Guide overboard in Kyuquot.
- Thread starter Pippen
- Start date
Humpbubble
Active Member
So glad this turned out a happy ending..brings back scary memories from having been tossed overboard by my guests wanting to come over to my side to watch me net their fish as a teen "guide" in big sea up north. No radio, pre gps, and SMALL open boats. Luckily I went in with the net(with fish) and was able to pass them the handle so they could pull me in..
Long cold ride home, never told a soul about it, but was I happy I was in the mustang suit that day...at least the lodge provided those for us.
Spent a few other times in the water in them suits..they aren't just body finders, they do keep ya warm, for a bit.
Long cold ride home, never told a soul about it, but was I happy I was in the mustang suit that day...at least the lodge provided those for us.
Spent a few other times in the water in them suits..they aren't just body finders, they do keep ya warm, for a bit.
Great job by all those involved in saving this mans life, he is a lucky dude to still be with us. I'm sure the warmer sea water contributed to him surviving the time he spent in the water....very lucky! the story as told above does bring up an important point. I was told by Transport Canada during a coarse taken that your navigation aids must be on and operating while operating your passenger vessel. The ability to send out a quick GPS position with your DCS -VHF radio is compromised if the GPS/plotter is not on. In a serious emergency you are likely not going to have the time to wait for your electronics to start up and lock onto a signal and position. If the unit is on at all times it is easy to show clients ahead of time what to do in the event of an emergency that incapacitates the crew.
Sir Reel
Well-Known Member
Geez that's a really good point Profisher. I usually turn off my main Furono up front cause it draws so much power but that is where my GPS signal comes for my DCS-VHS. It takes quite a while to boot up too. Will keep it on from now on.
Another good point is I hear only a very small percent of DCS-VHS radios are actual registered and programmed with their MMSI numbers. Go online and register and then input the number into your radio. I purchased a used boat and the radio had never been registered.
Sir Reel
Well-Known Member
I really hope this guy is ok but I did not read in any of these previous posts that he is fine. They found him barely breathing and a weak pulse 10 minutes from death. He must have been extremely hypothermic and a very low core body temperature. Sometimes they cannot warm people back up and their core temp keeps falling. Hopefully they were able to re-warm him and he will make a full recovery. Does anyone know of his current condition?
Have to say when fishing solo that is one of my greatest fears.....falling overboard and watching the boat sail away.
Have to say when fishing solo that is one of my greatest fears.....falling overboard and watching the boat sail away.
finaddict
Well-Known Member
Water temp up there right now is about 55.6 degrees F. Not really conducive to a long exposure time. I think the guy's conditioning may be a bigger contributor. I suspect he may have had some contributing clothing he was wearing as well.
eriks
Active Member
I posted a link to an article where Doug Rodgers said the guide wanted to come back to work the next day, so yeah, seems like he's absolutely fine.
beemer
Well-Known Member
wow , great outcome. This guy was minutes away from death , the rescuers were NOT volunteers though they were part of the inshore Rescue Boat program http://www.ccg-gcc.gc.ca/SAR/IRB-Background. The 20 minute time difference of calling out volunteers would have meant certain death for this guy. Money well spent , thankfully we now have a IRB boat in Victoria for the summer.
beemer
beemer
Sir Reel
Well-Known Member
Great news! Thanks eriks
You are obviously correct.
I was mistaken! They were not volunteers at all. The IRB crew was a coxswain from the Laurier, a second year FSWEP student and a new navel reserve cadet.
Thank you for clearing that up!
Hero's all of them
another tip after giving guests the safety tour of the boat is a laminated guide of the operation of the VHF radio,starting the boat,location of life ring,life raft,flares etc
Scorpiofisher
Member
Makes you think that inventing a kill switch with a proximity FOB, like car keys, would be a good idea. Guide or captain wears the fob, falls overboard, boat travel 30 feet and then proximity switch activates and shuts down the motors.
bigbruce
Crew Member
finaddict
Well-Known Member
While that would help in decent conditions Bruce, I think the key factor in this scenario is drift speed. In those winds the boat will be travelling much faster downwind than the guide can catch up to.
Fins -n- Skins
Well-Known Member
^^^^ Exactly WTH ?? 80 years on this earth and he has never seen a steering wheel ?? Do circles around the guy and put the boat in neutral. What was the old guy looking at when he went out. I get it that things happen fast and people panic but come on !!
coastalmarinesafety
Active Member
Can't really blame the old guy who ended up alone in a boat in a crazy scary unexpected situation. At least he didn't curl up in a fetal position. He was able to figure out how to make a radio call, threw items overboard to try to help the guide, etc. 2-3 meter seas in 35knot winds, which way would he have even tacked or gone to safely turn boat around in those seas. By all accounts he lost sight of the guy not too long after he fell in. Panic just takes over at that point for most folks, regardless of the "I would haves" we all play through our heads reading a story like that. Heard from a reputable SAR source that the zodiac crew found the guide in a random patch of warmer water with a sunfish spotted floating nearby. Would help explain the 3 hour survival time. Will to survive were key too no doubt as the guide says he didn't have a PFD on, he gave it to his guest to wear that day. He was quoted as saying he'll never go out without wearing one now. He was back on the water guiding today apparently.
Inflatables are like under 100 bucks now when they go on sale. They don't get in the way, are comfortable, don't overheat you. Everyone on my boat wears one, I don't carry PFD vests so by law they have to wear the inflatable on open deck so nobody argues with that. They forget they are wearing them half the time and end up in the truck end of day still wearing it.
Inflatables are like under 100 bucks now when they go on sale. They don't get in the way, are comfortable, don't overheat you. Everyone on my boat wears one, I don't carry PFD vests so by law they have to wear the inflatable on open deck so nobody argues with that. They forget they are wearing them half the time and end up in the truck end of day still wearing it.
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pescador
Well-Known Member
We couldn't see boats 2-300 ft away between the 6 foot waves and moderate swells, not to mention high winds and occasional white cap. It was bad enough that an inexperienced person could have taken a wave over the side broadside while turning. Given the conditions I'm sure he lost sight of the guide quickly.
Charter Tofino
Well-Known Member
Yikes glad to hear it turned out ok! Pretty crazy story.
If the conditions are actually as you described then you should not be offshore especially in a 20 foot centre console???? I always shake my head watching weekend warriors try to force the weather to catch fish when guides aren't even considering it.
If the conditions are actually as you described then you should not be offshore especially in a 20 foot centre console???? I always shake my head watching weekend warriors try to force the weather to catch fish when guides aren't even considering it.
