Tragic Man drowns in Lake Winnipesaukee after vessel capsized
Very sad and happens too often.
“Officials said none of the paddlers had life jackets.”
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And the lake water is frigid. I wonder if the canoe and kayak capsized after hitting a layer of ice.
Water temperature was reported to be 38°F.
If the capsize hadn’t been reported and their friend hadn’t managed to recue the other three it could have been much worse.
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Lake water temperature estimated to be less than 40 degrees F. Air temperatures in the area Saturday night just under 40 degrees F as well.
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Ouch. Any error is unforgiving. Got to hand it to you cold water paddlers who know how to dress for it, but it’s to restricted and too much like work to me. Reminds me of Ralphie’s brother in Christmas Story.
So sad - glad the other three were rescued in time.
Reminds me of a similar story that happened on Newfound Lake in 1992 - a group of college students were camping on Belle Island over Memorial Day weekend. Some thunderstorms came up overnight and the group decided that they didn’t want to be out camping in that weather, and attempted to paddle back to the mainland in the middle of the night, in a storm, in two canoes. Water temp that weekend is usually around 48F. The two people who had PFDs on made it to shore, the other two didn’t. I distinctly remember seeing the Marine Patrol going up and down the shoreline in front of our house all summer looking for the bodies - at 16 years old that was a bit freaky.
To this day, 30 years later, their bodies have not been found. It was estimated that where they capsized was between 40-120 feet deep. Newfound is a 4500 acre lake - not small, but 1/10th the size of Winnipesaukee. These lakes can be very unforgiving.
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Interesting to see you post that story. I spent a number of years working in Bristol and lived nearby….
Do you remember when that incident happened? I’m sure I have mixed up some of the details after so many years.
I remember the story but don’t recall the actual date but it was def somewhere in the early 90s, if it wasn’t 92 it was very close to then…. Iirc there are other drownings there that they haven’t recovered due to the lake depths. Interesting body of water… I paddled Squam a lot when I lived there but really enjoyed my proximity to Maine at the time!
The double drowning was in '92. I was just a kid, but I remember my mother almost didn’t let me go on a Boy Scout canoe trip on Newfound Lake, where we would be camping on Cliff Island, because of that incident two years before.
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My son joined scouts in 1990, and went to summer camp in Rhode Island until about 2015. Awesome experience. They had an excellent water program and a great lake. He still enjoys family camping and fishing, but for some reason he hasn’t showed any interest in kayaking or canoeing.
Those cold water lakes prohibit bloating and the bodies often stay submerged for years. They sometimes find them with sonar and divers.
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Natural selection in action is not pretty.
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In my area they are hunting for a 67 year old who disappeared just before Christmas. Today Jan 4 they found his car in the Little Androscoggin River. The window was smashed and no body around. Likely he will be found some months from now in the spring and the finder will be naturally upset.
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I havent had many chances to feel water in the 30’s since I move to southern California. I just got back from backpacking 25 miles in the Los Padres mountians and had to cross a shin to thigh deep stream 6 times each way.
The shortest crossing was only about 20 feet and the longest was maybe 100. Air temp was 25 overnight, so water had to be in the high 30’s in the morning at best.
It was downright painful to be in after 10-15 seconds. Yes, admittedly I’ve become very, very soft from the cali weather, but damn water in the 30’s is unpleasant. Respect cold water! If you don’t, go hang out in the winter water at the beach for 1 minute and reassess!
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Very sad.
Avoidable.
Educate! Educate! Educate!
It is up to all of us.
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I haven’t heard what, if any, conclusion to this story is:
Search suspended for missing kayaker on North Carolina coast | Charlotte Observer
Doesn’t really sound like a water accident, since the kayak was found on the island where the kayaker was last seen.
The kayak might have washed up on the island after he paddled off of it and later capsized.
Yes, that is possible, it is a fairly large island and if he was on the surf side especially. I searched for additional news reports since that went out and there aren’t any.