ZACHARY KAUFMAN/The Columbian Lou Kobet stands in front of his small sailboat in the parking lot at Heritage Park trailhead on the east end of Lacamas Lake. Kobet contacted Clark County sheriff’s deputies with the Marine Patrol, who installed several channel marker buoys with his help, improving access to the rest of the lake for boaters.

via www.columbian.com

By John Branton, Columbian staff writer

A couple of years ago, Lou Kobet of Camas bought an unusual toy: a one-person Illusion II sailboat that, at 13½ feet long, is shorter than a lot of sea kayaks.

Although it’s shaped like an America’s Cup regatta racer, no crew is needed. You just sit in the back and work the sails with your hands, and control the rudder with your feet.

“It’s a head-turner,” said Kobet, 67, a retired process engineer, of his pretty boat. “Every time I take it out, people stop and ask me about it and take pictures.”

It is a type of one-person keel boat that is raced in the 2.4-meter class, including by skippers with physical disabilities in the Paralympic Games.

Last summer, Kobet hauled his vessel to the boat ramp at Heritage Park on the east end of Lacamas Lake and launched it.

The boat, which he christened Cork 2, dumped him in the water the first two times, once because he failed to put a substantial amount of lead ballast in its keel.

But he soon learned the ropes well enough to stay fairly dry.

Then he decided he wanted to sail Cork 2 from the park west — through the lake’s shallow zig-zag channel between submerged rocks and into the main part of the three-mile-long, 315-acre lake.

He asked other boaters for advice and learned that the Heritage Park channel, with only one buoy, was poorly marked.

“Watch for rocks and proceed at your own risk,” one boater said. “Trial and error (mostly error) is the normal way of learning the safe passage,” said another.

A third boater told of damaging the prop of his expensive ski boat.

Kobet decided not to risk hitting the rocks in his boat, which needs 3½ feet of water to float. But after the lake was drained down several feet, he took photos to map the exposed rocks, which normally are just barely submerged.

He decided that more buoys were needed to mark the channel. Needing help, he started with Camas City Hall, the Camas Police Department and Vancouver-Clark Parks & Recreation.

Kobet ended up exchanging e-mails and phone calls with Deputy Todd Baker with the Marine Patrol Unit of the Clark County Sheriff’s Office. Baker was familiar with the problem.

Early last month, said Baker, “We went out when the water was really low and checked out the channel.”

Deciding to add several new buoys, Baker and sheriff’s Sgt. Fred Neiman enlisted Kobet to make the anchors — five-gallon buckets filled with 100 pounds of concrete and a chain leading upward to attach to buoys.

The deputies had a few buoys on hand, obtained from a state marine fund, Baker said. Late last month, Baker and Neiman placed three rock buoys to mark the channel, and another to warn boaters away from a small island with rocks that are submerged when the water is high.

Now, Baker said, boaters should bear left of the buoys when heading out into the main lake, and stay right of the buoys when heading in.

In addition, Kobet and the deputies are hoping to find a Boy Scout planning an Eagle project to add colored markers this spring, in accordance with the old marine rule “red right returning” from the sea.

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There are many different causes of Washington State boat accidents. However, many people are only familiar with some of the more common causes, such as operator mistakes, boating under the influence, or adverse weather conditions. In some cases, WA boating accidents may be caused by the mistakes made by the boat's builder. Last month, a Snohomish County was killed in a boating accident that may have been caused by a Washington boat manufacturer. 

Washington State resident 48-year-old Cindy Tate was an experienced boater using the Lake Stevens recreation area in good weather in July when her boat flipped over, killing the woman and injuring nine other passengers. According to the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office, the boat was taking on water and sunk much faster than it should have. These anomalies led authorities to investigate the boat's manufacturer. Tiger Trax boats like Tate's were built by Phil Warnock in the late 1990s and have a history of malfunctions and sinkings. According to former workers at the boat manufacturer, the builder used low-cost foam on the boat's hulls, making them unsafe and making them more likely to take on water and decrease buoyancy. Snohomish County will investigate the boat's make, although they will also investigate whether the boat was overloaded with ten people. Also boat maker Warnock has not been in trouble for fatal boating accidents in the past, his boats have been known to take on water and his business has been in trouble for fraud in the past. Warnock now makes boats under the brand name Mirage.

via www.wainjurylaw.com

One reason Washington has a higher boating fatality rate than other states around the nation is due to water temperature.  Did you know "cold water" is defined as water less than 70 degrees fahrenhiet?  Most water wthin this state rarely rises above this.

Your chance of surviving cold water immersion depends on having sufficient flotation to keep your head above water, controlling your breathing, having timely rescue by yourself or others, and retaining body heat.  Water conducts heat from your body 25 times faster than air.  Moving water 40 times faster than still water!

Three Simple Steps Can Save Lives

1. Prepare by always wearing a secured life jacket.
2. Wear layered clothing for insulation.
3. Equip your boat with a means for re-entry (ladder, sling, etc.) to use if you should fall into the water. 

Practice reboarding procedures on your own vessel so that you know you can reboard quickly should you fall in. 

You can learn how to survive a cold water immersion and the various stages the body goes through when plunged into cold water by watching the following videos.  Be prepared by understanding the dangers of our northwest waters.  It can occur anytime during the year, and it may save your life! 

Here is a link to a news story about the dangers of cold water in the Pacific Northwest from KATU, Portland, OR.

Have a cold water experience of your own to share?  Please post a comment.