It’s a miracle kayaker survived
Published: March 1, 2007
They felt like they had been sailing in circles for almost three hours when they heard a scream in the darkness.
Grant Coburn, his wife Deborah and friend Guy Hughes turned the boat’s motor off, listened and followed the sound.
About 11pm on Monday – three hours after the search began for a young Taiwanese tour guide on Lake Wakatipu – they found him wearing just shorts and a life jacket clinging, exhausted, to his upturned kayak.
St John paramedics told the trio the man would have lasted only another 15 minutes in the icy waters, estimated to have been between 9 and 12degC.
The guide had been kayaking off Queenstown Bay early on Monday evening with his tour group but was missing when the party returned to shore.
He told his rescuers yesterday his small rental kayak had capsized near Queenstown Gardens Point and was dragged 4km across the lake by strong waves.
When the Coburns and Mr Hughes arrived in their boat the tour party members were hysterical.
They told the group to call the police and headed back out on to the lake to search for the missing man.
They could hear the man’s cries but could not find him in the dark.
“But something made us keep looking, and I am so glad we did,” Mr Coburn said.
Yesterday, rescuers were still finding it hard to believe the man had actually survived.
“I’m just amazed. It really is a miracle,” Mr Coburn said.
Mr Hughes said: “It’s a miracle all right. Even a very experienced kayaker would have had a tough time surviving an ordeal like that.”
Mrs Coburn said: “I can still hear his screams. It was awful because it was so black you couldn’t see anything – you could just hear him.”
Queenstown Lakes District harbourmaster Marty Black said it was sheer luck the young kayaker had been saved.
Police and deputy harbourmaster Dave Black were called in for the search.
“Even with spotlights it was pitch black. It was real needle-in-a-haystack stuff. When they heard him the noise was just audible,” Dave Black said.
Mr Coburn said on the shore the young guide’s tour group waited and prayed.
When Mrs Coburn visited the man in Lakes District Hospital yesterday morning she said he told her he was getting ready to die when they found him.
“He saw us go past him and thought that was it and he would prepare to die.”
The tour guide was discharged from hospital.
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