On Saturday, the Central Coast SurviveOars, a local dragon boat racing team made up of cancer survivors, rescued a man in the water after his kayak overturned.
The team is already a world championship gold medalist and can now add this to their list of accomplishments.
It was during their weekly practice when a SurviveOars paddler spotted something in the distance south of the boat launch ramp.
“She noticed way off into the distance that looked like someone had capsized. We had to paddle pretty far to catch up to this gentleman,” said Shannon Larrabee, paddler.
Larrabee says it wasn't a busy day on the water, allowing them to see the stranded man.
“We were lucky that we just spotted him and decided to paddle up and see what was going on. We used our training and made the call to help him out. He would have been in trouble,” Larrabee said.
Once they got closer, they noticed he had capsized.
“It looked like he had been in the water for a while by the time we showed. We noticed he was in distress,” Larrabee said.
“The current was quite strong that morning. A lot of people underestimate the current in the harbor because it looks so peaceful,” said Debi Thoresen, paddler.
Larrabee says they tossed the kayaker a rope and, while paddling him back to the nearest dock, contacted the Harbor Patrol.
“His life jacket was not secured tightly, so it took about four of us to pull him out of the water,” Larrabee said.
“His PFD (personal flotation device) was not tight enough, so when he did fall in, it went way up high and he was not safe,” Thoresen added.
Just a few days before, the team had purchased an emergency blanket for the boat. They say it saved the day.
“We quickly removed his upper clothes and put a Mylar blanket around him. I touched him and he felt so cold to me that I wrapped my body around him. He was definitely in hypothermia. It was quite frightening,” Thoresen said.
The Harbor Department says they took the man and his kayak back to his home in Morro Bay.
The SuriveOars credit their regular safety trainings for knowing what to do.
“We worked together and we’re proud that we’re able to help somebody in need and put that to use,” Larrabee said.
The group says they don’t know the man’s name and haven’t had any contact with him since his rescue.
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