Paddle-Fishing.com

http://www.baynews9.com/article/news/20 ... ng-kayaker" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

He was reported missing at 4:30 yesterday

I feel sorry for this guy and his family if it turns out for the worse. Having said that, a lot of us were out in that weather yesterday, and if they launched from MacDill and headed south in the afternoon with that wind, even the most experienced kayaker would have had trouble making it back in that wind. I just have to wonder what they were thinking when they launched and got a hundred yards out that would make them continue on.

I hope they find this guy, but if he was in that water all night, I don't think the outcome of this will be pleasant.

Had the same thoughts, Mark. Absolutely the wrong place to launch from yesterday.

Old kayakers adage: Into the wind away, with the wind home.

http://www.theledger.com/article/201101 ... ll-Missing

Lakeland Man's Kayak Found, He's Still Missing

By Suzie Schottelkotte
THE LEDGER

Published: Sunday, January 23, 2011 at 10:16 a.m.
Last Modified: Sunday, January 23, 2011 at 10:16 a.m.

BARTOW | A Lakeland man's kayak has been found but he remains missing in Tampa Bay.

Jerry D. Knight, 22, has been missing since Saturday afternoon, after seeking help for a friend who grew tired and could no longer paddle.

Knight was reported missing at 4:30 p.m., when a marine unit with the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office found Wes Powell, 31, on his kayak tied to a buoy off Gadsden Point in Tampa Bay. Powell told authorities that Knight had left to find help for him at 2:50 p.m.

A spokesman for the U.S. Coast Guard said today that searchers found Knight's kayak and paddle by helicopter on a spoil island just east of Gadsden Point just after midnight.

Authorities searched the island, but found nothing. The spokesman said the kayak appeared to have washed up on the island, with no indication that Knight had placed it there.

Searchers are continuing their efforts to find Knight in the water.

Knight, a resident of Highland City, attended Bartow High School and is an avid outdoorsman.

I heard this story while on a break at work. All I heard was a missing kayaker and I didn't get the whole name but heard something like Jerry .... and something that sounded like White. I feared we had lost one of our own, Jerry White, PAG Yakker. Made a few calls and was soon told I missed a syllable. I was grateful it wasn't Jerry but sad at the news that another kayaker is lost and by now is probably gone from this world. Very sad indeed.

Thanks Dave ...

I too have a bad feeling about this story.

Damnit. I was hearing about this guy off and on all day today on the marine radios at work. Sucks to hear it ended this way.

I was down at the water this afternoon, they were still looking for him.

Very sad.

The news is...not good.
http://www.baynews9.com/article/news/20 ... -in-Ruskin" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The Coast Guard ended its search for a missing kayaker Sunday afternoon when officials found his body near E.G. Simmons Park in Ruskin.

A body matching the description of Jerry Knight, 22, was found by a good Samaritan at about 4:30 p.m. Sunday.

Knight was reported missing Saturday afternoon around 4:30 p.m. when his friend, Wes Powell, 31, was found on a kayak tied to a buoy south of Gadsden Point in Tampa at about 2:50 p.m.

Powell reported that he had been unable to continue back to MacDill Air Force Base, where they had departed, and that Knight had gone to find help but had not returned.

The Coast Guard immediately launched a search using several vessels through the air and water.

Members from Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, Pinellas County Sheriff's Office and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission assisted in the search.

So very sad. I wonder what in the heck happened to this young guy? It's not like he went swimming for help. It was quite windy yesterday, that's all I can think. And the bay is quite cold.

My father in law, who works at Simmons just told me they found him. He washed up on Panther Point. Odd that the helicopters didnt see him floating.

Prayers to his family.

Hypothermia, in this water temp can kill you faster than you think. If he went overboard and couldnt get back up on the kayak, that would do it.

This is a very sad story. For those of us out there Saturday it was easy to see how someone could have gotten in trouble. On another thread we have been talking about deep water reentry. I think we all need to practice this to learn what we can and can not do. I know that I will.

Its best you practice with your winter clothes on too, but with support staff to help you, should things go awry.

The bay can get Nasty in that kind of wind.. and when I got up yesterday to go to work the weather station on my roof read 25 and had to scrape ice off the windsheild to drive. That's gotta be a horrible feeling out there alone and a horrible way to go. Always tether yourself and your paddle to the kayak!

Sad day when we loose one. Sometimes we forget how unforgiving nature can be. Just remember....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2QApwtE8zQ" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;