TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – High winds and cold temperatures are being blamed for the death of 49-year-old Nick Walton over the weekend in Benzie County after trying to compete in a canoe race on
Lake Michigan.

Walton died during a race from Point Betsie to Peterson Beach in Benzie County on Saturday afternoon. Strong winds and temperatures below 50’s were reported on the day of the race, causing Walton and others to fall off their boats multiple times and spectators saw that Walton had been struggling to get back in his boat. Photos posted
to Facebook confirmed white caps and strong waves while the kayakers were in the water.

MORE NEWS: Group Wants To Tax State’s Wealthiest Residents For More School Funding

U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Traverse City was called to the scene and the Benzie County EMS took Walton, who is reported to have still been alive at transport, to the Munson Hospital in Traverse City where he was pronounced dead.

The City of Frankfort Fire and Rescue reported on their Facebook page, “Today at 2:10pm, FFD was dispatched in a county all-call to a water rescue. Initial information was that there was a kayaker in the water off the shore of Point Betsie, which is where all units staged. US Coast Guard was dispatched and a DNR boat was launched. At approximately 2:45, we were advised that a caller off of Beach Rd in the Crystal Downs area had called in and reported that they had eyes on the kayaker. The decision was made to relocate personnel to that location. We arrived along with our law & EMS partners and gained a visual on the subject.

Shortly after, a Coast Guard helicopter arrived along with a DNR boat. As the helicopter was recovering the subject from the water, 4-Medical responded back to the Frankfort Airport to intercept and treat the patient. We responded to this incident with our partners at Benzie County Sheriff, Frankfort Police Department, Benzie County EMS, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, Michigan Dept. of Natural Resources & U.S. Coast Guard Air Station in
Traverse City – also very thankful as always for our dispatchers at Benzie County Central Dispatch.”

U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Manistee who also responded said that Walton was “wearing a life jacket and wet suit and had been in the 50 degree water for approximately an hour and a half before rescuers arrived on the scene due to rough sea conditions of 6-7 feet.”

Sadness and grief spread throughout the racing community and among friends and family. Nicole Lynn Geiger posted about her cousin, “He loved racing kayaks and been at it for almost 20 years…living his life to the fullest.”

Friend Tommy Yonley posted on FB, “Grateful for the privilege to have raced with Nick Walton. Tenacioius, relentless and also had a lot of heart – a friend who will be greatly missed.”

MORE NEWS: Detroit Goes Green With New “Emerald Alert”

A unidentified competitor who was at the race that day released a statement through the Michigan Canoe Racing Association. They said, “Our friend Nick Walton died today doing what he was known for – not quitting. We were competing in a downwind race from Point Betsie to Peterson Beach on Lake Michigan. The air temps were in the low
50s and the water was probably even colder. The waves were big and the wind was strong. Nick and many others fell off of their boats multiple times just trying to get out through the surf. Nick wouldn’t quit remounting and managed to make it a couple miles down the shore, but he was in the water as much or more than he was paddling. The
race organizers could see him with binoculars and he just kept getting back on on trying again. The Coast Guard was called when they saw him no longer mounting his boat. They picked him up by helicopter and he was taken to the hospital immediately. We learned he had no pulse when he arrived, but they were still trying to warm him. Nick
died fighting today, and I believe he wouldn’t have had it any other way. Many feel blessed to have called him a canoe partner and a friend. He will be missed deeply in our paddling community.”

Friend Nick McDonald also posted about Walton and said, “I bought my first canoe racing paddle from Nick Walton 14 years ago. Some kids grew up looking up to professional athletes like Tom Brady. I grew up lookin up to Nick Walton and all of the other professional canoe racers. Our first year racing he went out of his way multiple times to make us feel welcomed. He invited us on our first trip down the Ausable River. He had to stop and wait for us on every turn, but he never made it seem like we were holding him up. He sure will be missed.”

Walton had been competing in canoe races since he was 31-years-old and was a member of the Michigan Canoe Racing Association however they were not affiliated with Saturday’s unsanctioned race on Lake Michigan.

Walton is unmarried and survived by his 17-year-old daughter.