Hunter rescued when kayak overturned in frigid waters off Mastic Beach
RONKONKOMA, N.Y. -- A Long Island hunter is grateful to be alive and credits quick work by the Suffolk County Police after his kayak overturned in the frigid waters off Mastic Beach.
What started as a calm day hunting off Narrow Bay turned harrowing for Nick Shakalis of Plainview.
With a life vest on, he went out in a kayak to retrieve a duck when winds suddenly picked up to 30 mph.
"Everything was calm and stable before that, and then in the blink of an eye I was in the water," said Shakalis.
The kayak overturned and Shakalis, 34, held on for dear life.
"At first I was like, 'Oh my God I'm going to die,' and then afterwards I calmed myself down and I said you gotta just be cool and keep it together and somebody will come," he said.
Several members of the Suffolk Police were summoned by a 911 call from Shakalis' cousin on shore. Police sent a chopper and rescue swimmer into the 40-degree water.
"This was a fast moving situation, the water's cold, so the time that we have to act is very short," said Suffolk Police Command Pilot Sgt. John Vahey. "The person is unable to help themself after about 20 minutes in the water."
Officer Jonathan Jensen, in a survival suit, tried to keep Shakalis conscious and alive a quarter-mile off shore.
"It was a little scary seeing the condition that he was in," said Jensen. "He was barely holding on to the kayak."
Shakalis said he had to ditch his hunting gear, which was weighing him down, before police arrived.
"I flipped it over, I tried to get back in. And then after I realized I wasn't going to get back in the kayak, what I did was I locked my arm into a strap on the kayak and that became my life preserver basically," said Shakalis.
"He said 'Help me,' and obviously that's why we were there," said Jensen. "I was able to do what we come to work for everyday."
"I can't thank them enough," said Shakalis. "They saved my life. I'm not so sure I would've made it. Pretty sure I wouldn't have made it if they didn't come do that. Yeah, I wouldn't be here today."
The flight paramedic said she's sure it was a matter of minutes before the day could have ended tragically.
Police remind anyone going out in a kayak to let someone know ahead of time or have someone watch you, as Shakalis did.
