JanetL Posted August 11, 2021 Share Posted August 11, 2021 I’m sure some of the folks here know some of the people involved. Really well-done rescue IMO and I hope Mike is recovering well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mhabich Posted August 11, 2021 Share Posted August 11, 2021 Yes, looks like they got the rescue done efficiently. This all happened in what we’d think of as easy conditions. Just a couple of bigger waves… Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joseph Berkovitz Posted August 11, 2021 Share Posted August 11, 2021 Great video. The area is off the outside of Eagle Island. Lots of things to learn or reinforce here and there was great teamwork. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLConaway Posted August 11, 2021 Share Posted August 11, 2021 (edited) Wow. Very interesting to see a number of the skills we practiced at the Marblehead skill session used in this video. Incredibly instructional. And sobering. I hope he recovers quickly. Also, I think this is off of Cushing Island, not Eagle Island. Edited August 11, 2021 by BLConaway Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inverseyourself Posted August 12, 2021 Share Posted August 12, 2021 Well executed rescue. Hope he recovers before the fall season. Could happen to anyone of us. When they were contemplating how to get him on their rafted-up boats’ foredeck a bridle came to my mind. Had he been or become more incapacitated, someone could have approached with Mike’s boat and floated him in to rescue him. Not without potential hazards but if Mike had had progressive impairment of consciousness it would have been important to get him out of the water quickly. This demonstrates the importance to maintain steady verbal communication with the rescuee to assess level of consciousness, especially if there was a witnessed man vs. rock or kayak vs. man scenario. Just to throw it in, I always ask about blood thinners w potential head trauma. Thanks for publishing this video! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rfolster Posted August 12, 2021 Share Posted August 12, 2021 7 hours ago, Inverseyourself said: When they were contemplating how to get him on their rafted-up boats’ foredeck a bridle came to my mind. Had he been or become more incapacitated, someone could have approached with Mike’s boat and floated him in to rescue him. Not without potential hazards but if Mike had had progressive impairment of consciousness it would have been important to get him out of the water quickly. Knowing afterwards the extent of injury to his torso, I wonder if leaving him in the water actually prevented further injury. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inverseyourself Posted August 12, 2021 Share Posted August 12, 2021 (edited) 19 minutes ago, rfolster said: Knowing afterwards the extent of injury to his torso, I wonder if leaving him in the water actually prevented further injury. Good point. He could also have had a neck injury and too much handling could have aggravated that. Had they not been met by the boat, though, he would have had to come out of the water pretty soon, especially once the situation developed into “Talk to me Mike!!!” Edited August 12, 2021 by Inverseyourself Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rfolster Posted August 12, 2021 Share Posted August 12, 2021 Absolutely! Situations like that are always fluid (sorry for the pun), and decisions are rapid and frequent. The right decision in one moment could be the wrong one in the next moment. My only wish from the video was to have been able to see the lift into the fishing boat. I have been tossing images of that around my head for a bit, and can’t settle on what might have worked best. On a WW rafting trip, I had to pull swimmers back into the raft by grabbing the shoulder straps and just hauling their body over the side tubes. I might hesitate on that move with someone complaining of not being able to raise their arm (as opposed to a direct “my arm hurts”) since that is a lot of tarsal manipulation. Not sure there is any one “right” way of doing it, but whatever they did got him in the boat pretty quick, which is good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rfolster Posted August 12, 2021 Share Posted August 12, 2021 Something else that I was just thinking about is immersion clothing. I think that many of us are guilty from time to time of thinking that what we wear will be sufficient because the people we are with will be able to help us out of the water in couple of minutes, especially on those hot summer days. Might be worth taking the occasional extended swim in a controlled setting to test our thought processes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Sylvester Posted August 12, 2021 Share Posted August 12, 2021 In the off season with colder water and less boat traffic around it would have been harder. Maybe land and get off the water asap? Once hurt and out of boat should the vic. have tried to stay on shore if possible? I carry an old BCU bag. Basically it's a bivy made out of strong plastic and is bright orange. I believe it is strong enough if handled right to use as a litter to get someone out of the water and across a few rear decks. It would take quite an effort by a few and may aggravate injuries. But it would give handholds and some level of support. Just thinking.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EEL Posted August 12, 2021 Share Posted August 12, 2021 Sobering reminder of many things, not the least of which is, "There, but for the grace of God, go I." "Just a couple of bigger waves… " That is the catch isn't it? There are always bigger waves. Sad Mike did not make it out on first try...very sad. Looks to me like Mike had setup to scoot out on the next swell, but the next swell was an outlier. As to rescue, seems another example of no good options and you hope you pick the least damaging one. All things considered, having him on a boat traveling to the hospital in @10 minutes is remarkable and impressive. Given Mike's personality, observing him trending toward being non-responsive must have been terrifying to those with him. Ed Lawson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inverseyourself Posted August 13, 2021 Share Posted August 13, 2021 (edited) I wonder whether the pleasure boater had his VHF on 16 and heard the call or whether he was fishing close by and saw that something was off. In any case, shout out to him! Also impressed by the relatively early decision to place a Mayday call. I think that’s always a big step. Edited August 13, 2021 by Inverseyourself Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigBird Posted August 30, 2021 Share Posted August 30, 2021 Great video. So, hypothetically speaking of course, what would you do in this situation if you were alone? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnHuth Posted September 2, 2021 Share Posted September 2, 2021 Any word on how he's doing? Ribs, shoulder, and lung injuries sound pretty serious. Hopefully, recovering. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JanetL Posted September 2, 2021 Author Share Posted September 2, 2021 1 hour ago, JohnHuth said: Any word on how he's doing? Ribs, shoulder, and lung injuries sound pretty serious. Hopefully, recovering. I paddled with the videographer last weekend; sounds like he's doing as well as can be expected. Has some healing to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inverseyourself Posted September 3, 2021 Share Posted September 3, 2021 On 8/30/2021 at 6:22 PM, BigBird said: Great video. So, hypothetically speaking of course, what would you do in this situation if you were alone? It depends on how incapacitated you are. The person to ask would be the paddler in the video. Would he have been able to get himself on the rocks with those injuries? Set off a mayday call himself? Set off flares? Whistle to attract boaters’ attention? I really hope he’s healing well. It would be great to hear his side of the story one day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EEL Posted September 3, 2021 Share Posted September 3, 2021 I don't know, but it would not surprise me if Mike participates to some extent in the Sept. 22 SMSKN program. So might hear his side of story. I heard he is home, but recovery probably lengthy. My SWAG from the video is there was a slight delay caused by repositioning boat, got to the pour over late, stalled out on the drop , and was pushed back. If the next swell was smaller, would have been no big deal, but it wasn't. Shows how critical timing can be. Ed Lawson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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