Tennessee Canoe Death

[Zcoker]

Out canoeing in the middle of the night out on lake chickamauga when their canoe flipped. THREE people in this canoe, one of which died. 25 year old young male. The other two swam to shore and were rescued later on. Nothing was mentioned about lifejackets. Probably not wearing them because the kid was found later on in 7 feet of water.

[TnRiver46]

Hmm Water temps are above 60, they must have ventured a far ways from land or couldn’t swim 

[TnRiver46]

Found a little more info, two of them swam to shore and made a fire. No life jackets even onboard the canoe 

[gim]

2 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

No life jackets even onboard the canoe 

As my Grandfather always said "sh** for brains."

 

Such a shame and totally preventable.

[Bankc]

Everything thinks they're a lot better swimmer than they are.  I know I do.  And I also know that two out of three people I know who drowned were really strong swimmers.  The third was a kid at a large family gathering where several adults were keeping an eye on them.  

 

PFD's are like seat belts.  You don't wear them because you're a bad driver.  You wear them because things happen outside of your control.  

[Fishingmickey]

Stupid is as stupid does.

 

[gim]

27 minutes ago, Bankc said:

PFD's are like seat belts. 

Except that its not the law to wear PFDs.  They only have to be "accessible."

 

My understanding is that seat belts are required by state law everywhere now.  Until that happens with PFDs, a relatively high percentage of boaters/anglers/swimmers aren't going to wear them.

 

Same with motorcycle helmets.  Everyone knows they save people's lives when worn.  But they aren't required in every state, so some riders choose not to wear them.

 

I hate to say it, but there are a lot of people out there that would just say "watch your own bobber" if you questioned why they weren't wearing a PFD or motorcycle helmet.

[TnRiver46]

3 hours ago, Fishingmickey said:

Stupid is as stupid does.

 

I’m sure they realize that now, they’ve paid a price. Us calling them names won’t do much good at this point 

[VolFan]

Yeah I’m pretty sure many of us survived things way dumber than that in our teens and 20s. 

[Bankc]

13 hours ago, VolFan said:

Yeah I’m pretty sure many of us survived things way dumber than that in our teens and 20s. 

Yeah, but I was invincible back then.  

[airshot]

We can't fix stupid, when are we going to realize that !

The human "herd" is becoming much weaker as we continue accepting stupidity as the normal. 

[Darth-Baiter]

22 hours ago, Bankc said:

Everything thinks they're a lot better swimmer than they are.  I know I do.  And I also know that two out of three people I know who drowned were really strong swimmers.  The third was a kid at a large family gathering where several adults were keeping an eye on them.  

 

PFD's are like seat belts.  You don't wear them because you're a bad driver.  You wear them because things happen outside of your control.  

not me.  i am an awful swimmer.  AWFUL.  

 

i describe what i do as "trying not to drown".  it isnt swimming.  

oh... heartful wish of peace to the young man, and i hope his friends and family get thru this.  sucks. 

[Tennessee Boy]

Here's some more details

 

https://www.wdef.com/twra-one-dead-after-canoeing-accident-on-harrison-bay/

[airshot]

I was a decent swimmer in my younger days, but having been raised on or near water, I also learned to respect it !!  While I may not always have my safety gear on when in my bigger boat, it is right beside me.  When I had my Kayak, alwsys had my safety gear on.

[WRB]

On 11/16/2023 at 10:27 AM, Darth-Baiter said:

not me.  i am an awful swimmer.  AWFUL.  

 

i describe what i do as "trying not to drown".  it isnt swimming.  

oh... heartful wish of peace to the young man, and i hope his friends and family get thru this.  sucks. 

You fish from a kayak and should learn to be comfortable in the water and  learn to swim. If you have a YMCA near by they offer free swimming lessons, takes about a week.

Tom

[Darth-Baiter]

I can swim.  And I wear PFD 100%.   I’m not a string swimmer.   I know my limits.  I’m not uncomfortable. At all.  I dint do dumb things. 

[ironbjorn]

On 11/15/2023 at 1:59 PM, TnRiver46 said:

Hmm Water temps are above 60, they must have ventured a far ways from land or couldn’t swim 

60* water is cold. You can get hypothermic in water in the 70s.

[Woody B]

6 hours ago, ironbjorn said:

60* water is cold. You can get hypothermic in water in the 70s.

I suspect muscle cramps, panic, or both.   Decades ago myself and a bunch of my friends were at a local lake skiing , swimming ect.  My cousin, a very good swimmer jumped out of the boat, then got a muscle cramp, probably due to the cold water.  He didn't panic, and yelled for help.  We pulled him back into the boat.   

 

 

Added: I meant to include.  We were at a lake in the mountains (Lake James) in early April.  The water temp was probably low to mid 60's.  

[Zcoker]

Ben Milliken has a video where he fell off a local dock and almost died. Hypothermia took hold of him very fast. If it wasn't for two guys walking by, he'd be dead. Had to go to the hospital, was that close. Goes to show that it could be anywhere, not just out on a canoe or kayak! For this canoe death, being at night certainly didn't help, pitch black, confusion, no sense of direction, complete terror....horrible way to go! 

[Bankc]

There's a good reason why a lot of strong swimmers and people who don't think they need PFD's drown. 

 

When you first hit the water, especially if it's cold and you're not prepared for it, your natural instinct is to take a deep breath of air.  This is doubly so if you screamed or shouted on your way into the water.  If you're already underwater when this happens, you'll draw in water instead of air.  And once the water hits your lungs, you very quickly go into hypoxia (within seconds).  Drowning victims (who survive, of course) report a sense of immediate calm and indifference to their fate after breathing in water.  Their brains are oxygen starved, so they're no thinking correctly.  So many drowning victims will just sink to the bottom, without a struggle, while still conscious, and be at peace with that.  And that's why so many people who fall out of a boat or off a pier never surface.  

 

If you can remain calm when you hit the water and avoid the instinct to draw breath, give yourself time to orient yourself, and swim to the surface, you have a lot better chance of survival.  Of course, then you've got hypothermia and muscle cramps to deal with, so you're not out of the woods yet.  But you've given yourself a fighting chance.  

[flyfisher]

60 degree water isn't super cold but at night with lower air temps it will not feel great for sure.  SOrry someone had to lose their life over something that was probably preventable.  I jsut hope others learn from their mistakes.  

 

I mean for me, 3 adults in a canoe is a lotas well, especially if they aren't accustom to being in one. 

[greentrout]

I won't go out in a jon boat with a trolling motor on a small body of water unless another fisherman is with me. I'm retired and old with reflexes/reactions not as good as in my youth.

 

A man's got to know his limitations.

Dirty Harry

[Zcoker]

2 hours ago, Bankc said:

There's a good reason why a lot of strong swimmers and people who don't think they need PFD's drown. 

 

When you first hit the water, especially if it's cold and you're not prepared for it, your natural instinct is to take a deep breath of air.  This is doubly so if you screamed or shouted on your way into the water.  If you're already underwater when this happens, you'll draw in water instead of air.  And once the water hits your lungs, you very quickly go into hypoxia (within seconds).  Drowning victims (who survive, of course) report a sense of immediate calm and indifference to their fate after breathing in water.  Their brains are oxygen starved, so they're no thinking correctly.  So many drowning victims will just sink to the bottom, without a struggle, while still conscious, and be at peace with that.  And that's why so many people who fall out of a boat or off a pier never surface.  

 

If you can remain calm when you hit the water and avoid the instinct to draw breath, give yourself time to orient yourself, and swim to the surface, you have a lot better chance of survival.  Of course, then you've got hypothermia and muscle cramps to deal with, so you're not out of the woods yet.  But you've given yourself a fighting chance.  

 

Thanks for bringing up the physiological aspects of the drowning event, well stated! Most don't know the process and your description covers it very well. 

[Will Ketchum]

When we think of 60 degrees, our usual experience with it is with clothes on and it isn't that bad. Having 60 degree water all over you body is altogether different. Take a shower nekked and adjust the water to that temp.

[A-Jay]

I'll keep posting this is these threads.

Perhaps one or two folks will 'believe it'

and take it to heart.

There's always a few extremes cases of remarkable survivability in cold water.

However the grim reality is that there are far more losses of life.

Stay Safe

A-Jay