The NYPD Special Operations division rescued a man stranded for 12 hours on remote Ruffle Bar Island in Jamaica Bay, N.Y.

36-year-old Mikhail Leybovich had paddled out to Ruffle Bar on the morning of Thursday, April 16. The island is two miles across the Bay from his launch point of Floyd Bennett Field. Leybovich had made the crossing at least four times and had paddled on the Bay more than 20 times.

Although the weather had been calm when he set out, the wind picked up and the waves got rough as he was making the return crossing. His kayak began to take on water and sink, so he abandoned his boat and swam back to the island. He was in the water for at least 15 minutes.

Leybovich found a tarp on the beach to wrap around himself. He also ran across two coconuts, cracked them open, and drank the milk inside. The tarp and the fire may have saved him from hypothermia, as the wind continued to howl.

No help arrived for several hours. Finally, Leybovich's parents reported him missing after dark to the 112^th precinct of the NYPD, the call coming in around 2315 hours. The police helicopter made it to the island shortly after midnight, ending his adventure.

There have been many instances of kayakers running into trouble and needing rescue in Jamaica Bay. Although mostly land-bound, separated from the open Atlantic Ocean by the Rockaway Peninsula and so "protected," the surrounding land is very low, and the islands in the Bay are largely marsh or low glacial till, so winds can really roar across. Also, the fetch of several miles can raise quite a chop

The police personnel who rescued Leybovich had come from the Midwest to help with rescue work during New York City's Corvid-19 pandemic.Leybovich expressed his deep apologies for calling them away from what he felt were far more important duties.

The area is surprisingly remote for those who imagine an urban paddle. According to the National Park Service's website, "The Jamaica Bay Unit (of the Gateway National Recreation Area) is one of the largest expanses of open space in the region, consisting of over 19,000 acres of land, bay, and ocean waters in Brooklyn and Queens. Comprising an area almost equal to the size of Manhattan, Jamaica Bay consists of numerous islands, [and] a labyrinth of waterways."

Leybovich's kayak was described as "sinking" in several of the sources I was able to find. This either indicates a SOT with a leaky drain plug or an actual breach; or a sit-inside with no flotation and presumably no spray skirt. Although the conventional wisdom is to never abandon your boat, he either made the right decision in this instance, or was very, very lucky. Leybovich was also very lucky once he reached shore to find the tarp, the coconuts, and especially the lighter. Some sort of easily accessible emergency bag, such as described in my article "The Kayaker's Bug-out Bag" (ACK May, 2015 Vol. 24, No. 3) could have made his stay far more comfortable. As simple a thing as protecting his cell phone from water would also not have been a bad idea.