It's too bad we learn from other's mistakes and bad luck. Then again, and with all due respect ... it could have been in the car a mile from home....

I looked at a map and it looks more like 6 miles of open water so that's, what, maybe an hour and a half paddle in decent conditions? Sounds like they paddled to the island spent the day there and this happened on the return trip?

A mile from shore? That's too bad but ya know, being a mile upwind from shore isn't all that unusual in the BW/Q.

2 hours in 55 degree water? For the sake of argument let's say 1 hour and double the body mass. Would you be able to survive and be rescued after reaching shore w/o help?

I was always told you cannot bring pepper spray into Canada unless it was specifically labeled for use on bears and not people (mace) and I've never even brought any. That's just one of many conversations at the window over the years.

Times (tragedies) like this, I sometimes think some folks have been been sold a bill of goods. A PFD will save your life! Bear spray will save your life! You need both! Never mind the fact that you need to know how they are intended to work in the first place, RTFM.

While both could if save your life, I guess, if used correctly. One or the other in the wrong hands and the wrong conditions might give some folks a false sense of security. Ever try to swim any distance with a PFD on? Can you even tell which way to swim a mile out? Will you remember to consider which way the wind was blowing before you decide you need to spray a threatening bear?

Do either of these two well endorsed products come with a Mulligan type extended warranty?