On the afternoon of August 6th, a group of six young people, including a camp counselor and a guide from Chequamegon Adventure Company, departed the Little Sand Bay on Lake Superior by kayak. Both gale and small craft advisories were posted for the waters along the lake’s western shoreline at the time. These warnings were ignored by the company’s guide and led to a series of mishaps. While the guide and camp leader were attempting to assist a kayaker with a rudder problem, the group of kayakers became widely separated by waves ranging up to four feet or more in height. National Park Service and US Coast Guard personnel responded in their vessels to a marine radio report of two kayaks in distress just east of the park’s mainland unit. They arrived on scene just as two people reached the shore after having capsized their kayaks. At about the same time, ranger Michael Larsen received a radio message from park employees stationed at Little Sand Bay who reported seeing what they thought was a kayak off York Island. They thought that it might be associated with the guided kayak group. Larsen diverted his boat from his original course and went to the aid of the distressed kayaker. He found an unresponsive young man draped over the side of his kayak. Working alone and under rolling high sea conditions, Larsen rescued the kayaker and transported him back to Little Sand Bay. There they met with Red Cliff Ambulance Service personnel, who treated the man for hypothermia. Due to the quick response and a cooperative rescue operation, all parties survived. Chequamegon Adventure Company is currently operating under a new NPS commercial use authorization. The park will conduct a review to determine whether conditions of the permit were met. The guide’s decisions will be studied during a pending incident review. The findings may prove beneficial to both the park and commercial use operators in the future.
