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Safety - April 2004
by Melesa Hamer |
A fatal kayaking accident in Baja brings up issues of responsibility and how to approach other paddlers when you think they may be heading into a situation beyond their abilities.
The sun had just dropped below the horizon in a brilliant shower of red and gold, and the sky was growing dusky purple as we paddled into the cove near Punta Don Juan off the coast of Baja, Mexico. This is the last cove to the south in the expansive Bahia de Los Angeles, or L.A. Bay for short, a paddling paradise known for its great snorkeling, fishing and diving. My partner Dave and I were happy to reach shelter before dark after setting out from the town of Bahia de Los Angeles so late in the afternoon.
As we coasted around the point, pelicans dived for their dinner, dropping vertically through hundreds of feet of air to pierce the water and strike fish swimming several feet beneath the surface. Just after rounding the point, we encountered a small group of paddlers heading out toward L.A. Bay from the mouth of the cove. We were practically on a collision course, and as we drew close, all of us stopped.
(Map by Martha Brouwer)
“What are you doing heading out in the dark?” I asked the five college-age paddlers in a somewhat joking tone but with underlying curiosity. “We’ve been trying hard to get in before it gets dark,” I
added. They laughed and shrugged and told us about
some great clamming they’d found on the beach they had just
left. Dave asked again what they were up to.
They said they felt
like they just needed to get back to town. They said goodbye and
set out across the quickly darkening L.A. Bay, singing songs and
joking about clams, boats and bugs. It was going to be a moonless
night, and they had a four-mile crossing ahead of them. |
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