Introduction
On February 26, 2005, an English teacher and “outdoor guide” at a prep school in Georgia led a group of students on a Spring break excursion to Suwanee and Coon Island. He had been a “guide” for over 25 years and had made this particular trip several times. Part of their trek required a 4.5 mile trip skirting the coast of the Gulf of Mexico.
The ignored the weather reports and Coast Guard warnings of the “worst storm of the season so far” that morning and led the entire group to what could have been all their deaths.
The leader was in the only motorized catamaran raft and had tied the students’ kayaks and canoes to it. The rope holding all of them together got caught in the motor of the leader’s raft causing it to fail. The leader frantically tried to reconnect the vessels, but Clay McKemie and Sean Wilkson were in the last canoe, futilely and furiously paddling, but floating away to their deaths. Their bodies were found 13 miles out in the Gulf two days later. The undeniable facts that the school and personal equipment were obviously unsafe, the students were not at all trained or prepared (they were all dressed in t-shirts and shorts as they weren’t expecting the weather or to be in the ocean), and the leader only having his personal cellphone for communication (in an area that had no service at the time), were just three of the many mistakes this “expert” guide made.
But most importantly,
By recounting this tragedy, I hope to offer a warning to parents about the critical need to investigate the leader(s) of their children’s field trips and outdoor activities. I encourage parents to demand more from school boards and administrators and advocate for laws or requirements, in lieu of stringent regulation within the outdoor industry, so that they may avoid the devastating grief that Clay and Sean’s parents still endure.
To inform parents of children who want to participate in a school outdoor activity about the critical need to research the expertise of all adult leaders involved and the level of competent equipment so they can feel confident and empowered in sending their children on an adventure that should offer fun and education, they will need to understand....
Story here.
There were so many things that went wrong that day, all results of poor preparation and judgment of one man, the school's trip leader, Steve Hall. The final blow was dealt when Hall, due to bad weather, changed the trip's course to include the use of canoes and kayaks in the choppy ~50-degree ocean waters. Hall's only means of communication on this trip was his personal cellphone, and in this part of the ocean, there was no service. Clay and Sean were doomed when they got separated from the group. Yet, Hall supposedly had 20+ years of "expert" experience.
We, as parents, often let and encourage our children to take part in school and extracurricular activities that are character building. Sometimes, we even sign disclaimers acknowledging our acceptance of certain risks. And, we're rarely experts.
But the parents of the children on this trip didn't even get the opportunity to approve of Mr. Hall's plan. I also think that, because this was a private school situation, certain assumptions were made about the caliber of equipment and employee in charge, and rightfully so. But what if a parent at Hall's current school wanted to find out about his experience and past? Don't they have a right to know about Clay and Sean?
I am convinced that the boys reached out to me for years after their deaths. I named the series “Sound Waves”, because I heard them. My connection to the boys - I wasn’t even a friend of the families at the time, but I was just so angry. I cried for them, for the parents, and, over the years, for the justice that never came for anyone involved with this trip.
What Happened. Term paper part here.
Who am I? Disclaimer here of my own? But I have my son’s rugby experience here. I didn’t say no. And I signed the slip. But what if the coach had told them in the game against State, they weren’t going to wear helmets? What are my recourses then? None, if this ended in tragedy.
References:
Los Angeles Times: Students' Florida Adventure Ends in Deaths of Two
Rome News Tribune: Hypothermia Played Role in Deaths of Students