Sincerely,

C.Baumann

There is a cell phone signal there. I know CDMA phones, like Verizon, work in that area, but I don’t know if GSM phones, like those from AT&T & T-Mobile, would work. The closest Coast Guard would be Bayfield or Duluth, 40 and 50 miles away, respectively. Would a handheld signal reach them? I don’t know. This time of year, the only traffic at night might have been a freighter and maybe someone monitoring VHF at the mine.

Hypothermia causes people to do strange things–unbuckling a lifevest may be one of them.

There’s nothing off shore near Cove Point, so I can’t understand why someone would have been a couple of miles offshore–even the NW wind wasn’t strong enough to push an average paddler that far offshore. It’s a 24 mile crossing to Sand Island in the Apostles. This time of the year a crossing like that on LS wouldn’t be the smartest thing to do. The hills are tall enough in that area that they should be visible from a couple of miles offshore. I don’t think you’d be able to see the lights from Beaver or Silver Bay. With a new moon, it would have been dark.

That part of the lake is protected pretty well from NW winds; I’d guess near shore there might have been a 1 foot swell. 45006 was reporting 4.27ft, but that bouy is so far away with so much NW fetch that it wouldn’t have been relevant for the MN shoreline. Here’s the nearshore forecast from the 19th:

Forecast as of 3:57 am CDT on October 19, 2009
Grand Portage To Grand Marais Mn-
Grand Marais To Taconite Harbor Mn-
Taconite Harbor To Silver Bay Harbor Mn-
Silver Bay Harbor To Two Harbors Mn-
Today
NW wind 10 to 15 kt. Mostly cloudy in the morning… becoming partly sunny. Waves 3 to 5 ft subsiding to 2 to 4 ft.
Tonight
NE wind 10 to 15 kt. Partly cloudy in the evening… becoming mostly cloudy. Waves 1 to 3 ft.
Tuesday
NE wind 10 to 15 kt becoming E 15 to 20 kt in the afternoon. A slight chance of rain in the morning…then a chance of rain and snow in the afternoon. Waves 2 to 4 ft building to 3 to 5 ft in the afternoon. A Small Craft Advisory may be needed.
Tuesday Night
E wind 15 to 20 kt decreasing to 10 to 15 kt after midnight. Rain likely in the evening…then rain with snow likely after midnight. Waves 4 to 6 ft building to 5 to 7 ft after midnight.

At any rate, there are lots of questions unanswered. I wish his family and friends the best.

Originally, I hoped to get out the story about needing to approach sea kayaking in the proper manner. I hate seeing “missing may be ” stories in the papers. Now, as speculation as to what happened builds, the press is looking for “dirt”. We don’t plan to supply any. Doug, we miss you. Silbs