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Coast Guard to th Rescue
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Coast Guard to th Rescue

by Gary Minish

Gallery: POP PhotosPosted June 3, 20182,033 views4 comments
I was sitting on the rocks in the boat harbor jetty, shooting pictures of Sea Otters when I saw a man kayaking out into the nasty waters of the windswept bay.  I thought to myself that the guy was either crazy good or just plain crazy!  About a half hour later I saw the Coast Guard rescue boat zooming out into the bay and a few minutes later it came back with a kayak on board.  Guess that answered my question.  The good news is that the kayaker survived despite being in the frigid water for a half hour (with no wet or dry suit).  He was lucky because he had floated near the commercial dock a quarter mile away where a person on the dock just happened to see him.  Even luckier, the person on the dock was an off shift Coast Guard person!  

Sony a6500, SEL100400GM @ 150mm, ISO-250, f/6.3, 1/3200, hand held.

Comments

4 comments
Comment posted by SandyRichardsBrown on June 4, 2018 at 3:32 AM
Very lucky, indeed. Your water up there is colder than ours (do you know the temp?) and herre, they say 10-15 minutes max.
Great action image, fine detail, and I love the snowy mountains in the BG.
Thank God for the Coast Guard!
Sandy
Registered on November 24, 2003, 3937 Posts, 12909 Comments
Comment posted by Richard Sandor on June 4, 2018 at 10:06 AM
Gary: I like the action you've captured in this photo. In particular, the spray being kicked up by the rescue boat and the pose of the Coastguardsman as he moves forward imply fast motion. Great background as well. Really nice!! Richard
Registered on January 12, 2014, 453 Posts, 1625 Comments
Comment posted by Mike Ramy on June 4, 2018 at 10:06 AM
Hey Gary,
'Rugged' was my first thought when seeing this fine image. Great commentary to go along with a beautiful composition, the large version is very impressive. laugh
Registered on June 16, 2012, 567 Posts, 2809 Comments
Comment posted by Harley Goldman on June 10, 2018 at 6:54 PM
One careless and crazy kayaker. Who would go into waters that cold without the proper gear. Nice of the CG to bail him out and nice image the pending rescue. 
Registered on November 19, 2003, 586 Posts, 11271 Comments