Another preventable drowning

[FSH 210 Sport]

My last two outings have been at this lake.

18-year-old drowns: Tragic Incident at Orman Dam near Belle Fourche

BELLE FOURCHE, S.D. - The Butte County Sheriffs office has reported that an 18-year-old man had drowned at the Rock Point Campground area at Orman Dam outside of Belle Fourche.

www.newscenter1.tv

Three tragedies here;
-A guy drowned
-It was a preventable death, obviously no pfd of any kind being worn.
-The “news” did not report the obvious, that no pfd was being worn, and that the USCG states that over 80% of drownings are preventable by wearing PFD’s.

 

[Luc Lafreniere]

Yeah, pretty sad stuff.

I was involved as one of the first on scene this spring while whitewater kayaking. An experienced paddler lost his life in front of me and others. Made me think long and hard about my activities.

Then, yesterday, I took out my SeaDoo on a very touristy lake. I'll copy paste from another post I did.

******
Well, I saved a life today using my 2023 GTX 230. I went out on Mazinaw Lake, Ontario, Canada. There happens to be one of the most popular provincial parks there for camping. This attracts a lot of inexperienced people who rent kayaks and canoes. It's a super scenic place with a giant rock cliff (video for perspective). This is where all the campers go with their kayaks.

It was very windy today with some very good size waves in that area. As I drive by slowly I spot a man in the water with his kayak waving to attract attention. Little did I know it was going to be the simple rescue. He's very surprised, I reassure him and rescue him, tow his gear and everything is fine.

I head back out and within 5 min, farther away with nobody around, I spot a kayak banging against the rock cliff. Nobody visible. I get closer and find a man between the kayak and rock cliff being thrashed against the rocks (head specifically) tethered by a rope to a tiny dog. Just said "please help me". Shock, hypothermic, can't move at all. Ended up dragging him onto my ski via his PFD straps. Yes the dog is ok too.

To make a long story short, he is now in the hospital recovering.

My Sea-Doo came in particularly handy today. I happen to also have whitewater rescue training (I do whitewater paddling as well). Combined, this saved that man's life today.

PWCs can be a great tool for quick rescues. Also, wear your PFD. It's literally what saved that man's life today.

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

Yeah, pretty sad stuff.

I was involved as one of the first on scene this spring while whitewater kayaking. An experienced paddler lost his life in front of me and others. Made me think long and hard about my activities.

Then, yesterday, I took out my SeaDoo on a very touristy lake. I'll copy paste from another post I did.

******
Well, I saved a life today using my 2023 GTX 230. I went out on Mazinaw Lake, Ontario, Canada. There happens to be one of the most popular provincial parks there for camping. This attracts a lot of inexperienced people who rent kayaks and canoes. It's a super scenic place with a giant rock cliff (video for perspective). This is where all the campers go with their kayaks.

It was very windy today with some very good size waves in that area. As I drive by slowly I spot a man in the water with his kayak waving to attract attention. Little did I know it was going to be the simple rescue. He's very surprised, I reassure him and rescue him, tow his gear and everything is fine.

I head back out and within 5 min, farther away with nobody around, I spot a kayak banging against the rock cliff. Nobody visible. I get closer and find a man between the kayak and rock cliff being thrashed against the rocks (head specifically) tethered by a rope to a tiny dog. Just said "please help me". Shock, hypothermic, can't move at all. Ended up dragging him onto my ski via his PFD straps. Yes the dog is ok too.

To make a long story short, he is now in the hospital recovering.

My Sea-Doo came in particularly handy today. I happen to also have whitewater rescue training (I do whitewater paddling as well). Combined, this saved that man's life today.

PWCs can be a great tool for quick rescues. Also, wear your PFD. It's literally what saved that man's life today.

Luc, you get a thousand gold stars and a week in the corner of excellence!

Well done!

 

[Julian]

Good job! This is part of the reason why one of our sticky threads is on the topic of drowning and what to look for!

https://jetboaters.net/threads/drowning-doesnt-look-like-drowning-read-this-please.732/

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

And another one, what are these people thinking who can’t swim going out on paddle boards without a pfd on??? And typical of msm media there is a glaring mistake.. there are no “swift currents“ in that part of the lake, I can’t think of anywhere on that lake that there are swift currents.. and again, no mention about the lack of a pfd.

UPDATE: Drowning victim recovered at Lake Pactola

UPDATE (7:59 p.m.): The Pennington County Sheriff's Office reports that the male drowning victim's body was located and recovered in the area they were last seen at Lake Pactola. The

www.newscenter1.tv