Two kayakers were rescued last week in Boston Harbor, and first responders spoke Tuesday about what took place.
The incident happened around 6:45 p.m. Friday. Members of the Boston Police Harbor Unit were escorting a ship out of the harbor when they received a distress call.
The crews learned that two men in kayaks were in need of help at the former Long Island Bridge near Moon Island.
Officers used a searchlight on their vessel and the sounds of the men's voices to locate them.
"That area itself isn't great for kayaking, because there's large commuter ferries, personal rec boats, that go through there, and that's what happened that day," said Stefani McGrath of the Boston Police Department. "They got knocked over by the wakes of the boats going through the channel."
"They were wearing flotation devices — that was the biggest thing for them," said Paul Ciampa of Boston EMS. "That kept some of their core heat, but they were both cold. When I took their temperature, one of them was 94 degrees, and that's the early onset of hypothermia."
Police say the kayaks the men were using are not meant for the ocean. They reminded the public no one should be kayaking once the sun is going down.
