A 33-year-old Beverly man was rescued in cold, rough seas in Salem Channel Saturday afternoon about three hours after his kayak apparently was struck by a wave and overturned, officials said.
A two-person crew from the Beverly harbormaster’s office found the man, who was wearing a life jacket, around 3:30 p.m., said Andrew Ouellette, an assistant harbormaster.
“He left from Beverly from Tucks Point,” Ouellette said in a phone interview Saturday night. “And when he got out there, a wave must have crashed into his kayak and filled it with water. The next thing he knew, he was in the water and his kayak was upside down.”
Advertisement
Ouellete said he spotted the man amid tumultuous sea conditions: four-foot high waves, 66-degree water, and 20-knot winds.
A boater called the Coast Guard at 2:24 p.m. to report an overturned orange kayak in Salem Channel, according to Ouellette and a press release from the Coast Guard.
Shortly after, the kayaker’s wife also called the Coast Guard to report her husband was overdue to return, the release said.
The Coast Guard launched two boats from its station in Gloucester, and harbormaster crews from Beverly and Salem also responded, officials said.
The man was found near House Island, near Manchester Harbor.
The Beverly harbormaster boat first found the overturned kayak. Inside was a dry bag containing a set of car keys and a change of clothing. They then continued searching amid the fast moving current, Ouellette said.
“I just happened to turn to my right, and he was probably about 100, 150 yards away. He just happened to put his hand up, and I happened to see him from the corner of my eye,” Ouellette said.
Ouellette said the life jacket was black, which made it hard to see him in the water.
“I still can’t believe how I saw him — it’s just pure luck,” said Ouellette.
Advertisement
When he and his crew member brought the kayaker onboard, Ouellette said the man was in “very, very early stages of hypothermia.”
They put him into a blanket and turned on the heat. Once on shore, an ambulance took the boater to the hospital for an examination.
“He was talking, joking around when we were on our way in,” Ouellette said.
Diamond Naga Siu can be reached at diamondnaga.siu@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @diamondnagasiu