A fun frolic in Howe Sound waters turned tragic on Sunday (Oct. 7) when two North Vancouver athletes lost their lives in a sea kayaking accident.
Denis Fontaine, 40, and Richard Juryn, 50, died after severe winds flipped their kayaks into the frigid waters.
Both men were prominent in the local mountain biking scene, with Fontaine appearing regularly for SORCA rides and Juryn helping Whistler's Crankworx event since its inception.
"Denis was up in Squamish almost any spare moment he had," said longtime friend and local resident Chris Christie. "At Tantalus Bike Shop... they knew him as a character there. They loved the guy, like we all do. He's an incredible person."
Juryn was a driving force in the Kokanee Crankworx nine-day mountain biking festival, according to event general mamanger Jeremy Rocher.
"Richard was involved with Crankworx since its inception; in fact he was the leading force behind its predecessor the Summer Gravity Festival," said Rocher. "Richard's enthusiasm for mountain biking and for life were contagious and we feel honoured to have worked with him."
The day of the kayaking accident, eight friends set out in three kayaks from Porteau Cove at 7:30 a.m. Five hours later, weather conditions took a turn for the worse leaving the boaters in distress.
An Anvil Island resident called the Coast Guard after seeing two people pull a kayak ashore, and another person was spotted still battling 20-knot winds.
The Coast Guard responded to the call by sending out a cutter, known as the Osprey, from Vancouver Harbour. The three kayakers were picked up within 45 minutes, but rescuers soon got word from a Gibson's auxiliary unit, that a body had been spotted floating near Anvil island. As the Coast Guard headed over to the scene, a second body was discovered.
"Both were hypothermic, not in terribly good condition," said Dan Bate, Coast Guard spokesperson.Once at Porteau Cove, one man was taken by ambulance to Lions Gate Hospital, while another was flown by helicopter to Vancouver General Hospital. Two-hours had passed since the boat initially capsized. Despite the men's physical abilities and Fontaine's extensive extreme kayaking experience, neither survived.
Jim Lang, emergency program coordinator for Squamish said in the Howe Sound region, sea kayakers should be cautious when paddling near Anvil Island, even when conditions are not extreme as they were Sunday.
"The winds can be very tricky and very extreme between Anvil and Highway 99 because it narrows there," he said.
He noted clothing choices could also play an important role in survival. The two men were wearing life jackets, paddling jackets and pants rather than wetsuits, although they had thermal gear on underneath.
"A wetsuit gives you that insulating layer," he said.
Bate said the Coast Guard often deals with people in fall weather. He said three other kayak incidents happened the same weekend and could've been prevented with better weather assessment.
Juryn had planned to present a slideshow Thursday Oct. 25 at Centennial Theatre in North Vancouver on a recent bike adventure in Mongolia. His friends have taken on the event and will offer it as a free show in his honour. For more information go to www.nsmba.bc.ca.
