Luckily a happy ending. Wish we had more info.
A quick check on google earth shows the island only 1 mile from Floyd Bennett Field - spent lots of time at the old field during Hurricane Sandy recovery.
Stranded off the coast of Queens.
Overhead JFK inbounds scream.
At Bay Jamaica me coconuts.
Bronx cheers to northwest, shore feel like a putz.
The kayak sank? Without damage? First sign of not being properly equipped. There are plenty of others.
There should be a jury after this sort of “rescue” that decides how much of the cost the individual pays based on their preparedness and actions.
He sounds more like Gilligan than the professor…
Maybe the kayak did not fully sink but swamped. Either way it does not sound like self-rescue entered his mind. As a by necessity solo paddler myself these days, that is the first thing that popped out at me.
He was not in dry wear, though it is possible he had a neo top on. Video shows him in shorts with what looks like a passable hooded paddle jacket on top.
His cell phone was soaked so he did not have it in anything waterproof.
Temps were largely in the 50’s that day, he may have slept thru 40’s overnight. That paddle jacket may be the one thing that made the diff. It appears oversized, which is the way I purposely buy my outwear for paddling. So if I get stuck I can get a lot of my body under it.e
It appears that he had acquired some of the gear and none of the on-water emergency skills, including the choice of the right boat.
Honestly, there are worse prepared newbies out there. But not enough is still not enough. I am glad the guy got rescued and even more seeing that he recognized the burden he had placed of rescuers.
He was lucky to have found a working lighter. Quite odd that an “avid outdoorsman” wouldn’t have checked the weather forecast before heading out.
I’m still try’n to wrap my head round the coconuts???
Gulf Stream wash-ins? Alfonso Giovanni Produce Co. bounce-outs on a Belt Pkwy. Bridge? Only Harpo/Chico/Groucho know for sure, I guess.
Hey, at least this story got me to check my west end Long Island divisions. I always thought Queens was NW end, Brooklyn SW end. Thus, I couldn’t resolve the, “coast of Queens, Jamaica Bay” thing. Now I know, Queens is both north and east of Brooklyn, and borders some of the said Bay. Guess I better change my airport reference above.
“I’m sorry Wilson…I’m sorry!”
Coconuts in Jamaica Bay? Not when I lived near there.
Okay, so maybe they floated over from some Brooklyn-Queens bodega.
Yeah, sure.
PS - As a lad, I was a lifeguard and surfer out of Far Rockaway. Rode my bike from Brooklyn where I lived over the Gil Hodges Bridge to work at the beaches. Thoroughly explored Floyd Bennet Field, the bay and surrounding marshland. NEVER once found any coconuts. (But plenty of medical waste syringes.)
Well that’s why I try and bring survival gear all the time. Ability to shelter and build a fire is everything. It can really help if you are looking out and conditions get snotty unexpectedly.
Um, NY is a huge shipping port. Coconuts are likely not the only weird thing being carried around on area currents.
The weather may have been garden variety afternoon ramp up breeze compounded by the interchanges that are typical in that area. And the guy may not have tried that crossing before to know it happened.
My walks in area parks have indicated there are some folks walking around trails that do not normally do this this time of year. This shut down has given a lot of people tons of time to find new ways to get into trouble.
I did a double take too, then learned that island is used for Hindu ritual ceremonies which involve offerings of coconuts.
Interesting. Well, I hope on my next failure in trans-Baltimore Harbor canoe crossings I do not become stranded on a remote, uhhh, semi-remote island used by Dundalk Scientologists to place Tom Cruise toenail clippings and Kirstie Alley eyebrow pluckings on an offering table, awaiting L. Ron Hubbard’s return via Elon Musk’s next inbound. No chance at coconuts round here, as all strays are gathered up and used to adorn the Rupert Holmes Pina Colada Shrine at the Horse You Came In On. (Hey. As Celia says, “But it is the City…” of Baltimore.)
Coconuts.’
and other exotic fruit.
I remember back in the day standing at the carousel at JFK in NYC and down the ramp comes a bag of grapefruit. On its second rotation the bag is the target, rapidly becoming juice and pulp and peel
Yes there were loose coconuts and starfruit and all sorts of tropical fruit that supposedly were not admissible but folks did not have bulletproof suitcases for their fruit, just flimsy boxes that do not take kindly to airport hackysack.
Middle school science teacher, my eye!
Those videos clearly show the “avid outdoorsman” is really BIGFOOT.
–And he just wanted a helicopter ride back to the Pacific Nortwest at NY taxpayer expense.
I don’t know, he may be a great science teacher?
He certainly would NOT be a good mentor for kids who wanted to learn about kayaking.
Poor decision making with regard to back up gear;very poor preparedness for the unexpected.
Probably DID make a good decision to NOT identify himself.
Coconuts…
Remember Cat 5 Hurricane Dorian sat on the edge of the gulf stream in the northern Bahamas for days last summer…
having done Maine Island Trail cleanups the North American Gyre presents a lot of unique debris. Oil cans from Norway for one.