Re: [Paddlewise] How would you deal with it ....Conditions are Relative to One's Perception

Last winter my wife and I were paddling a local bay and were in the widest 
part, but still not that far from either shore.  Beautiful day, warm, water 
a little cold, but not bad.  We were paddling past two SOT's; one double 
and one single.  The double had two women on it in bathing suits and the 
single was their male companion in shorts and T shirt.  Non had PFD's with 
them,  let alone on.

Just as I past them I heard a noise and lots of commotion.  I turned around 
to see the guy in the water in total panic.  The ladies yelled that he 
couldn't swim.  That was obvious as he went under and resurfaced a couple 
of times.   No time to blow up a paddle float or even take off my own PFD, 
which I wouldn't do, and throw it to him.

I turned around and got ahold of the upside down SOT and shoved it to 
him.  He grabbed it from the side, but kept slipping off.
As quick as a flash he would jump on the SOT and slide off as he worked his 
way around the SOT.  Before I knew it he grabbed my boat. I pushed him away 
with the paddle and STERNLY told him to hold on to the end of his boat and 
calm down.  As soon as he was calm we would get him back into his boat with 
no problems.  If he didn't follow my instructions and so much as touched my 
boat I would be forced to smack him or we would both end up in the water 
and he wouldn't get out until I was out.  That seemed to get his attention 
and he concentrated on holding onto the grab loop at the end of his 
boat.  I made sure it was the opposite end from me.  Once calm I was able 
to have him hold onto my bow while I flipped his boat and then talked him 
back in.   He was happy to be out of the water.  Could he have made it some 
other way.  Probably.   I didn't do anything exceptional in my mind.

The weather was great and the water conditions calm, but to that non 
swimmer he might as well have been in six foot swells and breaking waves 
way off shore.   Rather my decision to fend him off initially with my 
paddle helped him regain his composure I am not sure.  I am sure that I 
would have smacked him if he tried to grab my boat.  I figured that out of 
the boat I would be at risk of this guy grabbing me and standing on my head 
to keep his above the water.  A risk that I am not willing to take.

If we subject ourselves to civil liability for an attempted and failed 
rescue is one thing.   I don't know if we would or wouldn't.  I could live 
with the fact that I had honestly given it my best shot in the face of 
litigation or even someone second guessing my actions.   The thought of not 
trying and/or being criminally negligent for not rendering aid is a whole 
other matter of conscience that I would rather not have to live with for 
the rest of my life.

Sometimes in the  heat of the moment we have to decide.  If we decide to 
take action then take it all the way - not in a half hearted manner!    We 
can't guarantee the results we strove for.  Even those who make their 
living at it(EMS,etc.) do their best and sometimes fail.  What would the 
end result be if we did nothing but sat back and watched?  Hopefully it 
isn't from fear of getting involved.  What would we want someone to do for 
us or one of our friends or loved ones in the same circumstances?  Go for it!

Fred
(Formerly Dust Off 18; US Army)

At 05:58 PM 8/17/2000 -0400, Sailboat Restorations, Inc. wrote:
>Several people mentioned being prepared to whack the swimmer (er,
>non-swimmer) with a paddle if they become a problem.  I had thought about
>this, but hesitated to say it.
>
>I don't have any wise conclusions about this.  I just raise it as a little
>reminder that in this day and age, unfortunately, people who have good
>intentions can end up in big trouble.  Sorry.
>
>Mark


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