高中英语教学：Nightmare on Lake Superior

NightmareonLakeSuperior

ByJeffMoagfromMen'sJournal

Onebyone,thethreekayakerscapsizedinthecold,angrywater.Thenthey

becameseparated.

Itwasmeanttobeanotherboys'trip,thelatestinatraditionthat

stretchedbackmorethantwodecades.Everyotheryear,theoldfriends一Jim

Farrington,49zanelectricallinemaninAlden,Michigan;SeanRoyston,47zan

electricalgridsystemsmanagerinCottageGrove,Wisconsin;andTolanAnnis,

53,theco-ownerofaera代distilleryinGrandLedge,Michigan-hadkissed

theirwivesgoodbyeandheadedoutonanexpedition.Thistimetheydecided

tokayakLakeSuperior'sPicturedRocksNationalLakeshore,achallenging

out-and-backroute.

OnthemorningofSeptember13,2016,theyloadeduponfoodand

campinggear,donnedwaterproofpaddlingpantsandquick-dryT-shirts,and

zippeduptheirlifejackets.Theforecastcalledforwindsbuildingtotenknots

andseasrisingtoonetothreefeetbyearlyafternoon,thenstrongerwinds

overnight.Thefriendswereundeterred.Theyclimbedintotheir14-to

16-foot-longseakayaksand,atabout10:30,pushedofffromthebeachat

SandPoint,lessthanlOOyardsfromtheparkheadquarters.Theyplannedto

returninaweek.

Thetriopunchedoutthroughsmallwavesandheadednortheast.Soon

thenationallakeshore1strademarkcliffsbegantoriseontheirright.Their

nextchancetogetoutoftheirkayakswouldbesomefivemilesahead,

beyondatouristoverlookcalledMinersCastlePoint.

Awayfromtheshore,theheadwindgrewtotheforecastedtenknotsand

keptrising.Thewavesgrewtofourfeet.Still,theyneverconsideredturning

around.They'dalreadytraveledaroundfourmilesandtheyhadkayakedin

worseconditions.

They'dbeenpaddlingmaybe90minuteswhen,suddenly,thewavesgrew

tosixfeetandsteepened.Thewindroseto20knots."Whenitwentbad,it

wentbadfast,“saysAnnis,whowasinthelead,about60feetaheadof

Farrington.Roystontrailedanother40or50feetbehindFarrington.

Roystonwasthefirsttogooverboard.

Itwasabadplaceforaswim.Thewaterwasachilly62degrees,andthe

windandchoppywaveswerepushinghimtowardcliffs100yardsaway.

MinersCastlePointwasmaybeaquartermileupwind,andtheclosestsafe

landingbeachwasanotherquartermilebeyondthat.

SEPARATED

AfterRoystontipped,Farringtonquicklypaddledovertohim.He

broughthisboatparalleltoRoyston'sandsteadieditasRoystonscrambled

intohiscockpit,whichwasnowfullofwater.Hebeganworkingthesmall

plastichandpumpbutcouldn1tstayaheadofthewaves.

“Thepumpingwasjustnouse,"Roystonsays."I'dgetclose,and

anotherwavewouldcomeoverus."

Meanwhile,thewindpushedthemclosertothecliffs,wherethewaves

becameevensteeper.OnewaverolledbothRoystonandFarringtonintothe

water.

Farringtonmanagedtogetbackintohisboat,asdidRoyston一his

secondre-entryoftheday.Whentheylookedup,theysawAnnisinthewater,

fartherout,clingingtohisboat.FarringtonandRoystonpressedtheirkayaks

togetherforstability,eachholdingontotheother1skayakwithonehand

whilepaddlingwiththeother.Butwiththeboatsheavywithwater,andfacing

bigswellsand20-knotwinds,theycouldn7tmakeanyprogress.Anniswason

hisown.

“Bythenmyarmsweregivingout,“Roystonsays."IlookedatJimand

said,'Ican'tdothisanymore.1Wekeptgettingcloserandclosertothe

cliffs,andatsomepointIsaid,'Wegottacallnow/"

UsingaVHFradioclippedtohislifejacket,Farringtoncalled:"Mayday,

threekayakersstrandedatMinersRock."Buttherewasnoresponse,because

nooneheardthecalls.Thetallcliffsblockedtheradiosignalfromreaching

thepark'sheadquartersoranyoneelseonland,andnovesselswereonthe

lake.Asmallcraftadvisoryhadbeenissuedjustafterthekayakerslaunched,

sothetourboatsthatnormallyplythelakeshoreweretiedtotheirpiers.

AnotherwaveslammedintotheboatsandFarringtoncapsizedasecond

time.Whenhegotbackintothekayak,theradiowasgone,strippedfromhis

lifejacketaswerehiscellphoneandGPSunit.

Throughouttheordeal,RoystonandFarringtonhadbeentryingtomake

itaroundMinersCastlePoint,aboutaquarter-mileupwind.Nowthey

realizedthateventhatshortdistancewasimpossibleintheirwaterlogged

kayaks,andtheybeganlookingforanalternative.

Theyallowedthewindandwavestopushthemtowardanarrowrocky

ledgeatthebaseofthecliffs.Maybetheycouldlandthereanddraintheir

kayaksbeforecontinuingaroundthepoint.Butwhentheyarrived,they

realizedtheledgewasanillusion.Itwasactuallyapartiallysubmergedstrip

ofsandstone,anditwasbeingpummeledbyhead-highwaves.

Farringtonsomehowmanagedtogetontothesandstone.Hegripped

theplasticT-handleinthebowofhiskayak,whichRoystonheldtightly

againsthisownkayak.Farrington'sgripheld,butthehandledidn't.Ittore

cleanoff.Thetwoboatsslidbackintothecrashingsurfand,intheprocess,

tossedRoystonbackintothewater.

ThewavespushedRoystonandtheboatsalongtheshorelinebeforehe

disappearedaroundasmalloutcropping.

“ThelasttimeIsawhimzhewasrollingthroughthewaves,"Farrington

says."AndIsworehislifejacketwasunzipped.”

Itwasroughly12:30.Twohoursaftershovingoff,allthreemenwerenow

separated.AsfarasFarringtonknew,Roystonwaslikelyalreadydead.And

Anniswasnowheretobeseen.Nowhewasstrandedontherocks,andhis

radioandcellphonelikelyweresomewhereonthebottomofLakeSuperior.

Farringtontriedwalkingthenarrowstripofshorelinelikeatightrope

artist,butthewaveskeptknockinghimofftherocks.Asheclawedhisway

outofthewaterathirdtime,Anniscamefloatingby,holdinghisboatwith

onehandonthecockpitrim.He'dbeenkickingtowardMinersCastlePoint

formorethananhour,tryingtogetaroundthepointtolandatMinersBeach,

buthehadlostgroundinthepowerfulwind.

Themenyelledtoeachother,butcommunicationwashopeless.Soon,

Annisdisappearedfromsightaroundanothersmalloutcropping.

Aloneagain,Farringtonfoundabrokentreetrunkanduseditto

scrambleofftherocks,eventuallyclimbingabouthalfwayupthe90-footcliff

face.Hecouldclimbnofarther;itwastoosteep.TheMinersCastlePoint

overlookwasjustabovehim,closeenoughthathecouldhearthethumpof

cardoorsclosingasfamiliesvisitedthescenicattraction.Hehollereduntilhe

washoarse,butnooneheardhim.

''STARTKICKING"

Roystonstruggledinthesurfuntilthewavesfinallyspathimawayfrom

theshorelineandfartheroutinthelake.Exhausted,hefloatedonhisback

andconsideredhisoptions.

MinersCastlewasbarelyaquartermiletothenortheast,butwiththe

windandswellcomingfromthatdirectionitmayaswellhavebeenonthe

moon.RoystondecidedtoturndownwindtowardSandPoint,wheretheyhad

launchedthatmorning,threeandahalfmilesaway.

Butthedistancewasn'tallthatconcernedhim.Thoughhedidn'tfeel

particularlycold,Roystonknewitwasonlyamatteroftimeuntilhypothermia

setin.Heneededtogetoutofthewater,andquickly."Ymaswimmer/'he

saysz“andIthought,Well,let'sjuststartkicking."

Afteraboutthreehours,RoystonmadeitmostofthewaybacktoSand

Pointwherethecliffsfinallygavewaytoacedarswamp."Igottoapoint

whereIcouldactuallywalkupandgrabsomeofthebranches."Afterhalfan

hourofwadingthroughthickfoliage,hecametothemouthofacreek.It

gavehimjustenoughofanopeningtodraghimselfoutofthewater.

Hefollowedthecreekbedintothecedarthicketandspottedadirthiking

trail.Hestarteddownthetrailasfastashiswobblylegscouldwalk,blowing

pastanoldercoupletakingpictures,untilhereachedtheparkinglot.And

that'swhendumbluckfinallytookashinetoSeanRoyston.Aparkranger

happenedtobedrivingby.Roystonwavedhimdown.

Itwasjustbefore5p.m.Royston,Farrington,andAnnishadgoneinto

thewaterfourandahalfhoursearlier.Finally,asearchandrescueoperation

setouttohelplocatehismissingfriends.TheNationalParkServicelaunched

itspatrolboatArrowheadandbeganscanningtheshorelinebetweenSand

PointandMinersCastle.TheCoastGuarddispatcheda45-footpatrolboat

andscrambledarescuehelicopter.

STRANDED

SincebecomingseparatedfromRoyston,Farringtonhadnftmovedmuch

fromwherehewasstandingmidwayupthe90-footcliff.Wearinghisbright

redpaddlingtopandlifejacket,hewaslikeabeaconagainstthetan

sandstonewall.Thoughhe'dlosthisglassesinthewater,hespotted

theArrowhead'sflashinglightbarcomingaroundabend.

“Thebiggestreliefinmylifewasseeingthemblueflashinglightsthat

nooneeverwantstoseeintherearviewmirror,"Farringtonsays.

Usingtheboat'sloudspeaker,rangerstoldhimtostayput.Arescuewas

underway.

Thechopperarrivedat6:29p.m.Itwasnztgoingtobeaneasyrescue.To

pluckFarringtonfromhisspot,thepilotswouldhavetohoveruncomfortably

closetothetree-linedsheercliff.Theywouldhavetolowerarescuerfrom

morethanfivetimesthepreferredheight-using210feet

ofcablewhentheynormallyuseonly40-allinswirling20-knotwinds.

Leaves,twigs,anddebrisraineddownonFarringtonastherescuer

descended.HestrappedhimselftoFarrington,thenthetwowerehoisted

backintothecopter.

Thestreetlightswereglowingwhenthechoppersetdownafter7p.m.in

theparkinglotofMunisingMemorialHospital,whereFarringtonwasfinally

reunitedwithRoyston.

Afterrefueling,thehelicopterliftedofftosearchforAnnis,whobynow

hadbeeninthewaterforsevenhours.ThesearchcenteredaroundMiners

Castle,wherehe'dlastbeenseen.ButAnniswasalreadymilestothewest.

ANABANDONEDPLAN

WhenAnniscapsized,hewasabout150feetfromtheothers-toofar

awayforthemtohelportocommunicate.Afterfailingseveraltimestoclimb

backintohiskayak,hechosetowaitfortheotherstoassisthim.Butthenext

timehelookedforRoystonandFarrington,theyweregone.

Annisresolvedtostaywithhisorangekayakatallcosts;itwouldbe

easierforrescuerstospotthanaloneswimmerdressedinblueandgray.The

kayakofferedflotationandwaspackedwiththefoodanddryclotheshe'd

needifhemanagedtoreachtheshore.Thatwashisplan-kickwiththekayak

aroundMinersCastleandlandatMinersBeach.Theproblem:20-knotwinds

werewhippingaroundthepoint,makingprogressinthatdirectionallbut

impossible.Eventually,Annisabandonedhisplanandturnedwestinstead.

Thehoursflowedtogether.Anniskeptkicking."Normallywhenyou

haveasituationgobadonyouithappensfast,andadrenalinecarriesyou

throughit.Butaftersevenhours—thereisnoadrenalineleft,“hesays.〃I

hadnosenseoftime,butrdseenthesungoacrossthesky.Icouldstartto

feelmyselfbecominghypothermic.Iwasgettingsleepy,myhandswere

shaking,andIthought,You'vegottagetoutofthiswatersoonorit'snot

goingtoendwell/1

AboutamilefromSandPoint,wheretheirjourneybegan,hesawhis

chance:alowspotinthecliffwithathicktreerootreachingdown.

“Theboatwasfullofwaterandthewaveswerebeatingithard,soasI

wastryingtograbthisroot,theboatbecameaweaponagainstme,"hesays.

Annismadethedifficultdecisiontoletthekayakgozalongwiththe

provisionsitheld.Hepulledhimselfuptheroottotheedgeofthethicket

atopthelowcliff.Bythetimehegotthere,theboathaddriftedoutofsight.

Anniscontinuedalongtheridgeline,hopingtheboatmightgetcaught

upintheunderbrush.Andthat'sexactlywhathappened.Hescrambleddown

theclifftohiskayakandrecoveredafewpiecesofessentialgear,includinga

changeofclothes.Heswiggedwaterdownhisparchedthroatandate

handfulsoftrailmix.Thenhegrabbedthephonehekeptinawaterproofbox.

There'sverylittlecellservicearoundPicturedRocks,butAnniscaughta

signal.7,The911operatorknewwhoIwas/'hesays."Shetoldme,‘We'

vealreadygottheothertwo.Stayput/"

Soon,thehelicopterwascirclingdirectlyaboveAnnis.Theycouldn7tsee

himintheduskuntilapinprickoflightshonethroughtheunderbrush.Itwas

Annissignalingwithhisheadlamp.

ThehelicopterheldsteadytomarkAnnis'spo