Be Careful Out There in Your Parker

[J.A. Veil]

In 1987 before I owned my own boat, I was a passenger on a friend's boat (about a 20' skiff). We had a nice June boat ride in Tampa Bay. In the afternoon a thunder storm passed through. Even though we were clear of the storm, the relatively shallow water whipped up into a 3' chop. My friend was not a skilled boater. We kept taking on a gallon or so of spray on each wave. He had neglected to tell us that the bilge pump was not working. After a while enough water accumulated in the stern that he told me to go back and bail it our with our Tupperware lunch box. As I shifted my weight to the rear, the cutout transom went below water level and the boat filled with water and flipped -- all in about 10 seconds.

Of course none of us were wearing life jackets -- they were tucked in a cooler underneath. We did not want to swim down to find them because we might have become tangled in the fishing gear and trapped under water. We were in the water for 45 minutes before being rescued by a passing boater. It was a very unpleasant experience that I never want to repeat. As soon as I bought a boat, I found a comfortable life jacket that I wear at all times I am under way, even on a 95-deg day. The rest of my family does the same thing.

We lucked out once -- I don't want to take that chance again.

 

[Parker23]

deleted post, sorry if caused a problem.

 

[Graybeard]

Esteemed fellow Parker owners,
I missed the photo, but; when you talk about life jackets I have a lot to say. Back in the mispent hylceon days of my youth, I used to race a one design sailboat. It was early April and I was sailing in the Patomac River Sailing Asso Spring Series. It was a windy and chilly morning, but; it wasn't too bad when the sun broke through the clouds. I was wearing a wet suit, foul weather gear, sailing boots, gloves, a hat and thankfully my life jacket. Because........during the second race the entire fleet got cut down by a massive cold front that turned the Patomac into a raging turrent and capsized all the boats on the race course. Numerous boats were ruined, many of the racers, including me, had to be treated for hypothermia, some had serious injuries and 1 person was lost. I was one of the last persons pulled from the drink and when they pulled me into the rescue boat my legs wouldn't work and I couldn't make my mouth work to tell the Police who I was. Without my life jacket on I don't know how things would have turned out. Now I have one of the automatic inflatable life jackets and I use it

 

[TheOtherLine]

I'm ready.....

 

[gerg]

One can still buy a 32-foot yacht with not even an hour of boating experience on the water and cruise away.

Funny that. I just bought a 35' downeast, and when I went to get quotes from insurance agents one of them told me a number of insurers were balking at the jump in length of boat (25 to 35 feet). I had to give them additional info on my experience to get some quotes.

Hopefully, this is a trend and it will become harder for people with no experience to buy dangerous weapons........

Just a thought anyway.

 

[MaxOut]

Am I missing something? No Pictures?

Not sure what this is about but one thing I have learned one my 25 plus years of boating experience is expect the unexpected and always calculate your risk.

Something I learned from a good pilot friend of mine-

"A good pilot is always looking for a place to land even when nothing seems to be wrong"

I use this same mentality when boating and always have an escape plan in the back of my mind. I too do not wear a PFD but anyone who cannot swim absolutely will on my boat. And if things get rough everyone will have one on. I am not a shinning example of safety and preparedness but when other lives I am responsible for are involved I do not take chances. With all the hype on recent events wears off I hope everyone still remembers the risks and is prepared. I wish all here a safe and fun boating season! FISH ON!!