My Pfd Testimonial.

[Snakehead Whisperer]

Hello fellow BR members. Perhaps this post is in the wrong section of the forum, but I feel as if this topic is extremely important and that it will get more exposure here on the General Bass Fishing section. Mods please move this if need be.

Let me preface this by saying that I used to be one of those guys who rarely ever wore my PFD. They're bulky and constricting, granted. I made it just fine for years like that. I fish throughout the winter here in the Washington DC area where water temps will dip into the 30's and air temps can get even colder. Hypothermia can strike anytime when the combined air and water temperatures are below 120F. 

 

My better half made me promise that this year I would wear a PFD every minute that I am on the water, and man am I glad that she did. 

 

So... earlier today a good friend and I were out fishing the Potomac River here in DC and having a decent day. I was wearing my PFD (as promised) and we were catching decent fish near the Kennedy Center wall. On our way back to the launch we were moving at a brisk pace beneath the 14th St. bridge, which is actually 5 bridges. We were greeted by a massive barge wake and the barge was between the next set of abutments, so we didn't see it until it was too late. I was ejected from the boat into the 50 degree river, and the air temps were in the low 50's. Once in the water I went into slight shock. I grew up swimming, but this was totally different. My boat capsized, and I was probably 30' from it. 

 

At first I panicked a bit, which left me feeling exhausted after about 10 seconds (literally.) Then I remembered to be calm and conserve energy and heat. I kept my body in the HELP position and made my way slowly to a floating cooler, which was much closer to me than the hull. Once I had a hold of the cooler I slowly paddled back to the boat while holding the cooler for extra buoyancy. Thankfully my friend landed much closer to the boat and was able to pull himself onto the hull quickly. I made it shortly afterword. 

 

Once we were safely on the hull was when it dawned on me that we would not survive if we were out there for too long. Calling for help was not an option as our electronics were all submerged and the closest phone was floating 100' from the boat in a dry box. Thankfully a boater happened by us within the first 5 minutes, and helped us aboard his boat. His name was Steve, he really saved us today. He then called the Harbor Police to assist. 

 

The DC Harbor Police, DCFD and Steve saved us today; but had it not been for the PFD's they probably wouldn't have found us alive. The Harbor Police also managed to save my boat, tow it to the launch and help me to load it onto the trailer. Thanks guys! 

 

This subject is a little bit humiliating and embarrassing to talk about, but it is the least that I can do to share my story with you all. Ladies and gentlemen of Bass Resource, make no mistake about it... my PFD saved my life today.

 

Please remember to always wear your PFD's. If you don't have a comfortable one to fish in, then bite the bullet and buy one that you will actually wear all the time. It could very well save your life one day. Mine was worth every penny I paid for it. And please remember to travel at a safe rate of speed during the colder months, we can't afford to fall in the water when it's cold. 

 

Thanks in advance for reading this.

 

-Andrew

 

ps. The PFD I was wearing was a BPS XPS class III. I don't particularly care for inflatables, so I bought this one as it's light and comfortable. It also has a lot of pockets and is probably a good choice for wading.

[slonezp]

Glad you're ok Andrew.

[Snakehead Whisperer]

Glad you're ok Andrew.

Thanks man. 

[whitwolf]

Thanks for sharing this Andrew! There are many, many times we need to be reminded how quickly trouble can come upon us and being as prepared as you can can save you.

[Snakehead Whisperer]

Thanks for sharing this Andrew! There are many, many times we need to be reminded how quickly trouble can come upon us and being as prepared as you can can save you.

This is so true. I am just thankful that this happened after I manned up and not before, as I'd be a goner. 

[CayMar]

I'm glad you made it out of there too. That is a scary situation. I had a similar situation in a flooded creek without my pfd on. Lesson learned. Did you lose all the gear you had with you?

[Snakehead Whisperer]

I'm glad you made it out of there too. That is a scary situation. I had a similar situation in a flooded creek without my pfd on. Lesson learned. Did you lose all the gear you had with you?

Thanks. It was really scary. Glad you made it onto land safely.

 

I lost the following... 4 St. Croix Premier rods, 2 Abu reels, 1 Shimano and 1 BPS PQ. Several tackle boxes (I drilled holes in them to let water out, but that also lets water in.) Didn't lose too much else, but the rods were out and not secured all that well. My outboard was also submerged for over an hour.

[shootermcbob]

Thanks for sharing your story. I am glad that you and your friend are ok.

 

I am sending you a pm as well.

[Dwight Hottle]

Great cold water topic. I'll bet you thanked your wife when you got home. Thanks for bringing the subject to light and I'm glad you & your buddy made it to fish another day.

[Missourifishin]

Thank you for sharing your story. I'm really glad you and your friend are ok. And kudos to Steve the boater, and the police for helping you.

[Snakehead Whisperer]

Great cold water topic. I'll bet you thanked your wife when you got home. Thanks for bringing the subject to light and I'm glad you & your buddy made it to fish another day.

Thanks Dwight. I sure did thank her. My life flashed before my eyes today, and I'm just glad that I got to see her again at the end of the day. I have a family who needs me, and I them.

 

We'll definitely be back out there before too long. 

 

Thank you for sharing your story. I'm really glad you and your friend are ok. And kudos to Steve the boater, and the police for helping you.

Thanks. If it weren't for those peoples selfless actions today I wouldn't be posting this. 

[Darren.]

Great story, Andrew - in that your life was saved by a PFD. Sorry you had to go through all that, though.

 

My wife was just telling me today of a horror story she overheard at a soccer game of a guy lost overboard earlier today in North Carolina. People on the sidelines were saying the man's shoes were found, but no sign of him yet. Was alone, fishing in a sound. Very sad. Do not know the outcome of the fisherman at this point. Sure hope with all hope I can muster, that he made it to shore alive. No idea if he wore a PFD or not.

 

Anyhow, I was telling my wife that I *always* wear a PFD in my kayak. Always. I can think of no reason to NOT wear one, even when it gets so hot I can't stand it. I always think of what awaits me at home. I don't want to leave my boys fatherless, or my wife w/o a husband.

 

PFDs are 100% all-the-time for me. When I see people (usually recreational types) out on the water in yaks w/o PFDs I cringe. If i owned a bass boat, I'd probably have an inflatable PFD on my body at all times, too.

[Snakehead Whisperer]

Great story, Andrew - in that your life was saved by a PFD. Sorry you had to go through all that, though.

 

My wife was just telling me today of a horror story she overheard at a soccer game of a guy lost overboard earlier today in North Carolina. People on the sidelines were saying the man's shoes were found, but no sign of him yet. Was alone, fishing in a sound. Very sad. Do not know the outcome of the fisherman at this point. Sure hope with all hope I can muster, that he made it to shore alive. No idea if he wore a PFD or not.

 

Anyhow, I was telling my wife that I *always* wear a PFD in my kayak. Always. I can think of no reason to NOT wear one, even when it gets so hot I can't stand it. I always think of what awaits me at home. I don't want to leave my boys fatherless, or my wife w/o a husband.

 

PFDs are 100% all-the-time for me. When I see people (usually recreational types) out on the water in yaks w/o PFDs I cringe. If i owned a bass boat, I'd probably have an inflatable PFD on my body at all times, too.

Just telling it like it is I hope that everyone is already wearing their PFD's; but if not, maybe someone will read this and at least think about it. 

 

I really hope the guy in NC made it back on dry land safely. The death toll on the Potomac River is staggering every year, and sometimes even shore anglers get swept up by this powerful river. I really can't stress it enough that safety on the water should be the first concern. 

 

My PFD is a 100% of the time thing for me too. But there was a time in my life when I thought that I didn't need it. All I could think about after everything that happened today was how thankful I am that I wised up, and how stupid I was before. The situation today was completely beyond my control, and it can happen to anybody. I see people out on the water without PFD's quite a bit too, and it's scary. Like I said earlier I am a good swimmer, but that didn't help all that much today. From now on I will never see this issue the same again, and I will not let anybody on my boat who isn't wearing a PFD ever again. I'm also going to go easy on the throttle until it warms up again.

 

I'm exhausted after all that's happened, but now that I'm warmed up it's time to go out and try to salvage my motor. It's an old 2 stroke so hopefully it will be ok; but it was running when it went under, so who knows. 

[MitchTBF]

Wow, glad you and your buddy made it out ok. Thank you for sharing this story, I'll remember next time I am tempted to take mine off.

[00 mod]

Glad the two of you made it out alive!  Lessons learned, as I admit to not wearing my pdf as much as I should.  Can you give a little more detail about your boat as well!

 

Jeff

[Fishing Rhino]

Great story.  Glad it had a happy ending.

[Todd2]

Thanks for sharing. I'm glad you're ok. Great message. Wear those PFDs and kill switches everytime you take off!

[Smokinal]

Thank you for posting this, sir. I was out this morning in 33 deg air and 51 deg water, windy as all getup...all bundled up in layer after layer that, if wet, would be unswimable/unfloatable. You should not be embarrassed to tell your story. Rather, I am embarrassed to admit that I never wear a pfd.

I, Smokinal, pledge that I will aquire and wear a pfd in cold water situations. I, too, have a family here at home and they need me to return. Thank you again for posting. It got me thinking...

[quanjig]

Andrew, glad you and your buddy were able to tell this story. I am very familiar with the bridges right there and have encountered the same "woah, where did these come from" waves while fishing the railroad bridges just below the 14th st bridges! I was showing the wife's family around the district all weekend and saw several boaters enjoying the nice weather. Glad you will be able to continue the journey!!

[A-Jay]

Glad you & your friend made it home safe.

Though your story did not end in loss of live - it very well could have and often does.

 Dead men can't tell their story so it's very important that you tell yours.

The acronym for Personal Flotation Device- PFD, has all but replaced the items real name -

 

Life Jacket - and yours certainly was that on this day.

 

After almost 30 years of Search & Rescue, I've had a front row seat for many of these stories, both good and bad.  The one thing I'll pass on is this - I've Never taken a Life Jacket off a Dead Man.

 

Stay Safe.

 

A-Jay

[Snakehead Whisperer]

Glad the two of you made it out alive!  Lessons learned, as I admit to not wearing my pdf as much as I should.  Can you give a little more detail about your boat as well!

 

Jeff

Thank you. I certainly learned my lesson.

 

The boat is like a go-cart. It's a 1448 flat bottom welded jon boat w/ a 25hp Merc. It'll do 30+mph with ease, which is too fast when it's choppy out there and the water is cold. Probably too fast period in a vessel of that size. I thought I could handle it today but then things got really real, really fast. The boat will be fine, as I keep it pretty stripped down. Thankfully I pulled off the bow mount trolling motor recently, as that would've been expensive if it got messed up. 

 

As for the motor, I just got back from checking it out. Washed the sand out of it, pulled the plugs and squirted some oil in there, and then gave it a few tugs. It seems to be moving freely inside, which is good because I have heard horror stories of motors throwing a rod when they get submerged while running. Tomorrow I'll squirt some oil in the carb, hook it up to the muffs and hopefully run it for a good long while. Lost my cowling too :'(

[Grizzn N Bassin]

Glad you guys are Safe and sound .. that's crazy sir!

[Snakehead Whisperer]

Thanks to all who've posted. I'm glad that this thread is being read.

 

Thank you for posting this, sir. I was out this morning in 33 deg air and 51 deg water, windy as all getup...all bundled up in layer after layer that, if wet, would be unswimable/unfloatable. You should not be embarrassed to tell your story. Rather, I am embarrassed to admit that I never wear a pfd.

I, Smokinal, pledge that I will aquire and wear a pfd in cold water situations. I, too, have a family here at home and they need me to return. Thank you again for posting. It got me thinking...

I'm glad that you're going to wear one. It's not worth risking it, especially out there in that kind of cold.

 

I admit that I've thought to myself before that 50 degree water can't be that cold, but nothing could have prepared me for what it actually feels like. If the air temp had been in the 30's today, it probably would've been much worse for us. I'm pretty good under pressure, but I was freaking out for a moment there. 

 

Please stick to it, and wear the PFD.

 

Andrew, glad you and your buddy were able to tell this story. I am very familiar with the bridges right there and have encountered the same "woah, where did these come from" waves while fishing the railroad bridges just below the 14th st bridges! I was showing the wife's family around the district all weekend and saw several boaters enjoying the nice weather. Glad you will be able to continue the journey!!

The Harbor Police told me that the area around the 14th St. bridge is hands down the area where they do the most reconnaissance of capsized vessels, and often bodies unfortunately. Take care out there.

 

Glad you & your friend made it home safe.

Though your story did not end in loss of live - it very well could have and often does.

 Dead men can't tell their story so it's very important that you tell yours.

The acronym for Personal Flotation Device- PFD, has all but replaced the items real name -

 

Life Jacket - and yours certainly was that on this day.

 

After almost 30 years of Search & Rescue, I've had a front row seat for many of these stories, both good and bad.  The one thing I'll pass on is this - I've Never taken a Life Jacket off a Dead Man.

 

Stay Safe.

 

A-Jay

This post really struck a nerve. We can't take our lives for granted, as any thing can happen at any time. Wearing my life jacket today gave me a fighting chance in an otherwise bleak situation. Thanks for the kind and thoughtful words.

[Topwaterspook]

Andrew, I am thankful that you both survived the incident. In the last few years I've been wearing an inflatable life vest. Your point is well taken. Thanks for relating your story for all of us.

[Bankbeater]

Wow, glad you guys are ok.