rrrr
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A week later this is still weighing heavily on my mind, and yesterday I had a chance to perhaps make some good come of it. I hope this isn't too long to read.
You guys have heard about my fishing adventures with my grandson Aiden. I've been thinking about buying a fishing boat, but the truth is I'm just not physically able to handle it, even a 17' aluminum Tracker. Instead I put my name in the queue about a year ago for a slip at East Fork Marina on Lake Lavon. It's just 30 minutes from the house, and tucked back in a long narrow cove. The crappie fishing from the docks is awesome. Renting a slip is like having an anchored fishing boat. On Wednesday, the manager called and informed me they had a slip available. Aiden and I headed out there yesterday, paid the year's rent in advance, and started fishing. This is gonna be great.
I was standing on the dock with a jig in the water, and a group of twenty-somethings showed up and started uncovering a Yamaha jet boat. There were three guys and two girls. I said hi, and asked the driver if it was a twin engine model. He said "I'm not sure, my Dad bought it and I don't know much about it."
I thought to myself "Oh, shit, this is how people get hurt or drown."
I said "Do you guys mind if I tell you a quick story?"
"No, go ahead."
We talked about how much fun boating is. Then I told him about the family on Thompson Bay, on a rental pontoon, and enjoying Father's Day. The decision to go swimming, the wind, the boat drifting away, panic, the son struggling, the father badly injuring himself on the propeller while trying to save his son, the boy disappearing under the surface, and the screams and horror that must have followed.
They looked at me in stunned silence. I told them the boy wasn't wearing a PFD, and how his dad and another person almost drowned trying to save him because they weren't wearing one either. Explained how sudden cold water shock can cause involuntary ingestion of water, that when the boat drifts away, it's easy to become exhausted trying to reach it even if a person is a good swimmer.
I told them how I had personally witnessed a 17 year old kid drown just a few feet from a boat in eight or ten feet of water. Explained their parents would never get over the grief if something happened to one of them.
I asked them to make a commitment they would always wear a PFD when they went in the water. They said yes, they would. One of the girls was crying.
I wasn't trying to preach or look the hero. I have been really upset about that boy dying, probably, as I mentioned, because it brought back memories of my 16 year old nephew's death in 2018.
I hope they become safer boaters after talking to me.
You guys have heard about my fishing adventures with my grandson Aiden. I've been thinking about buying a fishing boat, but the truth is I'm just not physically able to handle it, even a 17' aluminum Tracker. Instead I put my name in the queue about a year ago for a slip at East Fork Marina on Lake Lavon. It's just 30 minutes from the house, and tucked back in a long narrow cove. The crappie fishing from the docks is awesome. Renting a slip is like having an anchored fishing boat. On Wednesday, the manager called and informed me they had a slip available. Aiden and I headed out there yesterday, paid the year's rent in advance, and started fishing. This is gonna be great.
I was standing on the dock with a jig in the water, and a group of twenty-somethings showed up and started uncovering a Yamaha jet boat. There were three guys and two girls. I said hi, and asked the driver if it was a twin engine model. He said "I'm not sure, my Dad bought it and I don't know much about it."
I thought to myself "Oh, shit, this is how people get hurt or drown."
I said "Do you guys mind if I tell you a quick story?"
"No, go ahead."
We talked about how much fun boating is. Then I told him about the family on Thompson Bay, on a rental pontoon, and enjoying Father's Day. The decision to go swimming, the wind, the boat drifting away, panic, the son struggling, the father badly injuring himself on the propeller while trying to save his son, the boy disappearing under the surface, and the screams and horror that must have followed.
They looked at me in stunned silence. I told them the boy wasn't wearing a PFD, and how his dad and another person almost drowned trying to save him because they weren't wearing one either. Explained how sudden cold water shock can cause involuntary ingestion of water, that when the boat drifts away, it's easy to become exhausted trying to reach it even if a person is a good swimmer.
I told them how I had personally witnessed a 17 year old kid drown just a few feet from a boat in eight or ten feet of water. Explained their parents would never get over the grief if something happened to one of them.
I asked them to make a commitment they would always wear a PFD when they went in the water. They said yes, they would. One of the girls was crying.
I wasn't trying to preach or look the hero. I have been really upset about that boy dying, probably, as I mentioned, because it brought back memories of my 16 year old nephew's death in 2018.
I hope they become safer boaters after talking to me.