The wife of a kayaking guide who died near Corea Harbor on Wednesday said he had been leading tours for 14 years, and had a waterproof marine radio with him when he capsized, but was apparently unable to call for help.
Cheryl Brackett said her husband Ed Brackett, 63, was an experienced guide and had rescued several people from the water before.
But the tour he was leading was hit by a powerful squall with 5-foot waves Wednesday afternoon, sending him and his two customers into the water, Cheryl Brackett said. Each kayaker was paddling in a single-seat kayak with a rudder and splash guards.
“It was just a beautiful day, and then the squall hit, and then it was a beautiful day again,” said Brackett, also 63. “I figured they holed up somewhere and were going to paddle back.”
Also killed in the incident was Michael Popper, 54, of Plainfield, New Jersey. The third person on the tour who survived was his wife, Jennifer Popper, 48.
When the group of three did not return by 4:30 p.m., Brackett contacted authorities, she said. The float plan was to tour the leeward side of the Sally Islands, where the seas are typically more calm.
Ed Brackett held a current guide license and has been registered since 2002, according to the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. Cheryl Brackett did not know whether her husband had access to his waterproof radio, which was protected in a dry bag, she said.
The Bracketts, who live in Birch Harbor, have run SeaScape Kayak and Bike out of Winter Harbor for 14 years.
Jennifer Popper was pulled from the water alive, and is recovering at Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor, where she is also helping authorities to piece together what happened. Calls to relatives of the Poppers went unanswered Thursday.
The water was roughly 52 degrees when the trio capsized, according to the Coast Guard and the Maine Marine Patrol. There is no standard reaction to cold water, said Lt. Dave Bourbeau, a spokesman for the Coast Guard. Everyone reacts differently depending on their body composition and how they’re dressed, he said.
Corea Harbor is located south of Gouldsboro near the mouth of Gouldsboro Bay, and is about 10 miles east of Mount Desert Island.
The victims’ bodies have been transported to the state Medical Examiner’s office, which will examine them to determine the cause and manner of death.
Jennifer Popper was pulled from the water about 8 p.m. Wednesday by a local lobsterman, more than three hours after she was scheduled to return to the mainland, according to Bourbeau.
The bodies of the two men were found about 8:30 p.m. and 10 p.m., according to authorities.
All three were wearing life-jackets, Bourbeau said. All three were wearing shorts and T-shirts.
“There is no indication of any wrongdoing on part of the kayak business,” he said, but said that the investigation is ongoing.
The three were pulled from the water about halfway between Cranberry Point and Petit Manan Island, about 2.25 miles from the Islands the group was touring, and about 3 miles from Corea Harbor.
In 2015, 71 people across the United States died in kayak-related boating incidents, with 80 percent from drowning, according to Coast Guard statistics released in May.
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