What drowning looks like

[WAAZ]

I thought this had some relevant content for this group.

https://www.soundingsonline.com/voices/drowning-doesnt-look-like-drowning

 

[JD D05]

thanks for sharing

 

[SoCalDave]

Thanks for the reminder.

 

[Ziggy]

Few years back this or similar video was posted after a few lake drownings in Havasu. Many were surprised it didn't mimic whats been seen from Hollywierd movies.
Great PSA awareness post to open up our boating season, thank you.

 

[ChasingPaper]

Few years back this or similar video was posted after a few lake drownings in Havasu. Many were surprised it didn't mimic whats been seen from Hollywierd movies.
Great PSA awareness post to open up our boating season, thank you.

Thanks!!


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[RiverDave]

I had a close call some yrs ago at Lake Powell. I jumped from a houseboat to retrieve a tow line (without a life vest) that was attached to our Nordic. The line had broken in rough water during a storm and the boat was drifting away. As I swam the line back to the houseboat the wind was pushing the houseboat away from me. Before I knew it I had been swimming hard for a good five + minutes. As I approached the rear swim deck a wave slapped me in the face and I got a big mouthful of water and began choking. There were 4 people standing on the back of the deck and non of them knew I was in trouble. The deck on the back of this houseboat sits up off the water a good 3 feet so a ladder has to be dropped or there is nothing to grab on to. The people on the deck did not notice the ladder was still up and I could not get the words out that I needed help, or that the ladder was not down. Finally my wife saw the look of panic on my face and realized I was gasping trying to clear the water out of my lungs to get air. She reached down to grab my hand and I was able to get my face out of the water just long enough to utter the words "LADDER!"and my buddy reached down and released it. I am 215 lbs, work out regularly, and I am an above average swimmer. I will tell you I have a new respect for what can happen. Drowning can be a silent killer, all it takes is a mouthful of water into the lungs and you are struggling to breath, or even call for help,

Similar story.. up in LHC for one of the first times.. I jumped off my old Nordic and next thing I knew it was like 20’ away.. Started swimming towards it and the wind was moving the boat slightly slower than I can swim..

About halfway through that adventure I almost said fuck it and started swimming to shore.

Point of the story I started running out of energy and had to commit one way or the other at soe point. I finally caught the boat and was so tired I was just hung onto the drive for a few minutes.. it was about that time I realized my little “life endanger light” had been on full tilt for the last few minutes.. If I didn’t catch that boat in the next 30-50’ I would have been in serious trouble.

 

[Boschma]

great read thanks

 

[warlock250]

Years ago at Lake Powell all the guys on the boat jumped in to swim and the wind kicked up and blew the boat out of reach and they never caught it and all died.
Never ever jump off the boat without having one capable Captain on board incase something comes up.

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[sirbob]

People don't make noise when drowning...

Always be looking for trouble.

 

[lakemadness]

Another PSA for us boaters:

I tell our guests to never dive head first off the boat. Even if you can see the bottom you dont know how deep it is.

I had a buddy several years ago get up on the back sun pad of our toon as we were floating 20-30 yards off shore, he was about to dive head first. Luckily I was able to stop him and told him dont dive- I think its only a 3-4 feet deep here.... He listened and just carefully jumped feet first. Water was just below his waste when he landed.

 

[SBMech]

Seems like we all have done that "piss break!" and everyone jumps in, only to realize no one is on the boat.......

Scared myself real bad once at Naci, as I jumped in the wind kicked up and before you know it, the boat was not 5 yards away it was 20. Never swam so hard in my life.

Like RD, I might have been in some real trouble if I had not caught it in the first 2-3 minutes of swimming hard.

Thanks for the article, some stuff I was not even aware of in there. Hope it saves some lives.

 

[stephenkatsea]

A number of years ago my wife and I were sitting on the sand at Tamarack Beach in Carlsbad. Something caught my eye in the surf to the north of us. I then realized it was a limp human hand. I grabbed my wife and we ran towards what I had seen. As we neared we could see a body tumbling in the surf. We dragged the victim, female about 30, pulled her out of the surf, detected no pulse or breathing and began CPR. My wife later told me as I knelt by the victim I quickly recited the rules for CPR out loud before I began. I has no idea I had done that. At first I was doing the breaths (without a barrier) and my wife was doing compressions. (Breaths were still part of the procedure in those years) There was a lot more going on than what was taught in those years. What seemed to be stomach contents was coming out of her mouth and I had a full beard at the time. Not a good combination, although the larger surf breaks were washing me down a bit. Proper position of the chin was difficult, but necessary to allow breaths to enter her lungs. A circle of young observing surfers formed around us. Out of no where a guy broke through that circle, shouted he was CPR trained and offered help. My wife didn't seem to have the strength to do proper compressions. So I took over for her and the stranger began with the breaths. We were told 911 had been called. Another guy, who I believe was medically trained got us in perfect sync - breaths and compressions, would check her carotid artery for a pulse and incourage us, "Nothing yet. Don't give up guys". We had been at it for a while. When her heart did kick in it felt like a football bouncing around in her chest. Then we saw a bubble of snot form at one nostril. Our "coach" shouted, "Stop everything". She then coughed and out came a ton of water. The paramedics arrived a short time later, administered Oxygen and transported her to Tri Cities Hospital. Hospital called us a couple of days later to thank us said she had been discharged, without brain damage or any other problems. BTW - Although we lived in Carlsbad, I had never been to Tamarack Beach before and haven't returned since. Her limp hand rolling in the surf was the only indication of her plight.

 

[brgrcru]

I know there was a story . that someone threw there anchor line in , he was tangled in the rope, as anchor settled, he was rapped up in rope, with barely his head above the water, now it would of been no big deal, just go under and unwrap yourself. but against a strong current at the river, cold water and somewhat of a panic, it was impossible. lucky his friends saw that he was struggling, that they brought him out a knee board to float and rest on , until they could cut the rope.
i cant remember if read it on hear or was told the story at the river.
be careful throwing out that anchor.

 

[JD D05]

A number of years ago my wife and I were sitting on the sand at Tamarack Beach in Carlsbad. Something caught my eye in the surf to the north of us. I then realized it was a limp human hand. I grabbed my wife and we ran towards what I had seen. As we neared we could see a body tumbling in the surf. We dragged the victim, female about 30, pulled her out of the surf, detected no pulse or breathing and began CPR. My wife later told me as I knelt by the victim I quickly recited the rules for CPR out loud before I began. I has no idea I had done that. At first I was doing the breaths (without a barrier) and my wife was doing compressions. (Breaths were still part of the procedure in those years) There was a lot more going on than what was taught in those years. What seemed to be stomach contents was coming out of her mouth and I had a full beard at the time. Not a good combination, although the larger surf breaks were washing me down a bit. Proper position of the chin was difficult, but necessary to allow breaths to enter her lungs. A circle of young observing surfers formed around us. Out of no where a guy broke through that circle, shouted he was CPR trained and offered help. My wife didn't seem to have the strength to do proper compressions. So I took over for her and the stranger began with the breaths. We were told 911 had been called. Another guy, who I believe was medically trained got us in perfect sync - breaths and compressions, would check her carotid artery for a pulse and incourage us, "Nothing yet. Don't give up guys". We had been at it for a while. When her heart did kick in it felt like a football bouncing around in her chest. Then we saw a bubble of snot form at one nostril. Our "coach" shouted, "Stop everything". She then coughed and out came a ton of water. The paramedics arrived a short time later, administered Oxygen and transported her to Tri Cities Hospital. Hospital called us a couple of days later to thank us said she had been discharged, without brain damage or any other problems. BTW - Although we lived in Carlsbad, I had never been to Tamarack Beach before and haven't returned since. Her limp hand rolling in the surf was the only indication of her plight.

I was certified last year...what do you mean by breaths were apart of the procedure? They still are...

 

[stephenkatsea]

I was certified last year...what do you mean by breaths were apart of the procedure? They still are...

That was in reference to the more recent instructions of compressions only, unless you are trained.

 

[pwerwagn]

I was certified last year...what do you mean by breaths were apart of the procedure? They still are...

I've been confused by this quite a few times now too. I'm certified as well, and just had a refresher in Jan. Breaths are still part of the certification I was a part of. However, I know of quite a few people that I know that are "certified" say you don't do breaths anymore.

Edit: you replied while I was typing. Thats sort of the impression I have got before.

 

[JD D05]

I've been confused by this quite a few times now too. I'm certified as well, and just had a refresher in Jan. Breaths are still part of the certification I was a part of. However, I know of quite a few people that I know that are "certified" say you don't do breaths anymore.

Edit: you replied while I was typing. Thats sort of the impression I have got before.

Only thing I can think of is they recommend the mask to administer the breaths now...if you have one

 

[Deckin Around]

I was certified last year...what do you mean by breaths were apart of the procedure? They still are...

Nope, compressions only.

 

[JD D05]

Nope, compressions only.

Since when? I was certified last year. National Safety Council, Red Cross still says breaths on there websites...

 

[DrunkenSailor]

I was just re-certified. They want you to use the mask if your doing breaths and its still 30 compressions to 2 breaths. I say if someone is dying and I can help I am going to do everything I can mask or not. If they died and I didn't do everything I possibly could not sure I could deal with that.

 

[JD D05]

I was just re-certified. They want you to use the mask if your doing breaths and its still 30 compressions to 2 breaths. I say if someone is dying and I can help I am going to do everything I can mask or not. If they died and I didn't do everything I possibly could not sure I could deal with that.

I agree!

 

[stephenkatsea]

In my mind I believe each one of us was somehow meant to be there. Whatever we did, it worked. I have since been told, bringing back an adult is rare. An experience I will never forget.

 

[RiverDave]

I was certified last year...what do you mean by breaths were apart of the procedure? They still are...

Last class I took they removed the breaths.

RD

 

[SoCalDave]

Took a trip back to Tennessee for my 40 BD and was out on the lake with my cousins/family on their toon. We went over to the cliffs as the younger teens (18-20) wanted to go jumping like always. They dove off the toon and did a couple of jumps and i said "fuck it I'm going with them." I jumped off the toon and swam over to the cliff and climbed up and jumped (about 25' high) thought that was fun I'll do it again. By the time I got back up on the cliff I noticed the toon and everyone on it had floated pretty far away from us jumpers. I jumped off and proceeded to swim for the toon. It seemed it was going farther away and I was swimming like hell...didn't think I was going to make it but I did somehow. Once I caught my breath and boarded I asked my cousin what the hell, why didn't you drive the boat over to get me, she replied "I don't know how to drive this damn thing".
Lesson learned as my wife, young daughter and older aunts were the only ones on board with no captain. Now no one jumps off my boat without a life jacket.

 

[RiverDave]

Was at three dunes this last weekend with some members.. A 16 year old kid swam out for some of the little girls to retrieve a football. I was watching him and kept saying "Is that guy alright?" Eventually Keith ran out there and grabbed him and brought him back to shore.. It was pretty crazy the guy was in water that we all thought he could stand up in.. If he couldn't stand up, he was no more than 5-6' from where he could for sure.

I was talking to the kid and he said "I couldn't swim with one hand holding the football" I looked at him and said "Dude if you are drowning, let go of the football?" LOL

Either way everyone shrugged it off as no big deal.. I was about 5 seconds to go get him myself, but saw Keith already going in the water.

Since we are on CPR stories. Sitting at the Parker house watching TV one night with newborn Sierra sleeping in the master bedroom. Stacy goes in there to check on her and says "Dave the baby isn't breathing." Not shouting but actually rather calmly.. I say "What?" She again says it pretty calmly "The baby isn't breathing." I bolted off the couch and ran in there, and for those of you that have had kids.. It's kind of hard to tell if a baby is breathing. So I'm sitting there looking and sure as shit, she wasn't breathing.

You'd be surprised at what you remember from the CPR classes etc, when your kids life depends on it. Did the baby thing where you flip them over on your arm, and whacked her in the back. Still no breathing.. So I whacked her again this time harder, and she took a deep breath and went back to normal.

Still think about it all the time. If Stacy hadn't walked in there when she did, that would've been a very different outcome..

RD

 

[HydroSkreamin]

I was recertified just last week and the breaths were optional if you didn't have a barrier. We certified on the dummy with breaths.

 

[ChasingPaper]

I was recertified just last week and the breaths were optional if you didn't have a barrier. We certified on the dummy with breaths.

I see there’s online courses now...seems like that wouldn’t be too useful. Thoughts?


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[HydroSkreamin]

I could see doing refreshers online, but the person teaching this session just had a good way of teaching and I learned more from this instructor than previously.

Even just getting hands on experience on the dummy multiple times really helped get rhythm.

 

[DrunkenSailor]

Was at three dunes this last weekend with some members.. A 16 year old kid swam out for some of the little girls to retrieve a football. I was watching him and kept saying "Is that guy alright?" Eventually Keith ran out there and grabbed him and brought him back to shore.. It was pretty crazy the guy was in water that we all thought he could stand up in.. If he couldn't stand up, he was no more than 5-6' from where he could for sure.

I was talking to the kid and he said "I couldn't swim with one hand holding the football" I looked at him and said "Dude if you are drowning, let go of the football?" LOL

Either way everyone shrugged it off as no big deal.. I was about 5 seconds to go get him myself, but saw Keith already going in the water.

Since we are on CPR stories. Sitting at the Parker house watching TV one night with newborn Sierra sleeping in the master bedroom. Stacy goes in there to check on her and says "Dave the baby isn't breathing." Not shouting but actually rather calmly.. I say "What?" She again says it pretty calmly "The baby isn't breathing." I bolted off the couch and ran in there, and for those of you that have had kids.. It's kind of hard to tell if a baby is breathing. So I'm sitting there looking and sure as shit, she wasn't breathing.

You'd be surprised at what you remember from the CPR classes etc, when your kids life depends on it. Did the baby thing where you flip them over on your arm, and whacked her in the back. Still no breathing.. So I whacked her again this time harder, and she took a deep breath and went back to normal.

Still think about it all the time. If Stacy hadn't walked in there when she did, that would've been a very different outcome..

RD

Thats scary as hell. I remember spending hours just watching the kids sleep when they were babies. Hard as hell to see if they are breathing or not.

 

[JD D05]

Was at three dunes this last weekend with some members.. A 16 year old kid swam out for some of the little girls to retrieve a football. I was watching him and kept saying "Is that guy alright?" Eventually Keith ran out there and grabbed him and brought him back to shore.. It was pretty crazy the guy was in water that we all thought he could stand up in.. If he couldn't stand up, he was no more than 5-6' from where he could for sure.

I was talking to the kid and he said "I couldn't swim with one hand holding the football" I looked at him and said "Dude if you are drowning, let go of the football?" LOL

Either way everyone shrugged it off as no big deal.. I was about 5 seconds to go get him myself, but saw Keith already going in the water.

Since we are on CPR stories. Sitting at the Parker house watching TV one night with newborn Sierra sleeping in the master bedroom. Stacy goes in there to check on her and says "Dave the baby isn't breathing." Not shouting but actually rather calmly.. I say "What?" She again says it pretty calmly "The baby isn't breathing." I bolted off the couch and ran in there, and for those of you that have had kids.. It's kind of hard to tell if a baby is breathing. So I'm sitting there looking and sure as shit, she wasn't breathing.

You'd be surprised at what you remember from the CPR classes etc, when your kids life depends on it. Did the baby thing where you flip them over on your arm, and whacked her in the back. Still no breathing.. So I whacked her again this time harder, and she took a deep breath and went back to normal.

Still think about it all the time. If Stacy hadn't walked in there when she did, that would've been a very different outcome..

RD

Terrifying

 

[comfortably numb]

I know there was a story . that someone threw there anchor line in , he was tangled in the rope, as anchor settled, he was rapped up in rope, with barely his head above the water, now it would of been no big deal, just go under and unwrap yourself. but against a strong current at the river, cold water and somewhat of a panic, it was impossible. lucky his friends saw that he was struggling, that they brought him out a knee board to float and rest on , until they could cut the rope.
i cant remember if read it on hear or was told the story at the river.
be careful throwing out that anchor.

It was Outcloe'd in front of the Islander

 

[rmarion]

After reading the stories....and with two grandkids under 5...I haven't refreshed my CPR over 10 years... I believe now is the time....
I always stayed current while coaching my kids teams... shit 15 years straight... those WERE GOOD TIMES!!!!
now I'm just an OLD PHUQ...

 

[warlock250]

Another PSA for us boaters:

I tell our guests to never dive head first off the boat. Even if you can see the bottom you dont know how deep it is.

I had a buddy several years ago get up on the back sun pad of our toon as we were floating 20-30 yards off shore, he was about to dive head first. Luckily I was able to stop him and told him dont dive- I think its only a 3-4 feet deep here.... He listened and just carefully jumped feet first. Water was just below his waste when he landed.

My Buddy had a handi cap custom vehicle shop and most of the quadrapleagics were there for van conversions from diving head first into unknown waters. I don't recommend it.

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[rrrr]

Years ago at Lake Powell all the guys on the boat jumped in to swim and the wind kicked up and blew the boat out of reach and they never caught it and all died.
Never ever jump off the boat without having one capable Captain on board incase something comes up.

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I have said the following many times on this forum. If you're on my boat and you want to jump in the water, you will be wearing a PFD. It's not negotiable.

Not only do circumstances arise which might put you in danger, let's face facts. You aren't the 19 year old surfer you used to be. You can't swim against a current or wind for more than a couple of minutes.

I have had to dive trying to find a guy that went underwater twice, and both times the body was retrieved hours later. This was in 6-8' of water.

Don't be a dumbass. Wear a PFD.

 

[rmarion]

It was on RDP a few years back when someone posted a similar link about what actual drowning was...that refreshes my memory. I believe many moons ago, our CPR classes spoke about this as well as a person choking normally gets up and goes in another room cause they are embarrassed about the situation at hand....

Anywho....

I vividly remember the drowning scenario...when I saw that kid just casually slip under the water with no struggle at all.....

Be careful out there...

 

[RiverDave]

Thats scary as hell. I remember spending hours just watching the kids sleep when they were babies. Hard as hell to see if they are breathing or not.

Terrifying

After it was over I just went back to watching TV.. about 3-4 minutes later I broke into sweats about the time the adrenaline kicked in.. LOL

RD

 

[JD D05]

After it was over I just went back to watching TV.. about 3-4 minutes later I broke into sweats about the time the adrenaline kicked in.. LOL

RD

I had my little guy go blank one time after a bad tantrum and it really gets to you. Very cool how you and Stacy stayed calm...you got to do that.

 

[ryanshaw07]

Great read and eye opener!

My 4 year old daughter loves the lake and the pool.
She swims like a fish from sun up to sun down.
We are very careful but shit happens very quick.

I love a good reminder. Thanks


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[pwerwagn]

My youngest son Drowned when he was ~1yr old. Was one of those fluke accidents, in a 5 gallon bucket. We were in a new house, just got back from vaca, etc. Lot of routine changes.

I was at work, my wife was at home. She had to walk away from the kids for a second, and came back and he was blue upside down in the bucket. Fortunately, she knows CPR. She did CPR on him and made my oldest son (~5 at the time) call 911 and relay info.

He was on all kinds of machines for a few days, but made a full recovery and is a happy, healthy 5yr old today. Long story short, she saved his life. If she would have waited the ~5 minutes it took for help to arrive, he wouldn't be with us today.

Even if you don't take a class, spend 30 minutes and get familiar with what you're supposed to do. There are lots of youtube videos out there with good advice.

 

[milkmoney]

My youngest son Drowned when he was ~1yr old. Was one of those fluke accidents, in a 5 gallon bucket. We were in a new house, just got back from vaca, etc. Lot of routine changes.

I was at work, my wife was at home. She had to walk away from the kids for a second, and came back and he was blue upside down in the bucket. Fortunately, she knows CPR. She did CPR on him and made my oldest son (~5 at the time) call 911 and relay info.

He was on all kinds of machines for a few days, but made a full recovery and is a happy, healthy 5yr old today. Long story short, she saved his life. If she would have waited the ~5 minutes it took for help to arrive, he wouldn't be with us today.

Even if you don't take a class, spend 30 minutes and get familiar with what you're supposed to do. There are lots of youtube videos out there with good advice.

Wow. Very glad ur son made a full recovery, put a lump in my throat when I started to read your post. [emoji202]

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[sprintcvx]

Wow. Thanks for sharing.. Scary stuff..

 

[Waterjunky]

Wow. Very glad ur son made a full recovery, put a lump in my throat when I started to read your post. [emoji202]

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Yea, same reaction here.

I was involved in a drowning incident a few years back. When I say involved, was eye to eye with him ( a friend) about 6" apart. We were scuba diving and I came up on the mess at about 70'. By the time I got involved he had already aspirated saltwater and it was effectively over, however at that range the next minute or two are not fun.......

 

[pwerwagn]

Wow. Very glad ur son made a full recovery, put a lump in my throat when I started to read your post. [emoji202]

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It was a scary situation. The first time I saw him was in the ER, he was stiff as a board, eyes rolled back in his head, and was having minor seizures. The doctors all kept giving us answers like "we just don't know". A few days later, he started to wake up, smile, etc and they were all in shock that he pulled thru. He had just learned to walk when it happened (he was ~10 months old), and it took him about a month after to figure that out again.

Interestingly, he absolutely loves water now. He has zero fear of it. He's the first kid to jump off the boat when we stop, when all the others are being wussies. He has zero developmental issues, and is actually ahead of most kids his age. He truly is a little miracle!

 

[Bails]

Current Red Cross standards for layperson CPR is no breaths. Since this is a boaters website I wanted to point out that the majority or the time, CPR is needed for heart issues. Therefore the blood stream has oxygen in it, when compressed the oxygenated blood will circulate. In a drowning event the blood stream is depleted of oxygen so giving breaths is important to oxygenate the blood. With family and friends on the boat you guys should give breaths.

Additionally I've had an ER dr. that was an expert in drowning tell me there has never been a confirmed case of disease transmission from giving mouth to mouth during CPR. Take this all as you will, the Red Cross Standards for layperson CPR is no breaths.

Since I'm standing on my soap box, an AED could help more than CPR, they are getting pretty cheap, if your interested in buying one I can point you in the right direction.

Joe

 

[DrunkenSailor]

Current Red Cross standards for layperson CPR is no breaths. Since this is a boaters website I wanted to point out that the majority or the time, CPR is needed for heart issues. Therefore the blood stream has oxygen in it, when compressed the oxygenated blood will circulate. In a drowning event the blood stream is depleted of oxygen so giving breaths is important to oxygenate the blood. With family and friends on the boat you guys should give breaths.

Additionally I've had an ER dr. that was an expert in drowning tell me there has never been a confirmed case of disease transmission from giving mouth to mouth during CPR. Take this all as you will, the Red Cross Standards for layperson CPR is no breaths.

Since I'm standing on my soap box, an AED could help more than CPR, they are getting pretty cheap, if your interested in buying one I can point you in the right direction.

Joe

I'm trained in AED as well. The cheapest I have seen is around 7-800 bucks. Have you seen any cheaper? They really are idiot proof to use.

 

[pwerwagn]

Same here, I’m also trained in AED use. I’ve seen some decent Phillips ones for 700$ or so, but nothing cheaper...

 

[Bails]

So I spoke with a buddy that sells AED's his company only sells them to other companies. Technically you are supposed to have a prescription and medical direction to have them. Medical direction means having a Dr. oversee the program. He told me that if you want one for personal use just find a website and buy one.

 

[Mike Honcho]

I have a similar incident regarding the football I was on the Parker float when it did not move North several years ago. As you float the boats will pull people back out towards the middle and a young girl twenty something beer in hand was going under no more then 5" from me I swam over grabbed her, still wouldn't let go of the beer as it was probably full of water at that time from going under so many times. I swam her over to our raft and made her hold on told my nephew not to let go of her. She was frantically screaming her friends all left her they all got pulled out to the middle by rope from the boat. She proceeds to tell me she needs to swim out to them so I told her I will take her out to them with a life jacket on (I was wearing it like a diaper to float in the water) she told me she was fine but I insisted and when we got there I get a big hug and kiss and she said I saved her from drowning.

I am thinking no shit dumb ass your eyes were the only thing above water at that time. I am not sure how more people don't drown during these floats I am all about having some beers and enjoying it but when your too wasted to swim or keep only your beer above water then its time to stop.

Also another friend saved a deaf girl in the Bullhead float she got trapped under a group of rafts tied together and my buddy saw her fall over. I am sure there is another hundred stories regarding the floats.

Thanks for the well deserved PSA.

 

[buck35]

I thought this had some relevant content for this group.

https://www.soundingsonline.com/voices/drowning-doesnt-look-like-drowning

The is also a video from a lifeguard that shows and explains he symptoms of drowning. I made the wife and kids watch it a couple.years ago ,as the grandkids are always playing in the water.

 

[Old Texan]

I always throw a life jacket in the water before diving when in open water. Jump off cliffs or just off the boat, I toss one in the water and dive towards it. Just my way. I don't see the need to wear it, but I want it with me just in case.

Many folks do not realize large lake compounds with dams have a current that can push/pull a boat faster than most can swim.

I've saved drowning victims and helped find those that didn't make it. Never take chances you cannot escape from. I've wade fished the surf in the GoM for many years and had a couple close calls. I now wear a small unobtrusive PFD whenever I pass the 1st sand bar. If one has never experienced riptides, you have never seen how quick mother nature can grab you and take you away.