Our Story

On May 16th, 2010, Irina McEntee, 18, and her best friend Carissa Ireland, 20, launched their kayaks for a short, round–trip paddle between Peaks Island and Ram Island in Casco Bay, Maine – a trip that Irena had made many times before. The water was calm and the weather was gorgeous and unseasonably warm when they put their boats in the water. Irena’s parents actually had a view of the paddling route from their house on Peaks Island and saw both girls land safely on Ram.

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When they attempted to paddle home, however, the weather had changed. A marine Small Craft Advisory was in effect and the wind was gusting to 22mph. That may not sound like much on land, but out on the open water it’s another story, particularly for small human–powered boats like kayaks.

 

Unable to make headway against the wind, Irena and Carissa were blown out to sea and into much rougher conditions where, dressed only in shorts and light shirts, they capsized in brutally cold 48F (9C) water. After a grueling all-night search involving the U.S. Coast Guard, multiple local agencies, and more than 150 people, they were found by the Coast Guard at 9:00 am the following morning, floating lifeless in their PFD’s, three miles offshore and seven miles south of their original destination. (For more information, see our account of the tragedy).

 

At the time they died, Irena and Carissa were almost exactly the same age as my own two daughters, and it was obvious to me that neither they nor their parents had any idea how deadly an unprotected immersion in cold water can be. I’ve been reading about tragic accidents in the great outdoors for over forty years, but this particular tragedy picked me up and shook me like a rag doll.

 

I knew rationally that their deaths weren’t my fault, but emotionally, as a father, I couldn’t shake the haunting feeling that maybe if I’d done more to promote cold water safety rather than quitting the field at half-time to raise two daughters of my own, Irina and Carissa might still be alive.

 

I wrestled with that feeling for a long time before finally deciding that I couldn’t live with myself if I walked away and went on with my life as if nothing had happened. That’s the crucible in which my dream for a National Center for Cold Water Safety was formed.

 

Before his death from an aortic aneurysm in 2012, Eric Soares - co-founder of the Tsunami Rangers, and a long-standing advocate of cold water safety - told me this: "Moulton, If you just get the ball rolling, people will come out of the woodwork, as if by magic, and help make your dream come true".

 

He was right. People have appeared - to support the Center financially, and to spread the word about cold water safety - not just here in the United States, but around the world.