Unfortunate Events

This was posted to the OOPS list serve at 8:04 pm on Saturday, December 5th, by Fred Harsmin.

"I have to make a sad announcement. Dave Graham passed away in a kayaking accident on Saturday. There were 5 of us in conditions well within Dave's capability. He capsized in the surf and was never able to exit of his boat. Greg Clopton paddled up to do a hand of god and had him half way up when a wave knocked him away from Dave and capsized him as well. I went in and got Dave out of his boat, but he was unconscious and not breathing. I tried to give him mouth to mouth but he did not respond. We were just 150 yards from the beach and an ambulance took him to the hospital where he was declared dead.
Neither of us actually saw him capsize so we are not sure how long he was over but as Greg approached he lifted his arm. We are unable to explain why he failed to exit his boat. His helmet was off and floating but there were no bruises visible. The coroner might better be able to the factors that caused this very experienced kayaker to fail to exit. Dave started kayak surfing when he was 15 in the United Kingdom in short boats and began paddling long boats 7 or 8 years ago. He has a roll on both sides but neither of us saw him try. Dave has competed and placed in several kayak surf competitions in recent years and in the summer gets out 2-3 times a week, primarily to Indian Beach in one of his surf kayaks.
Dave will be dearly missed by his many friends and family. He was very bright and full of life. He had a knack for making others smile, and was very giving and well respected in his field at Intel. My personal loss has yet to truly sink in. I have done week long trips with Dave. This summer the two of us kayaked in the San Juans. He is one of my favorite people to paddle with. Diana, the love of his life and soul mate asked us to say a prayer for she and her family in this time of need.

With an unbelievable sadness in my heart,

Fred Harsman"

I met Dave in the summer of 2008 during our BCU Sea 3 Star and immediately we became friends. We were partners for the day, and his cheerful, positive, can do attitude gave me inspiration & confidence sea kayaking in conditions a bit bigger than I had experienced before.

Dave published several kayak surfing videos on Youtube that continue to inspire boaters everywhere, including me. It's easy to see the look of shear joy and happiness on his face when he get's on a wave.

The loss to the kayak community is significant, and serves a harsh reminder of how fragile we are. Our thoughts go to his family. Dave will be sorely missed.