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missing SUP'r
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PostSun Aug 23, 15 9:11 am    missing SUP'r Reply with quote

Just a heads up today to keep an eye out for the missing SUP'r lost this weekend near viento. East winds east current. Lots of people out on SUP's looking this Sunday morning near stevenson.

http://flashalert.net/news.html?id=1816

unbob

Since 31 Aug 2008
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PostSun Aug 23, 15 1:42 pm     Reply with quote

If true, unbelievable that any SUPer would launch in those conditions (gusting to 40) without a PFD & leash. "He was not wearing a personal floatation device, nor a lanyard while on his paddle board." A lesson for all.

Meantime, hoping there's a miracle and he somehow survived.

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Sella

Since 21 Apr 2007
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PostMon Aug 24, 15 9:00 am     Reply with quote

It was Friday the 21st he was lost and it was blowing strong West winds, not East. (Saturday it turned East.)

From the Sheriff's update report'
The wind on the afternoon of August 21 was very strong, causing swells to form in the river. A kiteboarder saw Pombo fall into the water but quickly lost sight of him. Several other paddle boarders were on scene within minutes and were unable to find him.

A friend and I were kiting up above the Hatch from 3:00 - 5:30ish but we saw nobody....no windsurfers...no cars in the Hatch parking lot...nada. For an August Friday we were amazed at how desolate it was and we actually talked about it on the water as we never have the entire area to ourselves. Thinking back it could have been because everyone was up searching for him???? We were on a 8M and 10M and fairly lit but the conditions were decent and not overwhelming. After reading the sheriff's update it's still hard to understand how an experienced waterman like Andres Pombo goes missing within minutes???? His Go-Pro shows he fell off his board on the Western side of Swell near the WA border. It's a terribly sad situation and perhaps he had a medical condition/emergency because the timing doesn't make sense to me at all and the water temp is still manageable.

Wear something floaty people.......no matter how experienced you may be.

God Speed Andres. Mi mas sentido pesame. Fuerza para la familia.

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WindLogik

Since 09 Feb 2009
95 Posts
Hood River
 



PostMon Aug 24, 15 11:47 am     Reply with quote

He must've hit his head or something. I was up above the Hatch that day on a 6 meter, and I felt the conditions to be pretty tame. Was barely making a six work, and it got funky, and I headed back to the sandbar. I don't usually get on this forum, but wanted to know what the hell happened to this guy. I have never felt uncomfortable on the river this time of year due to currents and such and have always felt I could swim to shore if I were in any real trouble and still had my marbles.

I wonder if he was under the influence or suffering from a hangover or jet lag, something like that. This just seems odd to me. I'd understand it it were big conditions in March with iffy water temps.

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Sella

Since 21 Apr 2007
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PostMon Aug 24, 15 12:20 pm     Reply with quote

WindLogik wrote:
I wonder if he was under the influence or suffering from a hangover or jet lag, something like that. This just seems odd to me. I'd understand it it were big conditions in March with iffy water temps.

It's really odd. He landed at PDX on Thursday the 20th so jet lag was a factor but he was only 20 years old and coming from Miami, not Montevideo. (He's Uruguayan) He picked up some new Fanatic boards at the Gorge Surf Shop that day and was stoked about the windy weekend ahead. He probably didn't get the best sleep that night. His Facebook shows him drinking yerba mate' and water Thursday evening checking out the sunset from a deck in HR. If he was drinking alcohol that night he didn't launch from Viento until after 1:00 pm the next day, so I don't think alcohol played into it. The guy was an avid/professional SUP'r and was rock solid strong even if he was tired from travel. Maybe he bailed hard and hit a submerged log with his head?? The whole thing is crazy since people saw him go into the water and supposedly within minutes he disappeared? Fish net? Absolutely tragic.

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Rollo Tomasi

Since 17 Mar 2005
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PostMon Aug 24, 15 2:28 pm     Reply with quote

Sella wrote:
....? The whole thing is crazy since people saw him go into the water and supposedly within minutes he disappeared? Fish net? Absolutely tragic.



Yeah Ken my thought was that since he was otherwise experienced it could be fatigue + bobbing in the swell allowing him to go low into a fish net.
Those things are much more numerous lately.

Regardless, so sad to hear.

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Blazeheliski

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PostMon Aug 24, 15 3:31 pm     Reply with quote

If a person inhales water as they fall in - it can cause laryngospasm as an involuntary response. This keeps more water from entering the lungs, but it also makes it so the person cannot breathe. Sometimes the spasm will release while the person is still conscious. Sometimes it wont release until the person is unconscious. And in 7-10% of cases the spasm will stay in place until the person goes into cardiac arrest resulting in a "dry drowning". The person will drown with no water in their lungs. A PFD is really your only hope. If you have an awkward fall (which I do a lot when I am SUPing) - inhale water just at the wrong moment - larynx goes into spasm - you can go straight to the bottom in seconds. Depending on the water temperature at the bottom you will float back up in a couple days or a few weeks. Many recovery operations in rivers will make the mistake of searching too far down river thinking the current will move the body. At the bottom, there generally is hardly any current. Most bodies will resurface very close to the point they went down when enough decomposition gases are generated. Very sad story. Fingers crossed for a miracle - but based on the current story - it doesn't sound good.

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Gman

Since 11 Feb 2006
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PostMon Aug 24, 15 7:40 pm     Reply with quote

So very sad

I could see even a very strong sup'er and swimmer getting gassed paddling/race training and then swimming to failure trying to catch up to a board caught in the river swell - the footage from the gopro showed him swimming after the sup?

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Matt V

Since 26 Oct 2014
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PostTue Aug 25, 15 9:25 am     Reply with quote

I hope this comes as a wake up call to the Coast Guard who has deemed SUP's vessels without making note of the unique traits of the sport. It's nearly impossible to change the Coast Guard's ruling after any death. They would have to admit some responsibility for requiring an approved "life vest" and making no provision for a leash in lieu of a life vest. Though that would only apply in deaths where separation from the board, not immediate drowning were the primary cause of death. The biggest problem is that an approved vest is an "Inflatable type V". These are not going to save your life as surely as being attached to the board. Getting back to the board is going to give you a better chance of survival than floating with your swimming speed restricted. A leash would have at least made the outcome of this tragedy different, if not, it would have simply saved Pombo.

Just as with a windsurfer, the board is your best life saving device. Just look at beach lifeguards. The one in Seaside has longboards on top of the rescue truck. That kind of gives me the idea that a big surfboard is pretty good at saving lives. Wanna be extra safe? Wear a leash as your first option and then a lifejacket too. But the point is that being leashed to the board is the safest way to paddle. You even have a better chance of being rescued at sea than just floating around in a lifejacket that reduced your swimming speed so you could not catch up to your board.

In the surf, I do not wear a lifejacket as it can be a liability in bigger waves. You can still dive under the first wave with a lifejacket on, but the second one can pick you up as you are re-orienting yourself and slam you from higher than if you were not wearing a life jacket. But if I paddle outside of the surf zone, than I am in violation of the requirements as the lifejacket exclusion only exists inside the surf zone. The Coast Guard has boxed paddlers in on this one.

Bottom line - Safety requirements of rulling authorities should take into account the best option for safety along with the most likely to be used. This is what a leash is - the best and most likely to be used.

Some of the responsibility must be taken by the paddler too. If you do not wish the tragedy of your death on your family and friends who must go on without your companionship, then BE SAFE! Looking good, cool, or being cheap is no excuse for not using a leash and replacing it at least every year. And if you sink like a rock like me, wear a life jacket out of consideration for those you will leave behind should you not make the swim back.

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SalmonSlayer

Since 27 Nov 2005
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PostTue Aug 25, 15 12:13 pm     Reply with quote

Do we really need the CG to tell us what to do to keep safe? Can't we make our own decisions? There is nothing keeping anyone from using a leash if it is a better choice.

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Gman

Since 11 Feb 2006
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Portland
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PostTue Aug 25, 15 12:34 pm     Reply with quote

SalmonSlayer wrote:
Do we really need the CG to tell us what to do to keep safe? Can't we make our own decisions? There is nothing keeping anyone from using a leash if it is a better choice.


Agreed!

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Matt V

Since 26 Oct 2014
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PostTue Aug 25, 15 6:18 pm     Reply with quote

Other Coast Guard regulations have saved many lives to their credit. And yes you can chose to not follow the regulations and risk a fine. Your state can also choose to not adopt Coast Guard regulations and thus no one would risk a fine for not having a life jacket on their water going vessel.

Point is you could be fined by ODFW, Sherrif, or the Coast Guard if caught without a life jacket on board your "Vessel". And a SUP is a vessel. So they are telling you what to do. Around the nation, even on small lakes, SUP'ers are being fined for not having a life jacket. It is the law.

And the law is bad. If you follow it, you are no safer than not following it when a SUP is your vessel. Safer would be if they changed the law to requiring a "leash in lieu of a life jacket". Make it your choice.

Why would more people use it? Because it is easier to use a leash than lash down a life jacket (that acts as a tiny sail on your board) to your board. It is cooler than wearing a life jacket. It also makes sense since it is a help instead of a hindrance to you when you fall off the board.

So since they are already telling us what to do (or risk a fine), then at least they should tell us to do something that we are more likely to do and that will actually help.

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WindLogik

Since 09 Feb 2009
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PostWed Aug 26, 15 10:51 am     Reply with quote

I don't know that it's a life vest issue exactly. Saying that the guy should've had a life vest is a captain hindsight observation. How many kiteboarders do you know that use life vests? I don't, never have. Maybe I should? I think kiteboarding is way, way more dangerous than stand up canoeing. It would be much easier to have a problem while kite boarding.

Something happened to this poor soul, and It'd be interesting to know about because a lot of us use the river regularly in a way that is more dangerous.

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Matt V

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PostWed Aug 26, 15 11:49 am     Reply with quote

For what I know, Pombo made a choice not to wear a life jacket and failed to meet Coast Guard regulations and/or State of Oregon law. I really do not think the "Captain Hindsight" reference fits here. All tragedies are learning experiences for those left behind and I hope more than one other paddler or kiter takes this lesson to heart and it eventually saves their life.

My greatest hope is that the life saved by learning from this example also saves a "would be rescuer" from having to put their life in danger to save another who made the choice to be less safe than they could have been.

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quenyaistar

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PostWed Aug 26, 15 12:20 pm     Reply with quote

You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him or her drink.
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Sella

Since 21 Apr 2007
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PostWed Aug 26, 15 1:13 pm     Reply with quote

WindLogik wrote:
Something happened to this poor soul, and It'd be interesting to know about because a lot of us use the river regularly in a way that is more dangerous.

Exactly. I did a solo ride to Swell last Monday to pay respect to Andres. I was all alone this time and knowing he's still in the water is very unsettling to me.

Gman wrote:
I could see even a very strong sup'er and swimmer getting gassed paddling/race training and then swimming to failure trying to catch up to a board caught in the river swell - the footage from the gopro showed him swimming after the sup?

John you might be right based on the update from the Hood River news today;

Video evidence from the camera on Pombo’s board showed him falling into the mid-channel of the river near Swell City with no personal flotation device, and disappearing from view after swimming one minute and two seconds in the Columbia, Hughes said.

#Even more vivid than the video were witness accounts. A local kiteboarder, whose name was not released by police, saw Pombo fall into the water after a “big gust of wind” hit him, which “facilitated him going into the water,” said Hughes.

#The kiteboarder paddled out to where she saw Pombo fall in within two minutes, but he had already vanished. Four more paddle boarders converged on the spot within minutes and were unable to find him, Hughes said, even when they searched “from shore to shore.”

#Pombo’s paddle board and gear were found floating in the river.


So he swam after his board. No head trauma, no fish net, no laryngospasm. I still suspect something medical happened to him during the swim because even if he did gas out after a 1 minute swim, he had support coming his way he would have noticed to help him with his board retrieval. Question Question

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SalmonSlayer

Since 27 Nov 2005
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PostWed Aug 26, 15 1:54 pm     Reply with quote

Sella wrote:
So he swam after his board. No head trauma, no fish net, no laryngospasm. I still suspect something medical happened to him during the swim because even if he did gas out after a 1 minute swim, he had support coming his way he would have noticed to help him with his board retrieval. Question Question


I agree. Any decently strong swimmer could stop pursuit of the SUP, tread water to relax and asses the situation and slowly swim to shore. He would not have traveled far in a few minutes even if he started swimming to shore.

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