Krumenaker, whose staff assisted with the rescue efforts, said the Apostle Islands are mostly undeveloped and forested, with rocky shorelines and long distances between each island.
“Some of the places that people want to go kayaking are incredibly attractive but also deceptively dangerous,” he said. “This particular incident happened in a place that is not often traversed by people on kayaks, and for good reason.”
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The safety plea is don’t do what these people did.
I led a lot of Boy Scout and Church canoe ventures. Did two 50 milers in the Boundary Waters. I gave up going regularly when I did three rescues in one day. Had a guy and his wife and three year old (not from our group) breach a canoe on the Niangua River in the Ozarks. He was across a root ball, lost his heavy glasses and couldn’t see and had his three year old by one hand on a wrist.
I launched out of my canoe and hoped my wife was experienced enough to keep away and swam / scrambled to them and took the child. The guy then was worried he had lost his beer cooler and his wife wouldn’t stop screaming. The day went downhill from there.
A canoe full of water breeched across something weighs about 2,500 pounds if you get between it and whatever it is athwart.