: Hello All;

: I woke up to the Sarasota morning newspaper which had a front page story
: about a Sarasota man who was killed in a kayaking mishap on Christmas Eve.
: Two 44 year old men, friends for 30 years, died from hypothermia induced
: drowning when their kayak double capsized in the 50F Choktawhatchee River
: (up in Florida's panhandle). It turns out that one of the victims lived
: only a few doors up the street from me, right on my block. I did not know
: him, and he probably never noticed the kayak taking shape in my garage, a
: few doors from his house.

: According to the story, they were dressed in 4 layers of clothing, inflatable
: life vests, gloves, and carried 2 cell phones, 2 GPS receivers, a
: waterproof marine radio and laminated maps. That couldn't save them from
: the 50 degree water, however. If there is a lesson to be learned here, I
: guess it would be to dress appropriately for exposure to the cold water -
: 4 layers of regular clothing won't cut it - That's now been proven.

: Spidey

I am very sorry to hear that news. I would not have guessed that it was that cold in Florida waters. It was recommended that I read the book "Sea-Kayaker Deep Trouble" after I brought up safty concerns on this board a couple of months ago. For those that haven't read it, it is a very good book and I am going to re-reading it again. I plan on taking the kayak I am now building to the Ely, MINN Boundary Wateries area this spring and I want to incorporate all of the safty features in it I can.

John