to get back into the kayak. Realizing he wan’t going to make it, she phoned emergency services and RCMSAR 5 was dispatched. Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue volunteers from Station 5 Crescent Beach are unpaid volunteers, ready to respond to marine emergencies 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Within 20 minutes of receiving the call, the crew was out looking for Chris. A short time later, they were on scene pulling Chris on board the rescue boat Protector. Chris did not hear the boat coming.

A clear sign of advanced hypothermia is the loss of situational awareness. You just don’t realize how cold you are. Once on the boat wrapped in blankets he began shivering convulsively. Dispatched to the hospital by a waiting ambulance medical staff worked to restore his body temperature. Chris was lucky. Others, often, aren’t so lucky.
Ducktona 5000 was a fundraiser for Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue, Station 5, Crescent Beach. Our completely volunteer operation relies on community support from events like this to continue to save lives at sea.

Without community support for fundraising events like the Ducktona 5000, we can’t help people like Chris.