NYCkayaker Jellyfish at the 1200 M mark Re: NYC Triathlon swim death

[William]

This saddened me greatly as well when I heard of it at the end of the race from Paul, and it still does. Reading Bonnie’s experience at another race hits me again.   Being at the 1200-meter mark I saw a Red Cross jet ski rushing by with urgency but was not immediately aware of the tragedy unfolding up the line. What was happening at my line were a lot of jelly fish strikes on swimmers faces, arms, etc. and the resulting pain they caused. We prevented swimmers from bashing their heads against the sea wall, as well as chasing down the way wards from sneaking for a beer on the NJ side. There were several panicky swimmers who had severe leg cramps so close to the finish. While it was painful to see them stop so close to the end, it w as good they choose to survive by being towed by kayakers to a waiting police boat for takeout. Reminds me of someone who said about the struggle to reach Mt Everest’s peak, “The imperative is this; not to succeed in
 reaching the top, but to survive in reaching the bottom”
Sometimes as I’d  watch the swimmers coming down the line I’d  lose sight of the swimmer and had to continually refocuseon scanning each face  for signs of stress, disorientation, or “differentness” that would alert me to a possible rescue need.  Water is an area where things can happen so quickly it staggers the mind. 
There seemed to be a greater presence of police boats and rescue craft this year than last. Perhaps because of the heat? 
A big thanks to Sandy, Paul and the others (who I don't know their names, being the newb that I am) who give of their time.

Will - NJ 
Looksha IV ... before there was a IV 


--- On Mon, 7/21/08, sandy sobanski <dragonsandy1 at yahoo.com> wrote:

> From: sandy sobanski <dragonsandy1 at yahoo.com>
> Subject: Re: NYCkayaker NYC Triathlon swim death
> To: nyckayaker at rockandwater.net, "Michael Samuel" <logosam at earthlink.net>
> Date: Monday, July 21, 2008, 6:23 PM
> It was very sad. But we had the best of the best on that
> location. Except--- for you Bonnie.
> Everyone light a candle for this guy. 32 years old. Breaks
> my heart.
> Sandy
> 
> 
> --- On Mon, 7/21/08, Michael Samuel
> <logosam at earthlink.net> wrote:
> 
> > From: Michael Samuel <logosam at earthlink.net>
> > Subject: Re: NYCkayaker NYC Triathlon swim death
> > To: nyckayaker at rockandwater.net
> > Date: Monday, July 21, 2008, 5:15 PM
> > Bonnie,
> > Thx for your concern. In an effort to avoid any undue
> > speculation: I  
> > was there as one of the kayak swim supporters and
> witness
> > the entire  
> > event. Everything was done properly and quickly and
> the
> > result could  
> > not have been avoided by anyone in any way. The
> coverage
> > was excellent  
> > and the swimmer was noticed quickly. A lifeguard also
> > jumped into the  
> > water from the sea wall and thew jet ski was summoned
> very
> > quickly and  
> > took the swimmer to shore. I was informed by the jet
> ski
> > driver that  
> > he wasn't even breathing at that time.
> > Now you know everything that is known at this time.
> >
> **********************************************************************
> > The NYCKayaker mailing list is hosted by
> > www.rockandwater.net, and is a public service offered
> to
> > the kayaking community by the Hudson River Watertrail
> > Association. Learn more about HRWA at www.hrwa.org
> > 
> > To unsubscribe or change delivery options:
> >
> http://www.rockandwater.net/mailman/listinfo/nyckayaker
> 
> 
>       
> **********************************************************************
> The NYCKayaker mailing list is hosted by
> www.rockandwater.net, and is a public service offered to
> the kayaking community by the Hudson River Watertrail
> Association. Learn more about HRWA at www.hrwa.org
> 
> To unsubscribe or change delivery options:
> http://www.rockandwater.net/mailman/listinfo/nyckayaker