Water Rescue - Lessons learned

[COCA COLA COWBOY]

Thank God you were there! You did an amazing deed!

 

[That Guy]

I can't believe the amount of people that don't stop. Even when I see a guy floating with his engine hatch up I give him a thumbs up/thumbs down. Of he goes thumbs down I ask if he needs help
I have towed many people back
Pay it forward.

Amen to this....I have towed many people back. We only broke one time in nearly 15 years and it was in a very bad part of the gorge....thankfully someone immediately stopped. (It probably helped that I sent Mrs. That Guy up to the bow to wave someone down, or I'd probably still be there.)

 

[gqchris]

I'm posting separately about weighted throwable rescue bags. Every boat should have one on board, and the captain and crew should practice using it. They are far superior to a Type IV throwable cushion, because the bag can be retrieved from a missed throw, and also the victim can be pulled toward the boat after they grab the rope and bag.

The loop is placed around the wrist, and the throw unravels the rope from inside the bag. When practicing just throw the bag from the boat at a target on the beach to get an idea of the toss needed. The factory lay of the rope in the bag needs to be preserved.

Amazon.com

I keep one of these in arms reach in the boat at all times. A cushion aint gonna get far in the wind!

 

[gqchris]

I get anxiety reading this. Holy Shit. .....I know I would not have been able to stay afloat and the stamina to fight the dog. I would have gassed out. Its nightmare fuel.

You have helped all us be more prepared, FlatSix. Take comfort in that. You are a true hero. Nobody knows that in person except you and those people you saved. We know it here, but I can only imagine the adrenaline come off you got once it was all over.

 

[jesco]

WOW!!! Awesome job, thats scary shit and just reading it elevated my heart rate. One of my neighbors out at the river in Ehrenberg (lower river), 50 years old or so, always threw his life vest on when he took his boat out. 21ft open bow jet boat, full family boat, no big motor, total family cruiser... I asked once why he always wore it. He asked me if I have ever had to jump into the water to save somebody? I told him luckily, no. He said well years ago a friend did, and trying to save them damn near killed him. He said Im the captain of this boat, shit goes sideways I wanna be able to keep my head above water while trying to save everybody I can... and if I see somebody else on the river in distress, Im not letting them pull me under while trying to help them. I make sure now that my life vest is right under the bow at my feet so I can grab it quickly in the event I need to assist somebody.

 

[PaPaG]

At a moments notice shit can take a turn and get serious real fast.

I took the Cougar up river this morning solo from Windsor, usually when I do this I just zip up to the no-wake line at the gorge and come back. Today for some reason I thought I'd go further up and get lunch at Pirates. After lunch I did another odd thing I never do and went up river, no flat water to have fun with a bunch of people pulling kids and stuff, quite a few people on the water for a Tuesday. After a few miles I was just getting ready to turn back when I saw a lady clinging to the reeds on the AZ side waving me down frantically, I shut down and turned toward her. She was clinging to a large dog, the dog was paddling frantically to keep them both afloat. As I get closer she yells that her husband is drowning and point down river to help him. He is about 50 yards down floating fast in the river, he looks like he is really struggling to stay above water. I keep going toward him, he is non verbal at this point, I throw him a vest and he grabs it. I look back toward her and her dog is done, she lets go and starts to go down. I go back to her and I can't find another vest within reach or my throwable, but she is close enough to grab my swim platform. Her dog Is now floating down river about even with me in the boat, so I jump in (no vest on) to get the dog, I pull the dog up and try to swim back to the boat with him but he is killing me, I had to let him go and get back to the boat, kind of half swimming and pushing him every other stroke.

The dog and I get back to the boat swim step and hang on. The lady, hanging on to the swim step is too tired and gassed out to get in the boat, we both just hang on trying to catch our breaths for a few minutes. The 75lb dog is kinda clinging to me and the swim step. She finally gets in and helps me get the dog on the transom. We go back and help him back in but he is too gassed out to help himself onto the swim step but we eventually pull him in. I'm bleeding pretty good on my forearm, the dogs claws cut me up a bit, otherwise everyone is ok.

As we are heading back up river to their day camp, she tells me they had been in the water for an hour and nobody would stop. Given the distance and speed of the current I think it was more like 5-10 minutes they were in the water but it is amazing with all the other boaters that nobody else stopped to help. Apparently they were all in an inflatable floaty thing and fell out then the current took them all down river.

This was a big wake up call for me, I learned some lessons today:
1. Be better prepared, should have had better access to more life vests and throwable.
2. Have a better plan in case this happens again. Generally we have it covered for the people in our boat, but never expected to come across people in the river while boating alone.
3. I should have put a vest on for myself before jumping in the water. The current there is killer.

Have a great 4th of July weekend everyone, I hope these lessons are something that makes us think about water safety more.

Great Job, you SAVED THEIR LIVES. We see dozens of people floating down river on cheap rafts with no vests, it amazes me every time. If the wife and I walk up river to do a short float on quiet days we mandatorily wear vests as everyone that goes with us also has to or they stay home.

 

[PaPaG]

You did real good today. You learned, and shared what you did as well. Hopefully they learned as well, and also share it. Regardless, either way, everyone involved lived to talk about it.

As for doing things differently today, like heading further north than usual, all things happen for a reason. Maybe it was a test for you, or you were meant to save others, but it was meant to happen apparently.

And the fact that he went out of his norm guided somehow to save 3 lives dog included that happened for a reason...

 

[hallett21]

Thank god you were there! Awesome job saving them.

Something that stuck with me through EMT training was “it’s their emergency not yours”. Always evaluate the scene before you spring into action.

It’s pretty sad how few people stop these days. I’m not a tow service but I absolutely will stop to make sure people are safe, have water, need a lift to the closest ramp etc.

 

[17 10 Flat]

Well done.
The fast current changes everything. Everyone saved good on you.

 

[havasuhusker]

I commend you @Flatsix66 for your selfless act and saving the lives of others. Don't beat yourself up over the what ifs. Just learn from it and you'll be better prepared if you ever encounter another situation like this. It's great that you're sharing it though, because we can all learn from it and hopefully all think about how we can handle potential situations we may face while out on the water.

 

[elco]

I was fairly unprepared when we came on an issue once. Two people went in the water from a boat in front of us after they hit a large wake. Took far too long to get the throwable from under the hatch where i stored it. We did get it out and pulled one person into our boat. Second person never surfaced. I always keep the throwable within arms reach or under my seat now. When things go wrong they go wrong fast.

 

[GregG]

I can't tell you Flatsix66 how fulfilling it was to read your post. You really are a great dude to be able to pull all of that together under those circumstances. I have to be honest, when I started to read it, I thought tragedy was coming in the post but NO you pulled it off. Bravo and nothing but good coming back to you in years to come. And how about the dog doing everything to hang in.

I'm pretty good about having safety stuff on my boat but I need to up my game for sure after reading what happened to you.

Also, I can't believe that people were not responsive. WTF, that is beyond bad. Years ago while doing high speed testing the hydraulic steering burst on one of my boats. I was thrown out immediately and knocked unconscious and even with two safety vests on I was face down in the water with very few boats around. If it were not for two guys seeing what happened and thinking "something aint right and rushing over to the scene, I am dead.

Good on you Flat, proud moment for you for sure . Glad everyone turned out ok including you !!

 

[lbhsbz]

That's the first thing they teach in WSI (Water Safety Instructor) Training.

Reach, Throw, Row, Go! (in that order!)

View attachment 1395817

I know, never put yourself in danger to save another....that's what was beaten into us during training, but in real life, that little tidbit typically goes out the window.

I'll be changing up my program a bit (throwable with 30ft of rope handy to clip to it instead of just a throwable) moving forward.

I'm a fan of stories like this, as well as cases where it didn't turn out so well...they're all learning opportunities.

 

[stephenkatsea]

Flatsix66 - Job so very well done. You were meant to be there.
X Hoser - Your comments and observations were spot on.

My takeaway: 1) There are better devices available than the basic USCG approved throwable cushion which most of us carry. 2) Recue of a dog, particularly a large one, is a whole different deal. Unlikely there’s any throwable that would help. Any dog in distress is, understandably, a very wild animal. 3) Your, maybe less than perfect, efforts were successful.

Thanks for being there and sharing your amazing experience.

 

[LHC Kirby]

Throwable is right next to me, with 50’ of a light rope…. My life vest is right next to me, because, like you, I would likely jump in quickly. But with the vest right there… I would grab it.

You followed your gut… it saved the lives of those you came across . Hero

 

[spectra3279]

Why would someone take a dog in an inflatable? It's just common sense that their toenails will puncture it.

Good job on the save though

 

[Sleek-Jet]

I can't add much more to what everyone else has said, there are valuable lessons here and I will be upping my throwable and life jacket game as well.

This was a "Fate is the Hunter" situation, you handled it well and will have the knowledge that you saved 3 lives that day, no matter what happens in your life from now on.

 

[TBulger]

Holy smokes, what a great person you are.

 

[cole_skier]

You should be very proud of yourself. Saving their lives and the pup changed the lives of many people. Their friends and family will be forever grateful to you

 

[beerrun]

You did something most would not do. Years ago on the lower river I'm veteran coast guard and I had another couple that was veteran coast guard on board we were running up river and I spot a guy in the river no boats so sandbar no life vest at the same time two boats crash one over the top of the other people hurt our second boat is all firefighters they go after the boat victims i go after the guy in the water the whole time this chick on my boat who is a coast guard veteran is say just leave them loosing her mind i got the guy out of the water and went down river looking for the sheriff. In the end everyone was going to be ok but my point is a us coast guardsmen would not help and you did. You are a hero

 

[stephenkatsea]

I honestly believe sometimes we are just meant to be somewhere. I’d NEVER been to Tamarack Beach in Carlsbad in my life. One very nice afternoon in April we took our daughters there, so they could play with the boogey boards they had received for Christmas. While watching our young daughters play in 2” of water, I saw a body tumbling in the surf beyond our daughters. It was a female, probably late 20s. Wife and I drug her in, no pulse, no respiration. 911 was called. We immediately began CPR, including mouth to mouth without a barrier. Miraculously we brought her back to life prior to the first responders arriving. Total stranger. She was transported to Tri Cities hospital. We’ve never been back to Tamarack Beach.

Side story. Years later I found out that the father of one of my crew members was one of those Carlsbad FD first responders. And he remembered the event. We were just meant to be there.