Teamwork. Thanks to a hastily assembled team from three different agencies a New Hampshire sea kayaker is alive and able to contemplate life.

Things likely would have been different for diabetic Ernest Trembley, 53, of Sanbornville, N.H., had not the Marine Patrol, Inland Fisheries and Wildlife and the Coast Guard been in the Roque Bluffs neighborhood near Machias last Saturday evening.

From the Coast Guard and the wardens I talked to, this is an approximation of the events that transpired.

The paddler had departed Machias earlier in the day in his 17-foot kayak outfitted for what was to be an East Coast tour – points south -Portland, Massachusetts, Key West, Fla. The conditions? Winds 20-30 knots, waves 2-4 feet, small craft warnings hoisted, sea temperature 49 degrees, air temperature 61 degrees, according to the Coast Guard.

About 6 p.m. Trembley was using his last minutes of coordination to call 911 seeking help. He’d capsized and was able to crawl ashore near Cow Point in Roque Bluffs. Soaked, he made it to a grassy spot where he attempted to set up a tent and get out of wet clothes. Hypothermia and/or diabetes had robbed him of dexterity and were beginning their work on destroying his ability to save himself. That’s what hypothermia does to us, big or small. He was able to make a cellular phone call to his wife who notified the Washington County Sheriff’s Office of the mishap. They in turn notified the Coast Guard.

When the Coast Guard reached him on his cell phone (he had no VHF radio) he was unable to tell them where he was due to his altered consciousness, even though he had a working GPS. Shortly after that he was unable to dial his phone because of his failing coordination.

On shore, wardens began hearing radio traffic from the Marine Patrol regarding the need for a boat to search for a missing kayaker. Warden Joe McBrine of East Machias called Marine Patrol Officer Russell Wright and offered his boat and Warden Wayde Carter of Machias called Marine Patrol Officer Mark Murry of Marshfield to offer his boat. The four officers met at the public boat landing at Pond Cove in Roque Bluffs to launch McBrine’s 18-foot center console Boston Whaler.

Meanwhile the Coast Guard had its 47-foot motor lifeboat in motion, and a helicopter was under way from Massachusetts.

Because Trembley had filed a general float plan with his wife the Coast Guard reasoned that he had started off in a westerly direction.

Trembley was able to set off a flare that attracted the Coast Guard crew’s attention. The 47-foot vessel was too large, however, to get near the ledges where the disabled paddler lay. They notified the Marine Patrol and the four officers ashore launched and headed for Roque Island. “The extreme windy conditions made the trip very dangerous. The water was so rough that the center console of the boat broke away from the floor of the boat,” Warden Carter told me.

When they reached Trembley he was disoriented, he couldn’t read his GPS, and he couldn’t stand up. His pulse was down to 60 beats per minute. The wardens’ report said: “The man was not moving and was barely responsive when we reached him.”

They knew he had to be evacuated. They wrapped him in blankets and put him in a litter they got from the Coast Guard.

It took the two wardens and two Marine Patrol officers to carry the 250-pound man down off the rocks and into the Whaler. They were able, with much maneuvering in heaving waves, to get him aboard the Coast Guard boat. He was taken to the Jonesport Coast Guard station and then to Down East Community Hospital. The motor lifeboat was back at the station about two hours and 40 minutes after getting the initial call.

Back on the water, the four rescuers then had to fight swells and chop for the six-mile return trip to the mainland where they arrived tired and wet, Carter told me.

In discussing this scenario with Carter and Ensign Tom Gorgol at the Coast Guard, each agreed that the paddler was very lucky. While he may have been fairly well equipped for an ocean voyage, there were a few things that he could have done differently.

The primary factor was the weather. High winds and big waves can tire out even the best-conditioned paddler. When there are small-craft warnings posted, it’s wise to think long and hard about taking off from shore in a small craft, and wiser still to stay ashore.

While a cell phone ultimately worked to notify authorities of the emergency, in this instance help may have better able to find the man had he been using a VHF radio. The signal from the VHF can be used to point the Coast Guard in the right direction from the start.

Knowing where you are is key when you need help. This situation helps illustrate the need to know early enough in your emergency exactly where you are so you can tell rescuers where to go to help you. Even with a working GPS in hand, however, you may not be able to relay this information as hypothermia works its debilitating magic on you.

Carter told me of a call he got from a man lost in the woods with a GPS in hand. The warden was able to talk the man through the complexities of the little device and the lost person walked a half mile to a road and safety. The advice here is to know how to use the equipment you have. Start off by learning how to use a map and compass and take a map or chart with you on your outings.

Know your abilities and limitations. In this instance the paddler exceeded one or the other. Had the conditions been better the accident may not have happened. Only you can know what your abilities are. But it’s always better to err on the side of conservative than to tempt fate.

And keep this in mind: In a rescue situation others may be risking their lives to pull your bacon out of the fire.

Ensign Gorgol summed it up well when he said, “He thought he was prepared but he got kicked by 3-4-foot chop and 20-30 knot winds.”

My advice? Stay ashore when the wind’s howling. There’s no need to put yourself and others at risk.

Jeff Strout can be reached at 990-8202 or by e-mail at jstrout@bangordailynews.net.