# Two Kennedy family members lost in Chesapeake bay **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 4, 2020, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-kennedy-family-members-lost-in-chesapeake-bay/851054 "2020-04-04T13:04:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2020, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-kennedy-family-members-lost-in-chesapeake-bay/851054/1 "2020-04-04T13:04:33Z")
Even if they had life jackets the water is way too cold now. Probably can’t survive more than an hour at most . > **[Search suspended for two members of Kennedy family lost in Chesapeake Bay |...](https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/03/politics/kennedy-boat-missing-chesapeake-bay/index.html)** > > The search for two members of the Kennedy family -- Maeve Kennedy McKean and her son, Gideon -- was suspended 26 hours after they were reported missing in the Chesapeake Bay near Annapolis, Maryland, the Coast Guard said Friday night. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2020, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-kennedy-family-members-lost-in-chesapeake-bay/851054/2 "2020-04-04T13:58:17Z")
Geez, that Kennedy curse just never ends. It started with Joseph Kennedy Jr. dying on a secret WWII mission. Then Rosemary Kennedy’s mental illness & bungled lobotomy that left her shattered. JFK & Robert’s assassination. Ted car wreck that killed Mary Jo Kopechne. Left her to die in a flooded car. The modern Kennedy’s keep having drug addictions and tragedies. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2020, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-kennedy-family-members-lost-in-chesapeake-bay/851054/3 "2020-04-04T14:39:10Z")
> [@](#): > > Last year, McKean, along with Townsend and former US Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy II, wrote an op-ed for Politico in which they denounced the anti-vaccine views of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., calling them “tragically wrong.” Yes, the ongoing tragedy of RFK Jr.'s behavior should make the list. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2020, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-kennedy-family-members-lost-in-chesapeake-bay/851054/4 "2020-04-04T14:46:40Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Geez, that Kennedy curse just never ends. I don’t understand why. After all, the best way to break a curse like that is to engage in as much risky behavior as possible. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2020, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-kennedy-family-members-lost-in-chesapeake-bay/851054/5 "2020-04-04T14:47:07Z")
The Kennedy Family almost make me believe in Karma. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2020, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-kennedy-family-members-lost-in-chesapeake-bay/851054/6 "2020-04-04T15:08:39Z")
really bad decision to go into cold water for a ball. Or go after anything in cold choppy water. ---
**Author:** ![rsat3acr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@rsat3acr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rsat3acr)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2020, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-kennedy-family-members-lost-in-chesapeake-bay/851054/7 "2020-04-04T15:12:07Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Geez, that Kennedy curse just never ends. > > It started with Joseph Kennedy Jr. dying on a secret WWII mission. > > Then Rosemary Kennedy’s mental illness & bungled lobotomy that left her shattered. > > JFK & Robert’s assassination. Ted car wreck that killed Mary Jo Kopechne. Left her to die in a flooded car. > > The modern Kennedy’s keep having drug addictions and tragedies. So Ted kills someone and is never punished, lives a rich long life while getting reelected to the Senate. A Kopechne curse maybe, but not a Kennedy curse. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2020, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-kennedy-family-members-lost-in-chesapeake-bay/851054/8 "2020-04-04T15:45:01Z")
Two more COVID-19 related deaths? > [@](#): > > The family was self-quarantining at Townsend’s home on the Chesapeake Bay ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2020, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-kennedy-family-members-lost-in-chesapeake-bay/851054/9 "2020-04-04T20:01:28Z")
I wonder how dangerous these waters typically are? This was a beach. I assume people swim there in warm weather? The mother used the kayak to retrieve a ball. It doesn’t seem like it would be dangerous that close to the shore. Seems like they’d post warnings if the current sweeps small boats into the Chesapeake Bay. ---
**Author:** ![dasmoocher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dbc845/32.png) [@dasmoocher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dasmoocher)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2020, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-kennedy-family-members-lost-in-chesapeake-bay/851054/10 "2020-04-04T20:15:10Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I wonder how dangerous these waters typically are? > > This was a beach. I assume people swim there in warm weather? The mother used the kayak to retrieve a ball. It doesn’t seem like it would be dangerous that close to the shore. > > Seems like they’d post warnings if the current sweeps small boats into the Chesapeake Bay. I grew up on the Bay. I saw a post on Facebook that the winds were gusting over 30 mph at the time. A local friend didn’t even want to get aboard her boat at the dock to retrieve something she said it was so windy. Sounds like they got pushed out into the Bay from a cove and got their canoe swamped by whitecaps. [Kennedy Family Members Presumed Dead After Canoe Accident in Windy Conditions on Chesapeake Bay](https://weather.com/news/news/2020-04-03-kennedy-family-members-missing-in-chesapeake-bay) > [@](#): > > Winds gusted to 35 mph in that part of the bay on Thursday afternoon, and a small craft advisory was issued. The windier-than-usual conditions were caused by a strong Atlantic storm churning offshore farther to the north. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2020, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-kennedy-family-members-lost-in-chesapeake-bay/851054/11 "2020-04-04T22:01:09Z")
Always brings to mind the song: [(Glad I’m) Not a Kennedy](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7a6hu6Z7Pkg) by New Zealander Shona Laing. _Wearin’ the fame like a loaded gun Tied up with a rosary Ooh, I’m glad I’m not a Kennedy_ ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2020, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-kennedy-family-members-lost-in-chesapeake-bay/851054/12 "2020-04-04T22:20:36Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Geez, that Kennedy curse just never ends. > > It started with Joseph Kennedy Jr. dying on a secret WWII mission. > > Then Rosemary Kennedy’s mental illness & bungled lobotomy that left her shattered. > > JFK & Robert’s assassination. Ted car wreck that killed Mary Jo Kopechne. Left her to die in a flooded car. > > The modern Kennedy’s keep having drug addictions and tragedies. Don’t forget Michael Kennedy, who died in 1997 after skiing into a tree. > **[Michael LeMoyne Kennedy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_LeMoyne_Kennedy)** > > Michael LeMoyne Kennedy (February 27, 1958 – December 31, 1997) was an American lawyer, businessman, and activist in Massachusetts. He was the sixth of eleven children of Robert F. Kennedy and Ethel Kennedy. Kennedy also served as the manager of the non-profit organization Citizens Energy. He died in Aspen, Colorado, in 1997 after inadvertently skiing into a tree. > Michael LeMoyne Kennedy was born on February 27, 1958, in Washington, D.C. He was named LeMoyne for Kirk LeMoyne Billings, the prepar... ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2020, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-kennedy-family-members-lost-in-chesapeake-bay/851054/13 "2020-04-04T23:41:58Z")
> [@dasmoocher](#): > > I grew up on the Bay. I saw a post on Facebook that the winds were gusting over 30 mph at the time. A local friend didn’t even want to get aboard her boat at the dock to retrieve something she said it was so windy. Sounds like they got pushed out into the Bay from a cove and got their canoe swamped by whitecaps. > > [Kennedy Family Members Presumed Dead After Canoe Accident in Windy Conditions on Chesapeake Bay](https://weather.com/news/news/2020-04-03-kennedy-family-members-missing-in-chesapeake-bay) Definitely the wrong conditions to be in a kayak. Thank you for the explanation. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2020, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-kennedy-family-members-lost-in-chesapeake-bay/851054/14 "2020-04-05T00:01:37Z")
you can kayak in cold water if you are very good at it and have a wetsuit or drysuit. Important thing is the ability to roll back up if you get flipped over. A lot of whitewater kayaking is done on rivers which can be cold so you can almost always get out of the river if you have a problem or get too cold. In a large bay or ocean getting to shore can be very hard which was probably their problem. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2020, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-kennedy-family-members-lost-in-chesapeake-bay/851054/15 "2020-04-05T00:03:05Z")
Don’t forget that Joseph and Rose Kennedy had nine children. Many had multiple children, Robert in particular. So it’s a large family and a certain number of deaths and tragedies are to be expected in that large a number of people. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2020, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-kennedy-family-members-lost-in-chesapeake-bay/851054/16 "2020-04-05T00:14:25Z")
Oh, how sad. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2020, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-kennedy-family-members-lost-in-chesapeake-bay/851054/17 "2020-04-05T00:19:15Z")
RFK had 11 kids, youngest was born after he died. ---
**Author:** ![dasmoocher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dbc845/32.png) [@dasmoocher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dasmoocher)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2020, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-kennedy-family-members-lost-in-chesapeake-bay/851054/18 "2020-04-05T03:36:22Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Definitely the wrong conditions to be in a kayak. > Thank you for the explanation. > [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > you can kayak in cold water if you are very good at it and have a wetsuit or drysuit. Important thing is the ability to roll back up if you get flipped over. A lot of whitewater kayaking is done on rivers which can be cold so you can almost always get out of the river if you have a problem or get too cold. In a large bay or ocean getting to shore can be very hard which was probably their problem. The reports I’ve seen said they were in a canoe, which would be even more prone to getting swamped by waves. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2020, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-kennedy-family-members-lost-in-chesapeake-bay/851054/19 "2020-04-05T04:41:05Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > Don’t forget Michael Kennedy, who died in 1997 after skiing into a tree. > > [Michael LeMoyne Kennedy - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_LeMoyne_Kennedy) And shoot, JFK, Jr., his wife and wife’s sister. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2020, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-kennedy-family-members-lost-in-chesapeake-bay/851054/20 "2020-04-05T22:25:55Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Don’t forget that Joseph and Rose Kennedy had nine children. Many had multiple children, Robert in particular. So it’s a large family and a certain number of deaths and tragedies are to be expected in that large a number of people. I’d suspect most of us could randomly combine any 2-3-4-5 smaller families, and not come up with as many untimely deaths. You’da thunk they could afford a replacement kickball… [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-kennedy-family-members-lost-in-chesapeake-bay/851054.md?page=2)