At that time a large weather system out at sea was moving rapidly over Baffin's northern tip. The wind accelerated through gaps in the mountainous topography and over icefields in the interior. After crossing the land it rushed out into Eclipse Sound. Rosemary continues: "As soon as I put the camera away I became aware that I was being blown away from the shore at a fast rate. The waves had also changed. Rather than facing the kayak they were now parallel to it and getting higher. I tried to turn my kayak to point into the waves and toward shore but wasn't able to at all. Phil was yelling at us to come on and get in closer and I was shouting back that I was trying and I couldn't; but he couldn't hear me because the wind was carrying our voices, and us, away from shore. I was feeling very anxious and yelled to Mark that I was really uncomfortable because I couldn't make the kayak go in the direction of shore."
Within five minutes of the time that Rosemary was taking pictures, conditions on the water had deteriorated dramatically and it didn't take long for things to unravel. Mark came right over, calmly instructing Rosemary not to panic and to keep paddling parallel to shore past the next point of land, where they might have more success turning the kayaks shoreward. Within only a few strokes a big wave from the direction of shore caused Rosemary to capsize. It all happened quickly. Her blade may have either caught a gust or a beam wave may have pushed her kayak sideways, over the paddle, tripping her as she set the paddle blade on the downwind side.
Rosemary had never practiced wet exits, but knew to pull the grab loop and exit forward. She describes the next moments: "I remember the water being very green as I came up for air. Mark was right there beside me when I surfaced and I assured him I was okay as he held my hands and got me to hold onto the side of his kayak. Both of our kayaks were parallel to the waves now and they pushed us farther from shore. He asked if I could climb up onto his kayak and I said I thought so. The next thing I remember is Mark coming up out of the water after his kayak capsized. His hat was gone though his glasses were still on. He looked so surprised."
At this point, Phil remembers being a few meters from Marilyn and not much more than 50 meters from Mark and Rosemary. He doesn't remember leaving his position closer to shore with Marilyn, until she alerted him that both Mark and Rosemary were in the water. Marilyn had been keeping a closer eye on the other two. Rosemary remembers Phil being right beside them as Mark surfaced but concludes that she and Mark must have been in the water for awhile: "I guess Mark and I must have bobbed around for awhile, holding onto our kayaks. I remember Mark fumbling with his video camera case, getting out his air horn and using it, but it was water-logged and didn't make any sound. I think we had been blown to be about a quarter mile from shore at this time." |
