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FLOAT PLAN

C

cntry141iq

Silent Prop
R. I. P.
A friend of mine called me tonight very upset it seems his daughter and her significant other went airboating on okeechobee with out anyone knowing where they were going. They sunk the boat around noon and were still missing at 8pm when he called me to come with my boat to take him out on the search for them. The last contact with them was around noon and they were walking in waist deep water somewhere in the vicinity of sportsmans canal. They had abandoned the boat and were attempting to walk out. The cell phone battery went dead.

The coast guard found them with night vision equipment and that is the last update I got from him. I had just hooked to my boat in the pouring down rain gassed it up and was pulling out to go when he called as the chopper was landing with them in it.

So at the risk of offending someone here I have some suggestions ... ALWAYS LET SOMEONE KNOW WHERE YOU ARE PLANNING ON GOING.
ALWAYS LET SOMEONE KNOW WHEN YOU EXPECT TO BE BACK.
ALWAYS STAY WITH YOUR BOAT IF AT ALL POSSIBLE.
ALWAYS HAVE EMERGENCY WATER ON YOUR BOAT THAT IS IN A SEPERATE PLACE FROM YOUR USUAL SUPPLY..JUST FOR EMERGENCIES.
ALWAYS HAVE AN EMERGENCY FLASHLIGHT TO SIGNAL WITH AT NIGHT.
ALWAYS WAIT TILL NIGHT TO TRY AND SIGNAL .. NO ONE CAN SEE YOU IN THE DAYTIME VERY EASILY.
ALWAYS REMAIN CALM SOMEONE WILL EVENTUALLY COME FOR YOU IF THEY KNOW AND ONCE IT GETS DARK YOU CAN SUMMON HELP FOR A LONG WAYS BY SHINING YOUR LIGHT STRAIGHT UP IN THE AIR IN A CIRCULAR MOTION.

AND IF YOU KNOW SOMEONE IS OVER DUE GIVE THEM A LITTLE SLACK BUT DON'T WAIT TO LONG TO SUMMON HELP WE REALLY WOULD RATHER BE PUT OUT A LITTLE INSTAED OF DOING A BODY RECOVERY.

I grew up with this gentleman who called me tonight he is a tough man and he was cryin when he called me that was his kid out there all he could say was he shoulda called sooner.. fortunately this story has a happy ending but it could have been much different.
 
I'm happy to hear that it turned out OK. I know that feeling, it is awful. These boats are like airplanes, they can get you somwhere in a few minutes that is pretty remote.
 
141,

That was part of my "safe boating" course that I took last year.
Very important stuff.
Don't forgert the Spam!

Basketcase
 
cntry141....glad to hear it turned out ok.

You are definitely right about staying calm. That will get you you through a lot of bad times if you make yourself stay calm. GREAT ADVICE through the whole post!!!!

Adam
 
Good advice above Cntry.
I always try and tell someone where WE are going. I always feel better going out with at least one companion boat. Especially at night.

I always got never leave the boat drilled into me. I was always told that they will find your boat long before they find you in the marsh.

Of course the boat involved may not have been in a situation to accomodate continued occupation.

I'm glad those folks got out ok, and thanks for posting this. Perhaps more folks will start thinking "what if" for a moment.

Makes me feel bad that some one was in trouble, and I would like to help in situations like that if I'm able.

Perhaps we could have an airboat emergency call up page. Break it up into zones for the state or country, and have volunteers in those zones put up contact numbers if they wish, for the areas they are familliar with.

This way Southern Airboaters can tell their families before they go out....
Where the contact info is located on this site.
Where they are going. "Specifics"
When they should be considered "past due for returning"

Most airboaters have friends who are their emergency call network, like the call you got Cntry.

Who's your family gonna call if you don't make it back? Will they be able to respond?

Southern Airboat Emergency Response Volunteer. SERV

Just an idea.
 
Cowboy, I couldn't agree more about an emergency call out list done by regions. I was thinking the same thing as I was reading the post and came to yours. I'm still a bit of a novice, but I would be more the willing to participate.
 
Good point Cowboy I talked to Rick about that list quite sometime ago but there has been so much going on it just hasn't happened yet. We have a good start on one from the list on the melbourne run. Posting someones contact info while it seems like a good thing can backfire because this site is viewable by the public at large and some idiot will misuse the information. There needs to be aprivate area that a number of semi-administrators can access in a time of need. And trust me you were one of the numbers I was looking for while preparing to leave.

I got an update this morning .. lots of minor cuts and scrapes from sawgras and bushes boat still not found but apparently no major injuries at least not until her dad gets her home anyways. LOL
 
Cntry141iq,

One of our FAA members is staying at his place on Okeechobee as I write this. There are a half dozen airboats at his and next door. They will help. I will PM you with my contact info and if you'll get back to me they will almost certainly help with boat location and recovery.
 
UNLESS YOUR BOAT IS ON THE BOTTOM AND THE WATER IS TOO THICK TO BREATHE ... THEN YOU GOTTA.

Thanks for the call BIG DADDY they said they have it under control .. not sure what that means but sounds like they don't need any help anyways at this time. I really appreciate the response and it will only get better and faster in the future.
 
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