We never really bothered to carry life jackets on our boat in the past. You see, we were all experienced water men. All of our friends loved to sail, and most of them were excellent swimmers. We never thought personal flotation devices were really necessary. Of course, we all know the law ? every boat is required to carry one personal flotation device for every person on board. Nonetheless,we kind of ignored it. The lake we live on is pretty remote from any Coast Guard or waterfront sheriffs. There is no one there to even check out the registration on our boat ? much less our personal flotation devices. In retrospect, I wish we had been a little bit more careful. Buying a life jacket or two does not cost very much money, and our negligence almost cost us the life of a dear friend.
It did not seem to make much sense to carry flotation vests. Every square inch of space on our boat was pretty much occupied, and a selection of personal flotation devices would have just made things more crowded. We had tackle, we had gear for the sails, we had navigational equipment, and on most days, we had a picnic lunch as well. There was no need for personal flotation devices ? the lake was always too calm. If anything, things seemed too safe to us. It was always too calm and too serene. The sailing was boring. Then we got the thrill of our life. It was not all I had hoped it would be.
As I said, we were all experienced sailors. Nevertheless, we could barely keep the boat up. The storm came out of nowhere, and we were tossed about. Although the boat did not capsize, we lost a few people overboard. We had no personal flotation devices, and one of the crew overboard was my friend Steve.
He could some a little bit, but he was definitely a week swim wear. With no personal flotation devices to throw to him, he was left struggling in the water. By the time we finally rescued him, he was sputtering and nearly unconscious. A few more minutes more and he could have drowned. If we had prepared for the worst case scenario, we could have thrown personal flotation devices to him. Any personal flotation device ? be it a life ring, a life jacket, or a floating cushion ? would be enough. Unfortunately, we brought nothing along.
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