Andrew Kim Law Firm, PLLC | Washington Legal Blog

Drinking Kayakers Capsize In Puget Sound, One Suffers Hypothermia

Two men smelled strongly of beer as the Coast Guard and Seattle Fire Department rescued them from Puget Sound on Thursday night after their kayaks capsized in rough water.

Seattle Police said a 911 call was received from one of the boater’s girlfriends after she had received a distress call from her boyfriend. She told police that the two men had watched a football game while drinking and then decided to go out onto the water despite the dimming skies. Though they did have life jackets they were not wearing wet suits.

The two men put in their boats at Bermerton and were pulled from the water from rescuers near the Magnolia neighborhood of Seattle. After spending a chilly hour in the water, one man was able to return home while the other man was taken to Harborview Medical Center to be treated for Hypothermia in the wake of the boat accident.

Rescuers called the two men lucky, as many winter weather boating accidents end tragically.