San Juan Islands Rescue: Coast Guard crews save man after his kayak overturns
Sep 27, 2026, 10:41 AM | Updated: 10:42 am
A Coast Guardsman tosses a rope to a kayaker in distress after the kayaker's boat overturned north of Orcas Island Friday morning. (Photo: U.S. Coast Guard)
(Photo: U.S. Coast Guard)
The 45-year-old man and his kayaker companion were both well prepared.
They wore dry suits and carried an emergency VHF radio, in case of an emergency.
The Coast Guard launched a rescue just after 8:00 a.m., when Coast Guard Northwest District command center watchstanders heard a mayday call on VHF Channel 16.
The distress call came from a kayaker who said he was in the water after his kayak capsized between North Beach and Sucia Island.
The Coast Guard released an audio recording of the mayday call.
The recording makes it clear the person asking for help was the capsized kayaker in the water.
Somehow, he kept the VHF radio above the water’s surface, dry and operable.
“Mayday, this is a capsized kayaker, north of North Beach,” the kayaker said. “Is there anybody who can give us an assist?”
The Coast Guard dispatcher asks for a precise location and whether the kayakers have life jackets.
“Yes, we have life jackets and dry suits.”
“Understood, you have life jackets. Are you in the water currently?”
“Yes, I am in the water, holding onto my kayak.”
Another kayaker with him stayed upright and afloat.
Friday morning #USCG Station Bellingham rescued a capsized kayaker near Sucia Island, WA. Read the full release here: https://t.co/QKnPfrsfzX @USCG @USCGPACAREA
— USCGNorthwest (@USCGNorthwest) September 27, 2026
The Coast Guard dispatched an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter aircrew from Air Station Port Angeles.
A 45-foot response boat crew from Station Bellingham also set out for the location.
The kayakers in distress were in the San Juans, just north of Orcas Island, on the west side of Parker Reef.
The boat crew from Bellingham arrived to help the men at 9:12 a.m.
Crew members pulled the man from the water and recovered his kayak.
Once aboard the Coast Guard vessel, rescuers took him to shore at Brandt’s Landing Marina on Orcas Island.
An ambulance waiting for the boat then transported the kayaker for emergency medical services.
The other man kayaking with him paddled safely to shore on his own.
The Coast Guard reports conditions at the time of the rescue were eight-mile-per-hour winds, one-foot waves, 54-degree water temperature and 60-degree air temperature.
“In cold water, every single second counts,” Lt. Allison Ruth, command duty officer for Sector Puget Sound, said in a released statement. “This successful rescue was possible because the kayakers had dry suits, wore their life jackets, and used a VHF radio to call for help. Their preparation gave our watchstanders and crews the critical tools needed to locate them and save a life.”
