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Rescue Of Kayakers Tuesday Was 2nd Since Sunday

News Channel 8 Photo by ERIC HAUSMANN

Aviation Survival Technician Cory Osborne speaks with the media Wednesday at Coast Guard Air Station in Clearwater.

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By KEITH MORELLI | The Tampa Tribune
and STEPHEN THOMPSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 3, 2008

Updated: 09/03/2008 01:51 pm

TAMPA - Two kayakers in Tampa Bay ran into trouble Tuesday and were plucked from the dark waters shortly before midnight. It was the second time in three days kayakers were rescued from open water in the area.

Lorelei and Jason Lamberg were kayaking in Tampa Bay when they apparently capsized, according to Hillsborough County sheriff's deputies. The woman clung to a channel marker about two miles west of Apollo Beach and her husband held on to the overturned kayak nearby, deputies said.

Deputies in a helicopter and in boats searched for the paddlers after the woman managed to call 911 from her cellular telephone. A helicopter spotted the pair about 11:30 p.m., and they were rescued by a private boat, said sheriff's spokeswoman Debbie Carter.

No one was injured, deputies said.

On Sunday, two kayakers who were pushed to Anclote Key by strong winds were rescued from the island by a Coast Guard helicopter.

Chris Copenhaver, 19, of Clearwater, and Andrew Kolonick, 19, of St. Petersburg, were not injured.

"They were surprised we would fly in that weather," said Cory Osborne, 22, the rescue swimmer in the four-man crew onboard the Sikorsky A-60 Jayhawk helicopter. "We were surprised they would go out in a kayak in it."

Copenhaver and Kolonick had every intention of paddling to the key after they left Pinellas County mainland, but the strong winds took matters out of their hands, Osborne said.

Luckily for them, Osborne said, the winds pushed them to the key; had the wind direction been different, they could have been swept out to sea. Paddling back to the mainland against the wind was out of the question, he said.

The Sikorsky was in the air looking for a capsized boat when the crew was called off that mission -– a sheriff's marine unit found that boat -- and redirected to the two kayakers in distress.

The crew's co-pilot was familiar with the area where the kayakers were last seen, and he spotted them taking refuge on the key. There is a helicopter landing pad on the key, and the Sikorsky touched down there.

The sky was overcast, with occasional lightning; storms hovered on the horizon, but most of all "the winds were big," Osborne said.

The two men had water with them and had planned to spend the night on the key, Osborne said. Instead, the helicopter brought them back to the mainland.

"They were pretty happy to see us," Osborne said.

Kayaking in open water is not the same as paddling down a quiet, calm river, said Kim Doehleman, owner of Osprey Bay Kayaks, which operates three outposts in the Tampa Bay area. Osprey Bay rents kayaks and canoes to many paddlers who venture out onto the open waters of the Bay or the Gulf of Mexico.

"The weather is the most important thing," Doehleman said this morning, and, of course, the water. "There are swells and strong currents that can pull you out to sea. The wind can create lots of waves and surf, too."

Kayakers who capsize in a river can easily get to shore. In open water, it's not as easy, she said. For those who tip the vessel and can't get it righted, the most important thing is to stay with the boat, she said.

"A lot of people make the mistake of letting go of the kayak," she said. "Hang on to it. It's the biggest thing in the water for rescuers to see."

Kayaks can tip, she said. "Most are pretty stable," she said. "The more narrow, the tippier they are."

If the weather looks like it will turn, kayaks aren't rented out, she said. "We don't let anybody out in bad weather."

Reporter Keith Morelli can be reached at (813) 259-7760 or kmorelli@tampatrib.com. Reporter Stephen Thompson can be reached at (727) 451-2336 or spthompson@tampatrib.com

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