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Almost a tragic day today

SEMPERFI8387

SEMPERFI8387

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I copied this from my Facebook post:

A scary day on the lake. Some kids/young adults thought it would be cool to jump off the docks and swim across the lake. About 100 yards IN THE BOATING CHANNEL. Coming back one almost didn't make it. Luckily he made it to a buoy about 30-40 yards from dock. He was wiped out from trying to make it back. Got close to him, threw him a life jacket, got closer, wife pulled him over with extending pole we have. Yanked him up into boat and took him to dock where the Park Ranger was waiting. Think she just gave them a good ass chewing. They got off easy. Thought today was the day I was going to see someone drown from not understanding the dangers of the water, being young & trying to be cool with your friends and impress the girls. To the young man, I'm not mad at what you did today, and I hope you learned a lesson. Trust me, I was young & dumb at one time too. You got another chance today, I hope you use it wisely.
 
SEMPERFI8387 said:
I copied this from my Facebook post:

A scary day on the lake. Some kids/young adults thought it would be cool to jump off the docks and swim across the lake. About 100 yards IN THE BOATING CHANNEL. Coming back one almost didn't make it. Luckily he made it to a buoy about 30-40 yards from dock. He was wiped out from trying to make it back. Got close to him, threw him a life jacket, got closer, wife pulled him over with extending pole we have. Yanked him up into boat and took him to dock where the Park Ranger was waiting. Think she just gave them a good ass chewing. They got off easy. Thought today was the day I was going to see someone drown from not understanding the dangers of the water, being young & trying to be cool with your friends and impress the girls. To the young man, I'm not mad at what you did today, and I hope you learned a lesson. Trust me, I was young & dumb at one time too. You got another chance today, I hope you use it wisely.
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Well done Smitty.
 
Nice outcome & glad God put you in the right place at the right time to provide the young man the assistance!

That being said, it was nice to read a post with that title, and not have alcohol or drugs as part of the story!

Even good old clean fun can have dangers.
 
Nice job! Way to be in the right place at the right time! I'm sure it was a lesson learned.......
 
My hats off to you Smitty.  Well played my friend!!  Thank you for saving a life today....

Todd
 
Nice job bud! This really reminds me on an incident we had on our lake last year. We have a park and and island that is separated by a fairly narrow channel on our lake. Based on the flow of boat traffic (counterclockwise) all boats go through there and most of them at high speed. Last year a group of teens was swimming back to the park when I noticed one falling back and worst of all, slipping under water. Luckily I was close and zipped over. I asked if he was ok and he responded yes. I told him to keep above water as no one can see him and he'll get hit. 2 seconds later the moron dipped under again. This time I just positioned the Benny perpendicular to the flow of traffic making a wall/roadblock for boat traffic. He made it to shore and lived to see another day.
 
Andy, that sounds like this guy. I could see heads bobbing out of the water but could barely notice him. He was trying to swim on his back so he was flat in the water. Luckily he didn't get hit.

Thanks all for the compliments. I hope to not have to ever do that again. All I keep thinking about is the guy that drown 2-3 years ago swimming across a 100 foot span at the bridge. Cramped up and sank like a rock. So sad.... 
 
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When we take family/people on the boat and we anchor to eat, swim, and float around I make them take a throw pillow or noodle or they can wear a ski vest or something else to float on. No treading water or swimming unassisted. Not going to drown on me.......
 
We had a bad experience over the Cheeseburger in Caseville week. Something still doesn't set me with right about this story.  As the paper published the story, and group of folks were trolling for walleye around the islands we currently fish around in Saginaw Bay. A 26 year old female jumper off a boat while fishing around 7pm in flat calm seas.  And this is the fishy part..  They pulled in the lines and turned around and saw the female dip below the waterline (15 feet deep) and never saw her again. Took almost 3 days before Sherriff divers found the body. 

Why in the hell would you pull in the lines and then turn around?  Drop the damn poles overboard and have somebody go get her or throw a life ring or something.  You troll for walleye at no more than 1.5mph.  Typically around 0.8mph if fishing with crawler harness's and a bit faster if fishing with crankbaits.

My first impression was she pulled a Julia Roberts in Sleeping with the Enemy and wanted off the boat.  My kids were afraid to fish, ski, tube, or anything with fear of finding the body.  Once she was recovered, we rested at ease a bit and went into the "zone" and fished and swam at will.

God Rest Her Sole...  WHy she jumped will never be known.  Not sure if alcohol was a factor but hasn't been publicly announced as of yet (or least I haven't heard yet). So tragic.

Todd
 
BigKahuna said:
When we take family/people on the boat and we anchor to eat, swim, and float around I make them take a throw pillow or noodle or they can wear a ski vest or something else to float on. No treading water or swimming unassisted. Not going to drown on me.......
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Sounds like a good new rule for our boat from now on. Some of my daughter's friends are state champ caliber swimmers. One time I asked one if he wanted to use a jacket or noodle. He said no, and I let him go without. It always bothered me. He's 15. I'm old enough to know better. I should have insisted he wear one anyway. Next time I will say "because Big Kahuna said so" and make him wear one. Thanks for posting Daril. And nice job Smitty! The boating world needs more like you.
 
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Here in Michigan a little while back a fire chief was out on Lake St. Clait I think and dove in after his hat that blew in the water. I guess he was too drunk to swim and that was the end of the line for him. Sad.
 
Nice Job SemperFi, Marine worthy
 
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kaydano said:
Some of my daughter's friends are state champ caliber swimmers. One time I asked one if he wanted to use a jacket or noodle. He said no, and I let him go without. It always bothered me. He's 15. I'm old enough to know better. I should have insisted he wear one anyway. Next time I will say "because Big Kahuna said so" and make him wear one. 
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Yup, all it takes is leg or abdomen cramps and that's it, you're done. Cold water is an even quicker killer. A 15 year old girl drown back in 2008 on our lake. On a rental pontoon, jumped in, for whatever reason couldn't stay afloat and went under. 18 year old boyfriend jumped in after her but too late. People they talked to said she was a not a strong swimmer... they found her 38 feet deep and water was between 40 to 50 degrees. Water that cold will take all your strength almost immediately.

I just always remember "The Coast Guard Auxiliary recommends you use the 50-50 rule" to emphasize how rapidly hypothermia can occur.  You have a 50-50 chance to swim 50 yards in water at 50 degrees.  Another rule is that a 50 year old person has a 50-50 chance of surviving 50 minutes in 50 degree water.
 
Just a reminder of THIS thread from awhile back. It is counterintuitive, but drownings often happen very quietly with little motion or signs of obvious struggle on the part of the victim.
 
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