Boat accident on Okanagan Lake...

[mullyman]

there are cordless ones available now btw

[Poindexter]

While a lanyard or a kill switch is a good idea and might save the boat, a life jacket is still a must in rough seas. Think people over estimate their ability to be able to catch up with a drifting boat that's being pushed by the wind and waves, especially wearing street clothes and shoes.

[Loki2u]

Typical Castanet responses.....damned if you do, damned if you don't.

If this man dies....people condemn for not wearing life jackets or being inexperienced.

He lives...he's an idiot....should have done more to be prepared.

Happy ending stories are rare around here and people still aren't pleased?

As someone who spends countless hours in a boat......it's very easy for something bad to happen both things within your control and without.

Some of you need to get off your high horse and step away from the keyboard. Perhaps a boat ride?

[Poindexter]

Perhaps a boat ride?

While I like your prescription it's been winterized already and can't.

I don't think anyone is unhappy he survived, just trying to piece together what may have happened and how he managed to walk away from it. Never a bad idea to learn from other people's mishaps and that's all I see posters doing.

With all your hours spent boating, have you ever fallen out while it was under power?

[mullyman]

i agree . the lifejacket isnt used enough... the new ones are comfortable, but the most neglected safety item i see in boats, is the kill switch. thats why i mentioned the cordless ones.. pretty recent technology that allows you freedom to move about.not as quick to shut the motor off, but works better than a dangling lanyard...

[Fancy]

As someone who spends countless hours in a boat......it's very easy for something bad to happen both things within your control and without.

Some of you need to get off your high horse and step away from the keyboard. Perhaps a boat ride?

No high horse here and if you think going for a boat ride today is a smart idea, think again. We will wait for better conditions.

[Fancy]

With all your hours spent boating, have you ever fallen out while it was under power?

We've never even come close - even in bad weather.

[LTD]

I'm glad this fellow survived but as far as I'm concerned theres more going on here I have been out in the absolute nastiest of conditions here and on the ocean in smaller boats than that and never come close to falling out

[Loki2u]

Perhaps a boat ride?

While I like your prescription it's been winterized already and can't.

I don't think anyone is unhappy he survived, just trying to piece together what may have happened and how he managed to walk away from it. Never a bad idea to learn from other people's mishaps and that's all I see posters doing.

With all your hours spent boating, have you ever fallen out while it was under power?

Fair enough.

To answer your question...yes I have fallen out under power but am lucky that I was with a partner who managed to grab the motor. It was an electric motor on a small boat. I let it run on its own while I stood up to take off my rain jacket and the prop got hooked on a dead head inches below the water. The boat came to a near abrupt stop causing me to lose my balance and go overboard. I was wearing my inflatable lifejacket, but didn't need to pull it as the water wasn't chilly and my buddy came back to grab me.

I've also fallen out while anchored by myself. Stood up to cast a line after sitting for a bit and got a head rush causing me to nearly pass out and lose my balance. Again I had my inflateable lifejacket on and deployed it as the water was chilly and I knew I wouldn't be able to crawl back into the boat myself without some effort.

I have a lanyard on my gas motor, but rarely use it unless conditions are not very good.

S**t happens out there and most accidents are prevantable. I made a promise to my family to always wear my lifejacket and it has saved me on more than a couple of occasions....especially when fishing rivers-which is why I always wear it. And if you're in my boat, you have to wear it also.

As for the original posted story? Who knows what happened out there, but he had enough piece of mind to take some safety precautions and is alive today to tell about it, as am I.

[dle]

While a lanyard or a kill switch is a good idea and might save the boat, a life jacket is still a must in rough seas. Think people over estimate their ability to be able to catch up with a drifting boat that's being pushed by the wind and waves, especially wearing street clothes and shoes.

and just to add to your good points - if the water is cold it zaps your strength in just minutes -even strong swimmers and very athletic people have been known to succumb to the water temp and not make it to shore or to any kind of "perch" to hang on - not to mention if one gets a cramp! That can debilitate even an Olympic swimmer!

[Fancy]

http://www.shipwrite.bc.ca/Chilling_truth.htm

The water temperature is approximately a chilly 11 degrees. No one should be out in rough water without wearing a life jacket.

[Loki2u]

http://www.shipwrite.bc.ca/Chilling_truth.htm

The water temperature is approximately a chilly 11 degrees. No one should be out in rough water without wearing a life jacket.

Wow! Thanks for the tip!

[WalterWhite]

Having spent a fair amount of time on this lake over the years for both work and pleasure, I can attest the conditions can change very quickly. It's also very easy to become complacent about safety on a boat, especially one of the size in this story - even for veteran boaters. Being the only one aboard at the time, thinking the need to let go of the wheel for "just an instant" to pick up a dropped item can have catastrophic results hitting not so much a "rogue" wave, but certainly the largest in a set of waves, and can cause one to lose balance in a split second. The absence of a handhold at this moment, and one can easily require several steps before gaining one's footing - all within the realm of being close enough to the gunwales that falling overboard is not as unlikely as one thinks - and yes, it has happened to me.

A 30' cruiser is a boat fully capable of operating at speed on this lake in some of the more adverse conditions. That does not mean it's being operated recklessly. However, toss in any number of sequence of events, and the result witnessed can happen very easily. I'm very glad the operator had the boat sense to don his PFD while aboard, as it clearly made the difference between life or death. It's very easy to sit in the confines of an office chair and hammer out criticisms about how only an idiot would be on a boat without a life jacket - unfortunately it's norm and the news is full of many idiots any time of the year that suffer the dire consequences from simply not wearing them. Having a PFD "within arms reach" doesn't work if you're grasping for a handhold to prevent you from falling overboard. If you've never fallen in the water wearing street clothing - especially the amount one wears at this time of the year, you would likely be very surprised how extremely difficult, and panic inducing entering water of this temperature or cooler can be, making the simple act of performing a doggie paddle next to impossible. It will literally take your breath away and the cumbersome decrease in mobility of your arms and legs really has to be experienced to fully understand. I personally wouldn't be on the water at this point in time without wearing some form of survival apparel, be it at least a Mustang jacket and beaver tail or full suit.

Again @Ken7, I wasn't attempting to troll you - or anyone else, but certainly differ in the opinion you inferred that this operator was acting with disregard towards operating his vessel. It can happen, and does very easily - even to the best of us. Very glad the boat was the only thing that suffered damage.

ETA: just to clarify, my use of “you; your” etc. is in general terms of a statement and directed at no one in particular, save for the last paragraph.

[Ken7]

Again @Ken7, I wasn't attempting to troll you - or anyone else, but certainly differ in the opinion you inferred that this operator was acting with disregard towards operating his vessel. It can happen, and does very easily - even to the best of us. Very glad the boat was the only thing that suffered damage.
[/i]

I bet he learned something about his 29 foot boat, even though it is big you can be troubled. I have a little smaller boat, I've been on some very rough Kelowna water. I tend to travel slower and ride the waves. Bet he won't try that again well maybe.

I am still unsure what your point is. Are you suggesting being tossed into water one would not be in trouble as loss of control of your vessel occurred? Do you think he would have learned something about the possible error or lack of cation that caused this to occur?

Obviously he did something that caused him being upset into the water. He likely learned from this as we all should unless he is a total idiot.

As for your comments directed at me, I quoted what I said. I read it again, I did not assume or infer he was driving erratic, or dangerously or likely would have some chosen words about him.

As I do not know him, I did not witness the act occur I have as much knowledge about this as you unless you spoke to him personally. It is likely you know nothing more about this then I do.

You could assume what you want as I was not.

[Poindexter]

Safe to say falling in the water was the easy part of this guy's ordeal. For all we know it could have been as innocent as pulling in a bumper that bounced over the rail and loosing his footing.

Also safe to say if the water was anything like it is today he would have stood little chance getting safely to shore without a pfd. Especially with the handicap of clothing and the cold water as has been discussed.

So as loKi2u eluded to, it's a nice change of pace when we get to discuss the right things some boater did as opposed to talking about another poor soul who needlessly drowned.