Larry Goolsby
01/31/08 #4043 (November 15, 2007 incident)
As some of you heard through the grapevine, the paddling community in Bellingham suffered a loss this last November. Out of respect for the family and friends of our comrade, we circled our wagons and delayed allowing new members to join our group. Now it's time to tell the story so that others may benefit from this turn of events.
An unfortunate accident….
It is with much regret that I write this posting because seldom do we hear of an incident that the paddler does not just walk away after the event. On Thursday, Nov. 15th, Lanny `Bip' Sokol, a local paddler here in Bellingham WA, headed out onto Bellingham Bay just before dark by himself in order to exercise. Bip was a local emergency room physician and a devoted father. He had been paddling a surfski for almost 4 years but was unable to join us on most of our scheduled events because of his work and his family. Instead, he often paddled alone and periodically; one or more of us would bump into him on the water and paddle with him. Bip was 48 years old but he looked more like he was 35. He was very lean and very fit. I was fortunate enough to work with Bip at our local hospital so I probably knew him as well or better than most of the local paddlers.
When Bip headed out, the wind was about 10 knots or less from the south. The sky was heavily overcast. Just before sunset, Bip encountered another surfski paddler and the two of them headed south towards Post Point Buoy. Before they made it all the way to the Point, the wind went from a steady 10 mph to 30-35 mph with no warning. The water turned choppy and steep, with high winds against an ebbing tide, and it started to rain. Bip let the other paddler know that he was out of his comfort range and that he was turning around. Bip turned and headed north. The other paddler also turned and was following him by about 100 feet. Bip either fell from his boat or was blown off by a strong gust of wind. The other paddler saw him in the water with one hand on his paddle and the other on his boat; but only a second or two later, Bip's boat was tumbling across the water. The other paddler dashed for Bip's boat and caught it, but the high winds rolled Bip's boat over his and knocked him into the water also. It took him 5 or 6 attempts to remount because of the wind and steep waves. After being in the water for 5 – 10 minutes, he had been blown far enough away from Bip and it was now dark, so he couldn't see where Bip was. The second paddler couldn't take his hands off his paddle to use his VHF and still stay upright. He chose to paddle the ½ mile to shore and get the Coast Guard to initiate a rescue mission for Bip. The last time that Bip was seen was about 5pm and was recovered by the Coast Guard approximately 8 pm.
Bip was wearing a headlamp, a dry suit and a PFD when he headed out that evening. His headlamp was knocked off when he fell in (the police said it was detached from his battery pack which was inside the drysuit). He had lightweight polypro clothing under his dry suit so he wouldn't overheat while exercising, but the protection it gave him was only good as long as he was above water. When the Coast Guard found him, he was face down in the water with no pulse. They began CPR and rushed him to the local hospital. Never have I seen such heroic efforts to revive someone. The cardio-thoracic team was alerted before Bip was off the water and was standing by to put him on cardiac bypass to warm his core. He was cold without a pulse so there was a chance that he could be revived. Despite the best efforts put forth by the numerous persons involved in the rescue and resuscitation, Bip was not able to survive this incident.
As they say, hindsight is 20/20, but in this instance, there are more than a couple of factors that led to Bip's death. First, the lack of a leash (there was no evidence of one on the body, boat, or paddle which were recovered); here in the northwest, most all of us use them. With these colder water temperatures, it's important to keep your boat leashed to your body. Another factor was the time of day; a search after dark is much harder to do than during daylight. Bip was wearing a headlamp so he obviously was expecting to be out after dark. The wind was blowing north against an ebbing tide: this would inhibit even the strongest swimmer from making it to shore. These facts, plus the lack of insulation under the dry suit, probably amounted to Bip succumbing to the cold water and becoming hypothermic. It was hard for me to fathom that someone wearing a dry suit and a PFD could die in our local waters in only a few hours. Bip was a swimmer, a cross country skier, and a triathete. His lean body offered little or no protection against the elements.
Bip will be missed by many people besides those in the heath care and paddling communities. His death is an opportunity for all of us to focus on our safety and determine if we are truly safe or if we just have the perception of safety. If you call for help, can the Coast Guard or private vessel get to you within an hour? Can they see you if it's dark or stormy? How good is your leash? How good are your skills if the winds kick up above your comfort zone? Are you dressed well enough to spend up to an hour in the water? Can you actually be rescued by another surfski in rough weather if you are separated from your boat?
Paddle on and be safe.
Larry Goolsby