Wear your PFD!!!
Posted: December 6th, 2020, 3:56 pm
Wear your PFD!!! A post about Life Jackets remined me of something that happened back in 2012 and I remember it like yesterday.
A half hour before sunrise I was floating in the water next to a capsized boat. This is a story I really don’t want to share because it is embarrassing. But I hope by sharing it someone else will be more cautious and spared the experience!
A group of us had hunted all weekend and with the Monday holiday we had one more hunt. The weather had warmed and the marine forecast was for 2mph winds and calm seas until late morning. The tide was going to fall out and we expected to be home well before then. It was about 30 degrees that morning but the water was in upper 50s.
A few of the guys had headed home and there were just five of us. After some talking we figured the easiest thing to do was just run two boats; three hunters in one boat and two in the other. We also decided to shoot the same point. This is very unusual for us. If we have two boats we would normally hunt two totally different areas. This decision made a huge difference in the outcome of the following events.
Everything started out as planned. We launched in the dark and headed toward an area that we have hunted before. In fact I’ve fished it many times. I know it like the back of my hand. I was in the three man boat with Mike and Charles. The other two guys, Tyler and Jason, launched and were walking to the boat as we pulled away into the dark.
As we came out of the channel and hit open water we all knew it was rougher than the forecast predicted. I was sitting up front; spray hitting me in the chest and face. I thought, maybe we should turn around. But we were closer to our hunting spot than the ramp. And I didn't want to be the guy who said turn around.
There were just a few hundred yards to go and I could see the point shadowed by moonlight. Most of the area we hunt is only knee or waste deep; but you have to cross about 250 yards of eight to ten foot deep water to get to the particular point we were hunting. About fifty yards into that stretch the motor stalled. Mike cranked it up again and we pressed forward. Another fifty yards and the motor stalled again and the boat started to turn.
As soon as the stern was pointing into the waves they started to brake over the transom and fill the boat. In a matter of seconds Mike called out, “We are going down” and water rushed under my feet. I can’t over emphasize how quickly this happened. We all grabbed life preservers and were in the water before we could even think. How many boats have you been in that had the life preservers in a storage hatch or tied in so they didn't blow out trailering. This was one of the few things we did right; the preservers in our boat were loose!
The boat flipped over and only about five feet of the bow was floating above the water. There was no way the three of us could climb up on the boat. We floated in the dark water and talked about what to do. Tyler and Jason should be right behind us but we could not see their lights. We are 200 yards from shore in heavy hunting gear and waders. We kept telling each other to stay with the boat and stay calm. Talking out loud and encouraging each other to be calm and patient was key. It would have been very easy to panic and start swimming for shore. I think it would have been impossible with the wind and current. I had my waterproof cell phone case and I started trying to call the other guys but they did not answer. I kept saying they will be here soon and I will get them on the phone.
What we did not know was that they forgot to put their plug in and had to pull their boat out and drain the water before coming out way. Their cell phones were packed away and they were about twenty minutes behind us.
As we floated the cold started to creep into me. I thought about how foolish we had been but didn't say anything to the other guys. I remembered several things about Hypothermia. Stay still, don’t fight the water and keep your head dry. We all just floated in the dark waiting patiently on our friends. We kept telling each other things would be all right.
Before long we could see the other boat coming. We all wore head lamps and flashed our lights at them. At first they thought we were a boat of other hunters trying to wave them off and almost went around us. Charles yelled out and they heard us. I remember hearing Tyler saying, “Crap, they're in the water!” They pulled up to us and assessed the situation. Their boat was loaded down with gear so we decided to stay in the water and let them go unload on shore, then come back for us which took another five or ten minutes. We decided the other boat could only take two safely to the beach. Mike decided to stay with his boat and get pulled in last. Tyler and Jason pulled Charles and I into their boat as the sun was coming up.
I got to shore and sat down. Being on land felt great but we could not get comfortable until Mike was there too… Jason reached back to crank the motor and it would not start. It took a few moments to figure it out but the fuel hose had gotten pinched when we flopped in the bottom of the boat. He straitened it and ran out to get Mike. By that time Mike was too tired to climb in the boat. Tyler held on and they started just dragging him in, pulling him forward his feat floated up and Jason grabbed them and they managed to pull him into the boat. Jason ran to the beach and dropped Tyler off and took Mike to the landing- he was in the water longest and we all though he needed to get warm first.
As we sat on the beach waiting to get back to the ramp the magnitude of the situation sunk in. All three of us lost some gear but no one really cared. We were just happy to be out of the water. We started to feel the cold and my legs were getting tighter. The high tech clothing we wore still kept us warm even though it was wet. A little later the three of us were inside in dry clothes eating oatmeal and drinking hot cider. It felt like hours before we got really warm again. We all felt cold and tired but most of the damage was emotional fatigue. After looking at some Hypothermia charts we had about an hour in fifty degree water before the effects were severe.
We were able to recover most of our equipment, got the boat flipped and back to the ramp.
So what went wrong? How did three experienced guys with hours on the water end up in this situation? The weather forecast was wrong and it was a lot rougher than we expected. We should never have loaded the boat down with three men and hunting gear. But the real issue was our own hubris. No one wanted to say turn around… no one wanted to be that guy. I can promise that will not be an issue again.
What will we do different in the future?
We all ordered inflatable life vests and are wearing them!
We're clipping whistles to each vest. We realized all our whistles were in shell boxes or tied in the boat.
When on the water we are checking in with each other more often. We would have been in the water a lot longer if we had been hunting different areas.
A waterproof cell phone case is a must. Worst case we could have called FWC or 911.
We're never going to overload a boat just to get to a spot faster.
Most importantly, if one of us thinks we need to turn back, we're not going to worry about what the other guys think.
Again, we made some foolish decisions. I’m very happy that things did not end tragically. I really hope sharing our experience causes some of you to be more cautions on the water.
A half hour before sunrise I was floating in the water next to a capsized boat. This is a story I really don’t want to share because it is embarrassing. But I hope by sharing it someone else will be more cautious and spared the experience!
A group of us had hunted all weekend and with the Monday holiday we had one more hunt. The weather had warmed and the marine forecast was for 2mph winds and calm seas until late morning. The tide was going to fall out and we expected to be home well before then. It was about 30 degrees that morning but the water was in upper 50s.
A few of the guys had headed home and there were just five of us. After some talking we figured the easiest thing to do was just run two boats; three hunters in one boat and two in the other. We also decided to shoot the same point. This is very unusual for us. If we have two boats we would normally hunt two totally different areas. This decision made a huge difference in the outcome of the following events.
Everything started out as planned. We launched in the dark and headed toward an area that we have hunted before. In fact I’ve fished it many times. I know it like the back of my hand. I was in the three man boat with Mike and Charles. The other two guys, Tyler and Jason, launched and were walking to the boat as we pulled away into the dark.
As we came out of the channel and hit open water we all knew it was rougher than the forecast predicted. I was sitting up front; spray hitting me in the chest and face. I thought, maybe we should turn around. But we were closer to our hunting spot than the ramp. And I didn't want to be the guy who said turn around.
There were just a few hundred yards to go and I could see the point shadowed by moonlight. Most of the area we hunt is only knee or waste deep; but you have to cross about 250 yards of eight to ten foot deep water to get to the particular point we were hunting. About fifty yards into that stretch the motor stalled. Mike cranked it up again and we pressed forward. Another fifty yards and the motor stalled again and the boat started to turn.
As soon as the stern was pointing into the waves they started to brake over the transom and fill the boat. In a matter of seconds Mike called out, “We are going down” and water rushed under my feet. I can’t over emphasize how quickly this happened. We all grabbed life preservers and were in the water before we could even think. How many boats have you been in that had the life preservers in a storage hatch or tied in so they didn't blow out trailering. This was one of the few things we did right; the preservers in our boat were loose!
The boat flipped over and only about five feet of the bow was floating above the water. There was no way the three of us could climb up on the boat. We floated in the dark water and talked about what to do. Tyler and Jason should be right behind us but we could not see their lights. We are 200 yards from shore in heavy hunting gear and waders. We kept telling each other to stay with the boat and stay calm. Talking out loud and encouraging each other to be calm and patient was key. It would have been very easy to panic and start swimming for shore. I think it would have been impossible with the wind and current. I had my waterproof cell phone case and I started trying to call the other guys but they did not answer. I kept saying they will be here soon and I will get them on the phone.
What we did not know was that they forgot to put their plug in and had to pull their boat out and drain the water before coming out way. Their cell phones were packed away and they were about twenty minutes behind us.
As we floated the cold started to creep into me. I thought about how foolish we had been but didn't say anything to the other guys. I remembered several things about Hypothermia. Stay still, don’t fight the water and keep your head dry. We all just floated in the dark waiting patiently on our friends. We kept telling each other things would be all right.
Before long we could see the other boat coming. We all wore head lamps and flashed our lights at them. At first they thought we were a boat of other hunters trying to wave them off and almost went around us. Charles yelled out and they heard us. I remember hearing Tyler saying, “Crap, they're in the water!” They pulled up to us and assessed the situation. Their boat was loaded down with gear so we decided to stay in the water and let them go unload on shore, then come back for us which took another five or ten minutes. We decided the other boat could only take two safely to the beach. Mike decided to stay with his boat and get pulled in last. Tyler and Jason pulled Charles and I into their boat as the sun was coming up.
I got to shore and sat down. Being on land felt great but we could not get comfortable until Mike was there too… Jason reached back to crank the motor and it would not start. It took a few moments to figure it out but the fuel hose had gotten pinched when we flopped in the bottom of the boat. He straitened it and ran out to get Mike. By that time Mike was too tired to climb in the boat. Tyler held on and they started just dragging him in, pulling him forward his feat floated up and Jason grabbed them and they managed to pull him into the boat. Jason ran to the beach and dropped Tyler off and took Mike to the landing- he was in the water longest and we all though he needed to get warm first.
As we sat on the beach waiting to get back to the ramp the magnitude of the situation sunk in. All three of us lost some gear but no one really cared. We were just happy to be out of the water. We started to feel the cold and my legs were getting tighter. The high tech clothing we wore still kept us warm even though it was wet. A little later the three of us were inside in dry clothes eating oatmeal and drinking hot cider. It felt like hours before we got really warm again. We all felt cold and tired but most of the damage was emotional fatigue. After looking at some Hypothermia charts we had about an hour in fifty degree water before the effects were severe.
We were able to recover most of our equipment, got the boat flipped and back to the ramp.
So what went wrong? How did three experienced guys with hours on the water end up in this situation? The weather forecast was wrong and it was a lot rougher than we expected. We should never have loaded the boat down with three men and hunting gear. But the real issue was our own hubris. No one wanted to say turn around… no one wanted to be that guy. I can promise that will not be an issue again.
What will we do different in the future?
We all ordered inflatable life vests and are wearing them!
We're clipping whistles to each vest. We realized all our whistles were in shell boxes or tied in the boat.
When on the water we are checking in with each other more often. We would have been in the water a lot longer if we had been hunting different areas.
A waterproof cell phone case is a must. Worst case we could have called FWC or 911.
We're never going to overload a boat just to get to a spot faster.
Most importantly, if one of us thinks we need to turn back, we're not going to worry about what the other guys think.
Again, we made some foolish decisions. I’m very happy that things did not end tragically. I really hope sharing our experience causes some of you to be more cautions on the water.