3rd ave rescue?

[Greg]

What a total bummer....
Warm winds Jay,
L.M.G.

[jowall]

I don't kite 3rd too often but I did get out in June and I met Jay at the end of my session. He showed me his board and how he found it and tried to get it back to the owner but no one claimed it. It was an older board and he had cut off the tails and was very proud of the mod.

I got the feeling when people say on this board that the locals at 3rd are very cool and helpful that he was one of the reasons. Sorry to see this happen.

john

[zgur]

Having recently come TOO close to dying myself, it is with deep saddness that I say Rest In Peace Jay. He was a very kind and caring person. Met him a few times at 3rd, and he offered me help even though I was a total stranger to him.

My sincere condolences go out to his family and the 3rd ave community.

Treasure the time you do have, as you never know when it will be over.

Get some, Z.

[moblvet]

RIP Jay, and condolences to those close to him.
For the circumnavigation of the Farallons, I was a support boat for 1 of 2 out of 4 kiters who didn't make it.
Jay's situation made me think of it.
8 miles from the GG bridge returning from the Farallons, the wind died, in the water too long, I believe hypothermia set in. My kiter wanted me to motor into Crissy to get a bigger board so he could make the finish. Tried to explain, would be difficult to find him coming back, then he wanted me to compute the tide whether it would take him into Crissy, it was ebbing. Had to threaten him with my boat hook to make him get out of the water, and give up the quest. After he fell twice on board, I and later he figured he was hypothermic.
I'm a veterinarian, but took me awhile to understand his abnormal behavior. Anyone in water for a time should be observed and talked to for quite awhile.
Hypothermia is an insidious physiological occurrence we all have to consider in our sport.
Don't know what really happened, but it reminded me of the trip.
His demise has touched us all.

[lmontejo]

This last post is excellent. As an MD anesthesiologist, I deal with hypothermia on a daily basis. I have also helped in pulling somebody out of the Bay, unconscious, from hypothermia after having fallen off from a boat.

You are right, an individual's judgement will become blurred under these conditions. Whether this was a factor or not in the above incident, nobody will ever know. But as the preivous poster insists, we all have to be aware of hypothermia in our sport.

The moral of the story from this incident:
1. Do not try to reason with somebody in the water - just get him out.
2. Once out, keep him out for hours. (It takes us hours to rewarm patients in the emergency rooom or operating room, this with special equipment.)
3. A kite is piece of cloth, and your VISA can always replace it. Don't risk your life for it.
4. Carry a knife to cut yourself loose from your kite.
5. Wear a wetsuit in order to keep you normothermic, not cool looking. (I recently changed wetsuits and found out how poor my previous one was insulating me from the cold...)
6. If the air is cold, a helmet will reduce major heat loss. Your exposed head looses heat dramatically.

My condolences to Jay's family and those close to him.

[spork]

I already posted this as a new topic. Sorry, I wasn't aware of this thread.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As I'm sure most know by now the "Mayor of 3rd Ave" Jay Runge was lost to the bay a couple of weeks ago while attempting to retrieve a kite that had gone under the San Mateo bridge. Unfortunately, no one was aware he was missing for far too long. He had driven his car to the foot of the bridge to retrieve a kite, so there was no immediate indication of any problem.

Jay has been sailing at 3rd Ave since 1990. He is famous for doing whatever it takes to get everyone on the water (loaning equipment, giving advice...), and more importantly for getting us all off the water safely. He has rescued countless kiters and windsurfers, and has been known to keep watch until 1:30 am until everyone is home safe.

If you've ever sailed 3rd Ave it's a safe bet you know Jay - by face if not by name. He'll be missed.

The folks at 3rd Ave intend to memorialize Jay in some manner - possibly with a statue and/or a rescue craft, but definitely with a bench that is dedicated to him.

The SFBA has provided a PayPal link that allows us to donate to this memorial. If you're not sure who Jay is take a look at his picture here.

http://sfba.org/jay/jay.shtml

If you choose to contribute to his memorial, it will be appreciated.

Rick Cavallaro
"3rdAveCav"

[windhorny]

I can't say that I "knew" Jay but I would be more than willing to fabricate something-a bench-that people wanted designed. I am sure I can build something better than the ones at Alameda this time around. Perhaps someone can do the wood part and I can fab up the metal part?

Yuri

[spork]

We now have a group of five volunteers that will work with the rest of the folks at 3rd Ave to arrive at a concensus on how best to honor Jay's memory with this memorial fund. Please PM me with any designs, ideas, thoughts, and your contact info.

Thanks very much.

Rick Cavallaro

[spork]

I can't say that I "knew" Jay but I would be more than willing to fabricate something-a bench-that people wanted designed. I am sure I can build something better than the ones at Alameda this time around. Perhaps someone can do the wood part and I can fab up the metal part?

Yuri,

Here's a pic clark sent me of Jay's bench. How hard would it be to reproduce this board in metal?