A wave slammed into a 45-year-old man's kayak near Parker Reef early Friday morning, pitching him into 54-degree water in the Salish Sea between Orcas Island and Sucia Island. Clinging to his overturned vessel, he keyed his handheld VHF radio and issued a Mayday call on Channel 16 at 8:09 a.m., telling watchstanders, “Mayday, this is a capsized kayaker, north of North Beach,” and requesting assistance.
Coast Guard watchstanders heard the distress call, according to a Coast Guard news release reported by Cascadia Daily News. Coast Guard Station Bellingham monitors Channel 16 and Digital Selective Calling frequencies, according to the Surfski Knowledge Base. KIRO 7 News Seattle reported that rescuers launched just after 8 a.m. that morning, with an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter aircrew from Air Station Port Angeles and a 45-foot Response Boat-Medium crew from Station Bellingham.
The kayaker had a second paddling companion who stayed upright and afloat throughout the ordeal, eventually paddling safely to shore on his own, the station's report notes. Both men had been wearing dry suits and life jackets and carrying an emergency VHF radio — equipment that would prove decisive in the outcome.
A Rescue Timed to the Minute
Crews located the pair north of Orcas Island on the west side of Parker Reef, per the same account. Petty Officer 3rd Class Mikko Smith, aboard Station Bellingham's response boat, pulled the capsized man from the water and retrieved his kayak at 9:12 a.m., roughly an hour after the initial Mayday, according to reporting by San Juan Islander. Rescuers then transported the kayaker to Brandt's Landing Marina on Orcas Island, where an ambulance took him for emergency medical evaluation.
Conditions on the water that morning included eight-mile-per-hour winds, one-foot waves, a 60-degree air temperature and that 54-degree water — cold enough to be dangerous on its own. Allison Ruth, command duty officer for Sector Puget Sound, said “every second counts in cold water,” and credited the successful rescue to the kayakers' dry suits, life jackets and VHF radio.
Why Cold Water Turns Deadly So Fast
Cold shock can occur in the first two to three minutes or more, with incapacitation possible within seconds.
Washington state law already requires wearable, Coast Guard-approved life jackets aboard human-powered watercraft like kayaks, per Washington Administrative Code 352-60-030 as published by the Washington State Legislature. Children 12 and under must wear one at all times on vessels under 19 feet. In this case, the added dry suits and a working radio pushed the margin of safety well beyond the legal minimum.
A Notoriously Tricky Stretch of Water
Parker Reef, in the Salish Sea between Orcas Island's North Beach and Sucia Island Marine State Park, has tricky currents that can contribute to Coast Guard rescues, according to Paddling.com. Station Bellingham and Air Station Port Angeles responded to this rescue.
Station Bellingham confirmed Friday's rescue near Sucia Island in a social media post on Sunday under the handle uscgnorthwest. As of the latest reporting, the kayaker's condition following his transport for medical evaluation had not been further detailed.
