I knew there were gale earnings up for the Great South Bay for Saturday when l packed my suitcase to visit friends in NYC on Thursday. Point being, big systems like this last one generally come in with lots of warning.
So someone was unaware of the weather, and in a very big way. Possible they did not have shelter that was up to the conditions, possible a spouse panicked etc. But they did accept the rescue, suggesting they were not ready for what they faced.
Agree
I have no knowledge of these guys or their attitudes so donāt mean to cast dispersions on them specifically, but when I hear 4 guys, I can also imagine a 4th option that the forecast was heard but no one wanted to be the one to āchicken outā or more charitably, every one thought āwell I donāt know but if X and Y are cool with this, Iāll defer to their judgement.ā
Anyway, I wonder what happened to their kayaks. I assume they just got left on the beach, maybe pulled up to the berm or beyond, and then they had to arrange for a trip back to the island in calmer weather to retrieve them (if they are still there).
Little Tybee Island looks like a great place. Googled it and found some beautiful pictures of long sandy beaches and sea kayaks paddling across flatwater from the tourism sites, but also found some interesting stories - folks who got eaten by bugs, folks who had their food stolen by raccoons, folks who had to move their camp in the middle of the night when the tide came in, folks who got stuck in the mud in the middle of the swamp when the tide went out. The stuff great stories are made from.
Sounds like tides and currents can be tricky in normal conditions - pretty clear what happened to these guys.