A crew from Coast Guard Air Station Astoria, Oregon, hoisted to safety a kayaker who was stranded on rocks near Cape Falcon last Saturday afternoon.
The man used a VHF radio to contact watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Columbia River in Warrenton after his kayak was pushed against the rocks and sank. He could not be reached by land.
The Coast Guard air crew, arriving aboard an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter, retrieved the man, who was wearing a cold-water immersion suit and used a VHF radio to communicate with them. He was taken in good condition to Station Tillamook Bay in Garibaldi, Oregon.
“He set himself up for success by having all of the right safety gear,” said Petty Officer 1st Class Andrew Burgard, an aviation survival technician and rescue swimmer aboard the Jayhawk. “When people take these kinds of precautions it can save their lives when they get into trouble and it also makes our jobs a lot easier.”
