Date: 2019-02-24; Victim: Nancy Kell; Reports by: Ken Durr and
Bill Durr
River: Red Creek;
Location: about three miles west of Laneville, WV
Water level: Medium-High
(AW reported 465 CFS – Green level)
Difficulty: II+ (at that
point in the river)
Report by Ken Durr:
A group of seven boaters
set out to run Red Creek from Laneville to the Dry Fork of the Cheat. Air
temperature was approximately high 50s, but getting colder. Winds were
becoming gusty making communication difficult. All were experienced
boaters. All had taken swift water rescue classes. About three
miles into the run, in relatively flat water, we took a left hand turn around
an island and approached a spot with a pile of wood, mostly branches, extending
4-5 feet from river left. To the right of this strainer was a clear
channel approximately 10-15 feet wide, and then another strainer extending 10-15
feet to the island. Bill Durr, leading, eddied out river left about 15
feet above the channel and then ran it. I eddied out at the same place
facing downstream. Nancy then eddied out ahead of me, facing upstream,
just upstream from a log protruding a few feet from the bank at head or
shoulder height. I warned her not to drift into it, but she hit it,
flipped, and I saw the boat run through the channel upside down. It did
not stop or slow at any point; there was no attempt to roll, and no apparent
swim. The next boater down, Josh Barza, asked me what to do, I said
to follow the boat, thinking odds were she was still in it and possibly
incapacitated. Other boaters followed him.
The boat was soon out of
sight and I could not know what the pursuers had found, but thinking that it
was also possible that she had no longer been in the boat, I took out river
left and began scouting the river on foot, starting at the strainer and walking
down, scanning the river in approximately the area that the boat went, but also
looking along the far shore, thinking that she might have ejected without us
noticing. As I scouted down the shore I met Bill Durr coming up. He
asked where Nancy was. I said she must be downstream because I could not see
her here. I went back up river scanning the same area again.
Elapsed time at this point was probably 4-5 minutes.
I then saw Nancy’s PFD and
helmet 2 or 3 inches under water at the spot where the channel began, just
beside the river left strainer. She had not previously been visible to me
there—other boaters had also gone by without seeing anything. I began
blowing my whistle and did not stop. I jumped on and into the upstream
side of the river left strainer and was secure in it, up to my waist in
water. I pulled Nancy up, facing downstream, and held her head out of the
water. After 30 or 40 seconds, because she was non-responsive, it was
very difficult to keep her head up, and there were no other boaters around, I
sought an alternative. I checked around her body with one hand and felt a
taught strap (I later learned that this was an elastic cow tail tow tether)
directly below her, extending from her PFD to, I believe, a branch protruding
from the strainer about a foot down. I took Nancy’s knife from her PFD
and cut the strap. She immediately floated feet first, head up,
downstream.
I was stuck in the
strainer for one or two minutes but eventually got free by shifting my
weight. I got back in my boat and headed downstream looking for
Nancy. About an eighth of a mile down, I found Josh and Bill
administering CPR to Nancy on a gravel bar. Josh and Bill began CPR at
around 1:10. I got out and helped them carry her to an island. Josh
knew CPR and continued performing it, with Bill and me helping him. We
also administered rescue breaths at Josh’s direction. After about five
minutes Charlie Duffy arrived and instructed me to go for help. I boated
about a quarter mile downstream and found a farm house on river right—the
occupants called 911 and I led one of them upstream to the site.
Two others in the party
had pursued the boat towards river right, initially believing Nancy would be
close by. They eventually grounded the boat a substantial distance
downstream.
At about 1:50 Bill,
Charlie, and Josh had stopped performing CPR. Josh then also went for
help. Bill, Charlie, and I began setting up ropes to cross the
approximately 40 foot channel between the island where Nancy was and the river
right shore where medical personnel were arriving. I crossed to the
island, and Bill and I helped Charlie carry Nancy to a line that angled
downstream to shore, Charlie clipped her in and walked her to shore.
Paramedics then evacuated her.
Put in at 12:15 on Red
Creek with a group of experienced boaters and day was going well. Eventually
our group came to gravel bar that forms a rapid with a channel on the left with
lots of wood (38.975187,-79.458631). The wood blocks most of the channel and
the river constricts. At the top of the rapid there is a small eddy river right
that you can catch and walk the rapid or set up to run the narrow channel far
river left. Above the river left channel is an eddy that has a large strainer
in it with a decent amount of space behind to catch and run the channel. I went
first and ferried to behind the strainer and continued down the far left
channel. Caught an eddy river left, immediately below the last part of the
channel. From this eddy I could not see all the way to the top.
The group started to come
down the channel. I saw Ken catch an eddy about half way down and heard whistle
blasts. I saw Nancy's boat floating down the rapid upside down with no
movement. Got out of my boat and proceeded up the river left bank. When I got
to Ken I quickly looked, but didn't see anything in the channel and heard that
no one had seen Nancy come out of her boat. So I got in my boat and proceeded
to try to catch up to her boat.
Came to the next rapid
where the river splits around an island and took the left channel
(38.975591,-79.46172). At the bottom of it I saw Josh and he was blowing his
whistle. Got out on the island and went to him. Josh said that he was chasing
Nancy's boat and it and the other paddlers in or group went down the right
channel. We went up to try to look down the right channel. Got to a spot where
we thought we saw the right channel and did not see any boaters or boat. I
started back to my boat to proceed downstream, this is when Josh started
blowing his whistle (about 8 minutes after leaving to chase the boat). He was
heading upstream and into the water. Nancy had been floating down and he got
her to a gravel bar next to the island. She was unresponsive and we started CPR
and rescue breaths. Ken arrived after about 3-5 minutes and we paused to get
Nancy fully out of the water and brought her over to the island. Continued to
administer CPR and breaths. Charlie arrived and Ken went to get help. Continued
CPR 40 minutes total but Nancy never became responsive or regained a pulse.
Things that were helpful:
· Two members of the
party involved in the rescue/recovery knew CPR. Josh Barza is WFR
certified.
· Very experienced
paddling crew.
· Strong teamwork.
· Good group gear,
especially long ropes.
· Fast response time
from the Tucker County Police & EMS Teams.
· Great assistance
from the local landowner.
What could have
potentially been done differently?
· We should have had
one person in the party stay with Ken.
· We could have
considered that because Nancy floated out of the eddy she likely hit the
channel at the far left and that that was the place she was most likely to have
snagged, and so could have looked harder there earlier.
· Eddy top of the
rapid, river right and portage the rapid. There was a very easy portage
through a grass field.
· Stop/Gather/Discuss
before running a rapid with a strainer at the bottom.
Ken could have used
a rope to self-belay/wade to Nancy. The rope could then be used to secure
Nancy via a carabiner to prevent floating downstream.
Finally: This incident
suggests reconsideration of the widespread use of tow tethers.
From Charlie Duffy
Since she was
trapped underwater and it was shallow, I'm guessing she wasn't able to reach
the quick
release in front (just guessing).
I use the same system as you, works quite well - has a very
small exposure from the ring to the pocket.
An alternative retrofit I may experiment with is as follows:
- Store the standard tow strap completely in the front
pocket - out of harms way.
- Sew a short 1' (or shorter) strap to a ring (goes
on the WRT Belt) and a flat small loop on the end of the thin strap
(Spectra - like Astral or climbing webbing). The other end is simply
velcro-ed to the PFD on the side where it's easy to grab.
- When needed to tow, pull from packet, clip to the
strap, and clip the other end to the boat to be towed.
This seems really fail safe,
nothing to grab and Velcro disengages with very little force.
I'd also stress very bright clothing - no Black or dark
Red. That would have helped Ken immensely in seeing she was trapped and
not still in her boat. The greatly reduced exposure time
"might" have enabled rescue in time for CPR to actually work.
From Kevin Coburn: I use the astral system that is all contained
tightly in a pocket and on a quick release. This seems like the ideal system.
Question, had she recognized the tether was caught and
pulled her quick release, wouldn't the non-biner end of the tow tether pulled
free and released her from the log? It seems like as long as one end is
on a quick release, the other end could (though not ideally) be a
non-releasable biner.
From Evan Stafford: Definitely an important safety lesson that
seems like a tiny thing until you're snagged on your tow tether. I've had
issues with those things for a long time and watched a friend have a near miss
from a separate issue with them, which is clipping into a boat trying to
recover it in serious whitewater. He couldn't get to shore in a high water
class IV+ section and by the time he tried to pull his release and realized the
boat floating next to him wasn't going to provide any tension for him to
release it, it was too late and he was entering the lead-in to a long class V+
rapid. He swam into a very sticky river wide hole with the boat still attached
to his tether, even though he'd pulled the release almost a minute before. When
he went deep on about his third or fourth recirculation he finally pulled free
from the boat as it remained in the hole and he continued down swimming a 1/4
mile of extremely gnarly whitewater. I had a rope to him about 1/3 of the way
down the rapid but as he grabbed it the violence of the scenario twisted him
around and it wrapped around his neck so he let go and continued to swim to the
bottom of the rapid. He managed to pull himself to shore before we caught up to
him at the bottom of the rapid and he survived with only a bruised body and
ego. I haven't worn a tow tether since.
It frustrates me that they are sold as "serious"
rescue equipment when they are really best used for rescuing gear in class II
whitewater or below. I've never needed to use mine in a time sensitive
situation where I couldn't have just pulled it out of my pocket to ferry a boat
across a river or as an attachment point to myself. Seems like Nancy was a
strong community member and her loss will be felt for a long time. I will do
the rounds with your article here so that hopefully we can reach many people
with your message about the dangers of tow tethers and how to use them
properly.
ACA SWR
Committee Response: Feb 2019
We as a
committee would first say that our deep sympathies are with the surviving
family and friends of Nancy Kell. Our practice of evaluation in hindsight
is not done with a desire to cast stones but instead to inquire, reflect,
and learn so as to prevent future incidents from occurring. To prevent
unnecessary knee jerk admonishment of useful equipment, we need to come
together to warn and inform the pros and cons of wearing a tether.
Every rescue tool inherently increases complexity and risk and although
have dangers to their use, each can bring a swiftness to rescue we would not
have otherwise.
Let us
then think to ourselves how we can shape a new paradigm where we first create a
personal and group system of rescue, and we communicate these systems
effectively within our group, putting emphasis on how to prevent
accidents from occurring.
Second,
we must remain open to changing our systems based on environment,
complexity, and group. And, finally, we will strive to train with those systems
as frequently as possible in a variety of environments to find weaknesses
that can be mitigated.
Things
that the ACA S&R Committee would like to emphasize with rescue tether use
after the accident involving Nancy Kell where she became entrapped in her
tow tether underwater in a strainer all or none of which could have
potentially led to the demise of the party:
1.
Ensure that the rescue tether is releasable from both ends if the Quick Release
Harness Belt is deployed i.e. do not attach to hard points (nonreleasable).
a. Understand that methods of threading the belt through triglide buckle
that increase friction could inhibit the release of the rescue
tether b. Understand that a carabiner attachment loop for tether on PFD’s
differ in location and have limitations in ease of release based on angle
of force.
2.
Although many manufacturers sell tethers with nonlocking carabiners, community
standard is pushing towards widespread agreement that they should be used
with locking carabiners to prevent unexpected clipping to hard points
(nonreleasable). Study the strengths and weaknesses of each kind of locking
carabiner before introducing into your system.
3.
Ensure that Quick Release Harness Belt does not have excessive tail (exceeding
36”), has no twisting the entire length to buckle, and belt is in good
condition to prevent jamming in triglide and the plastic fastex buckle.
4.
Stress that sea kayaking tow systems are not a safe alternative to a Type V
Rescue PFD and are inappropriate rescue tethers in river
environments. Realize that complacency with your system can
often be mistaken for comfort with your system. It is good practice to
avoid dogma with systems in a river environment as there are too many variables
that can contribute to a river accident.
Every
group, no matter what the outing is should have a means of briefing their group
on safety for the day. It does not need to be a belabored process but instead
identify the right mindset for the day. Utilizing the CREW talk below can
be a quick and effective way of establishing protocol for the day:
C
Communication (point positive, whistles, hand, where we might scout and discuss
more) R River (character, levels, exposure, hazards, access)
E Equipment (special equipment needed for section of river or
exclusions) W What if (identify greatest threat to safety for the
day, access, ICS)
Woman dies in Tucker County kayaking accident
The Tucker County Inter
Mountain Feb 28, 2019
By DAN
GEOHAGAN, STAFF WRITER
DRY FORK– A Maryland woman
died while kayaking in Tucker County this week, officials said. A kayaking incident on Sunday resulted
in the death of Nancy Kell, 56, of Hagerstown, Maryland, the Division of
Natural Resources confirmed in a press statement. Preliminary
reports state that while on Red Creek, near Dryfork in Tucker County, her kayak
struck a partially submerged tree, overturning her into the water. Her body was
recovered downstream.
The West Virginia Division
of Natural Resources Police are in charge of the investigation. Many friends of Kell’s have
reacted on social media to her passing.
On the Mason Dixon Canoe
Cruisers Facebook page, Charlie Walbridge posted an accident report written by
Ken Durr and Bill Durr, who were on the kayaking outing with Kell.
Ken Durr wrote, “A group
of seven boaters set out to run Red Creek from Laneville to the Dry Fork of the
Cheat. Air temperature was approximately high 50s, but getting colder. Winds
were becoming gusty making communication difficult. All were experienced
boaters. All had taken swift water rescue classes.
“About three miles into the run, in relatively flat water, we took
a left hand turn around an island and approached a spot with a pile of wood,
mostly branches, extending 4-5 feet from river left… Nancy then eddied out
ahead of me, facing upstream, just upstream from a log protruding a few feet
from the bank at head or shoulder height. I warned her not to drift into it,
but she hit it, flipped, and I saw the boat run through the channel upside down.
It did not stop or slow at any point; there was no attempt to roll, and no
apparent swim… The boat was soon out of sight.”
The report states that Ken
Durr continued downstream for about five minutes and then saw Kell’s helmet
underwater. He lifted her body out of the water and cut free a strap which was
caught on a branch of the submerged tree. When she was removed from the stream
Bill Durr and another man performed CPR for 40 minutes but to no avail, the
report reads.
Sheila Chapelle posted on
Facebook, “Such a tremendous loss, my
good friend and paddling companion, Nancy Kell, passed while paddling lower Red
Creek yesterday — caught in a strainer. Her companions did all they could…
Nancy was a kingpin in our local and distant paddling community — connecting
paddlers with each other — encouraging people to get on the river. Always
having a great day no matter what the conditions. She was also was a school
guidance counselor and touched innumerable students.
Andrew Rabinowitz posted
on the Mason Dixon Canoe Cruisers Facebook page that “Nancy was my teacher, mentor, and most importantly a very dear
friend who I was ever so privileged to spend countless hours with on the river.
She was a beautiful example of how live a kind, generous, adventurous and
fulfilling life… My heart is broken and my thoughts go out to her family,
friends, all that were involved with her rescue, and our entire paddling
community.”
Nancy Kell, a very experienced Mid-States kayaker, died on February
24th after flipping in a Class II rapid on West Virginia's Red Creek. There
were a number of strainers in the vicinity above and below the water. One of
them snagged her tow, pulled her out of her boat, and held her under water. She
was with a very experienced crew but they could not reach her quickly enough to
save her life.
Equipment snags are a real risk. (People have been fatally
trapped by their sprayskirt and life vest in other accidents!) In the light of
this accident, I strongly urge anyone using a cowtail, pigtail, or tow tether
to recheck your setup, and to consider whether wearing a tow tether is worth
the risk.
Be certain that your tether releases cleanly at both ends. Do
not attach the front carabiner to a non-releasable point, like a pocket or the
quick release strap. Ms. Kell did this, and it may have been a contributing
factor. Apparently many current rescue PFD designs to not feature a front
release point! Do not attach the tether to the rear of your PFD with a
non-locking carabiner, as that may inadvertently clip into a rope. Use a solid
ring or locking carabiner.
The tether should fit very snugly, wit
hout sagging, but the
photo shows that Ms. Kell did that, and was snagged despite her precautions!
The harness release should be quick and foolproof. Practice harness releases
under pressure before using it on the river.
Finally, remember that any additional strap is a potential snag
hazard. Ask yourself if the usefulness of a tow tether is worth the added risk,
especially on small creeks with strainer hazards. Carry it in a PFD pocket or
dry bag if necessary.
From Evan Stafford: Definitely an important safety lesson that
seems like a tiny thing until you're snagged on your tow tether. I've had
issues with those things for a long time and watched a friend have a near miss
from a separate issue with them, which is clipping into a boat trying to
recover it in serious whitewater. He couldn't get to shore in a high water
class IV+ section and by the time he tried to pull his release and realized the
boat floating next to him wasn't going to provide any tension for him to
release it, it was too late and he was entering the lead-in to a long class V+
rapid. He swam into a very sticky river wide hole with the boat still attached
to his tether, even though he'd pulled the release almost a minute before. When
he went deep on about his third or fourth recirculation he finally pulled free
from the boat as it remained in the hole and he continued down swimming a 1/4
mile of extremely gnarly whitewater. I had a rope to him about 1/3 of the way
down the rapid but as he grabbed it the violence of the scenario twisted him
around and it wrapped around his neck so he let go and continued to swim to the
bottom of the rapid. He managed to pull himself to shore before we caught up to
him at the bottom of the rapid and he survived with only a bruised body and
ego. I haven't worn a tow tether since.
It frustrates me that they are sold as "serious" rescue
equipment when they are really best used for rescuing gear in class II
whitewater or below. I've never needed to use mine in a time sensitive
situation where I couldn't have just pulled it out of my pocket to ferry a boat
across a river or as an attachment point to myself. Seems like Nancy was a
strong community member and her loss will be felt for a long time. I will do
the rounds with your article here so that hopefully we can reach many people
with your message about the dangers of tow tethers and how to use them
properly.
Charlie, may I humbly
point out another compounding factor in many of these underwater entrapment
situations? It's almost never talked about, but I believe that it's more
important than tow-tether use when it comes to over-all safety. People need
to know that wearing brightly colored gear DRASTICALLY increases their
chances of being seen if they're ever trapped underwater. Orange, white,
yellow=more visible. As someone who does a lot of squirt boating and filming
squirt boating, I know how quickly darker colors become invisible in just a
little murky water. Red and black just aren't easy to see underwater.
I wish that gear companies would stop offering rescue PFD's with large black
panels in them, and that more kayakers would choose to see gear color as a
legitimate safety issue. Many of these situations have occurred when a trapped
kayaker just can't be located in time--even as rescuers were within a few feed
of them. If we would stop buying darker gear, manufacturers will stop making
it.
From Jeff Calhoun via Facebook: Please Do NOT wear tow tethers that aren’t 100% detachable from
your PFD. Even with a quick release, a tow tether is vulnerable to dangerous
snags in wood infested whitewater. There was a fatality due to a
tow line snagging on a strainer in class 2-3 yesterday. Sorry in advance for
the Monday morning Quarterbacking but I tell people about this all the time,
and yet it’s still a widespread practice among intermediate boaters to wear and
use a tow tether on whatever river to rescue your friends boats when they swim.
Even if you are experienced in using a tether I think It is unnecessarily risky
to wear one on a creek with strainers. The risk in that environment far
outweighs the benefits. I prefer to have a sling underneath my skirt (definitely
NOT wrapped around on top of the skirt), or in a PFD pocket because we usually
have to get out of my boats to retrieve a swamped boat. Personally I almost
never wear one except the rare instances teaching beginners on the safe and
strainer free Potomac. I see a lot of people wearing them loose, flopping
around, with the carabiner clipped to themselves or the PFD, rather than
clipping back to the quick release harness. Please learn from this tragedy and
check yourself, and check your friends.
Nancy Kell, a very experienced Mid-States kayaker, died on
February 24th after flipping in a Class II rapid on West Virginia's Red Creek.
There were a number of strainers in the vicinity above and below the water. One
of them snagged her tow, pulled her out of her boat, and held her under water.
She was with a very experienced crew but they could not reach her quickly
enough to save her life.
Equipment
snags are a real risk. (People have been fatally trapped by their sprayskirt
and life vest in other accidents!) In the light of this accident, I strongly
urge anyone using a cowtail, pigtail, or tow tether to recheck your setup, and
to consider whether wearing a tow tether is worth the risk.
Be
certain that your tether releases cleanly at both ends. Do not attach the front
carabiner to a non-releasable point, like a pocket or the quick release strap.
Ms. Kell did this, and it may have been a contributing factor. Apparently
many current rescue PFD designs to not feature a front release point! Do not
attach the tether to the rear of your PFD with a non-locking carabiner, as that
may inadvertently clip into a rope. Use a solid ring or locking carabiner.
The
tether should fit very snugly, without sagging, but the photo shows that Ms.
Kell did that, and was snagged despite her precautions! The harness release
should be quick and foolproof. Practice harness releases under pressure before
using it on the river.
Finally,
remember that any additional strap is a potential snag hazard. Ask yourself if
the usefulness of a tow tether is worth the added risk, especially on small
creeks with strainer hazards. Carry it in a PFD pocket or dry bag if
necessary.
