A
Anonymous
Guest
How many boating rules were broken in this story?
It sounds to me like someone needs a safe boating course.
If Marion and Alachua counties had citizen airboat CERT teams, they could have been called out and the two found far sooner.
WaterLizard 8)
http://www.gainesville.com/apps/pbcs.dl ... /1078/news
Mar 18, 2006
Boaters rescued after lake ordeal
For about eight hours overnight, two north Marion County residents clung to a capsized airboat in Orange Lake, holding out for the Friday morning light and the chance of rescue.
Kevin Connery, 54, and Mary Schettler, 45, were thrown into the lake at about 7 p.m. when their airboat flipped over in the water about a half-mile from shore. Throughout the night, the two hung on, huddled together in the darkness on about 2 feet of boat that remained above water.
Rescuers spotted the pair and brought them to shore at about 3:30 a.m.
Schettler, a horse farm manager, said both she and Connery had no injuries but were sore after the ordeal. "It was down in the 50s last night and when you are wet and not moving, I think that's why we were so sore," she said Friday.
The two had gone out to use Connery's airboat, which he got a few weeks ago. He turned the boat around when it became caught in a wake. Water sloshed into the boat, and it overturned.
"It was just a fluke thing," Schettler said.
Schettler said they had no choice but to hang on and hope someone would spot them.
"We weren't going to swim in that stuff," noting that the water is filled with alligators.
The two couldn't see the gators, but Schettler said they could hear them.
"Did I think an alligator was going to come and snatch me off the boat? No. Did I like where I was at? No," she said. "On the way back in, the EMS guy said to me, 'You're pretty tough. You should have seen the size of some of the gators when we were coming to get you.' "
The lake, located near the Alachua-Marion county line, has "a very healthy population" of alligators, ranging from juvenile to 9- to 10-foot reptiles weighing 300 to 400 pounds, said Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission spokeswoman Karen Parker.
The fact that it's still early in the year probably helped keep the alligators away from Connery and Schettler, Parker said. With the weather still chilly, the animals are sluggish and lethargic.
"They haven't really got all their wits together yet," Parker said.
To pass the time, Connery and Schettler tried to keep warm, chatted and sang "100 Bottles of Beer on the Wall" until they were too exhausted to continue.
It was at about 1 a.m. that Schettler said they caught a lucky break.
"Thank God for a dog. We heard a dog barking on shore. We both started screaming to try and wake someone up," Schettler said.
The plan worked and the two finally heard someone call from shore, "We're coming," Schettler said.
But when more time passed and no one showed up, Schettler began to wonder if she really had heard a rescuer's voice. Cold and disoriented, she said she began asking Connery, "We both heard somebody say they're coming, didn't we? Maybe we didn't hear that. Maybe we're both in the same dream here.
"But when I saw the helicopter and they found us, it was relief," Schettler said.
Schettler said she managed to remain calm and focused on the hope of rescue during the night. But with help now in sight, she began to shiver uncontrollably. "I didn't have a true meltdown until I saw the helicopter. Cold and fear just took over, and I lost it."
The Marion County Sheriff's Office received a phone call from a resident who reported hearing shouts for help coming from the lake. The Alachua County Sheriff's Office was contacted and sent out marine and air units. But, while waiting for the marine unit and concerned about how long the pair had been in the water, other deputies ended up going door-to-door to nearby homes to find a boat. They woke up Marion County resident Rex Mattix who, with deputies, headed out in his boat to pick them up Schettler and Connery.
Later Friday, after a few hours sleep and a warm shower, Schettler said she and Connery planned to try and find those who helped save them so they could thank them. That, she said, would include a biscuit for the dog that first heard their screams for help - once they find it.
And, she noted, Connery is Irish and the two are grateful this St. Patrick's Day for whatever brought them luck in alerting rescuers.
But the next time Schettler heads out with Connery on an airboat, she said she won't count on good fortune. The pair plan to alert someone where they're going and when they're due back so someone knows where they are if they don't come home.
It sounds to me like someone needs a safe boating course.
If Marion and Alachua counties had citizen airboat CERT teams, they could have been called out and the two found far sooner.
WaterLizard 8)
http://www.gainesville.com/apps/pbcs.dl ... /1078/news
Mar 18, 2006
Boaters rescued after lake ordeal
For about eight hours overnight, two north Marion County residents clung to a capsized airboat in Orange Lake, holding out for the Friday morning light and the chance of rescue.
Kevin Connery, 54, and Mary Schettler, 45, were thrown into the lake at about 7 p.m. when their airboat flipped over in the water about a half-mile from shore. Throughout the night, the two hung on, huddled together in the darkness on about 2 feet of boat that remained above water.
Rescuers spotted the pair and brought them to shore at about 3:30 a.m.
Schettler, a horse farm manager, said both she and Connery had no injuries but were sore after the ordeal. "It was down in the 50s last night and when you are wet and not moving, I think that's why we were so sore," she said Friday.
The two had gone out to use Connery's airboat, which he got a few weeks ago. He turned the boat around when it became caught in a wake. Water sloshed into the boat, and it overturned.
"It was just a fluke thing," Schettler said.
Schettler said they had no choice but to hang on and hope someone would spot them.
"We weren't going to swim in that stuff," noting that the water is filled with alligators.
The two couldn't see the gators, but Schettler said they could hear them.
"Did I think an alligator was going to come and snatch me off the boat? No. Did I like where I was at? No," she said. "On the way back in, the EMS guy said to me, 'You're pretty tough. You should have seen the size of some of the gators when we were coming to get you.' "
The lake, located near the Alachua-Marion county line, has "a very healthy population" of alligators, ranging from juvenile to 9- to 10-foot reptiles weighing 300 to 400 pounds, said Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission spokeswoman Karen Parker.
The fact that it's still early in the year probably helped keep the alligators away from Connery and Schettler, Parker said. With the weather still chilly, the animals are sluggish and lethargic.
"They haven't really got all their wits together yet," Parker said.
To pass the time, Connery and Schettler tried to keep warm, chatted and sang "100 Bottles of Beer on the Wall" until they were too exhausted to continue.
It was at about 1 a.m. that Schettler said they caught a lucky break.
"Thank God for a dog. We heard a dog barking on shore. We both started screaming to try and wake someone up," Schettler said.
The plan worked and the two finally heard someone call from shore, "We're coming," Schettler said.
But when more time passed and no one showed up, Schettler began to wonder if she really had heard a rescuer's voice. Cold and disoriented, she said she began asking Connery, "We both heard somebody say they're coming, didn't we? Maybe we didn't hear that. Maybe we're both in the same dream here.
"But when I saw the helicopter and they found us, it was relief," Schettler said.
Schettler said she managed to remain calm and focused on the hope of rescue during the night. But with help now in sight, she began to shiver uncontrollably. "I didn't have a true meltdown until I saw the helicopter. Cold and fear just took over, and I lost it."
The Marion County Sheriff's Office received a phone call from a resident who reported hearing shouts for help coming from the lake. The Alachua County Sheriff's Office was contacted and sent out marine and air units. But, while waiting for the marine unit and concerned about how long the pair had been in the water, other deputies ended up going door-to-door to nearby homes to find a boat. They woke up Marion County resident Rex Mattix who, with deputies, headed out in his boat to pick them up Schettler and Connery.
Later Friday, after a few hours sleep and a warm shower, Schettler said she and Connery planned to try and find those who helped save them so they could thank them. That, she said, would include a biscuit for the dog that first heard their screams for help - once they find it.
And, she noted, Connery is Irish and the two are grateful this St. Patrick's Day for whatever brought them luck in alerting rescuers.
But the next time Schettler heads out with Connery on an airboat, she said she won't count on good fortune. The pair plan to alert someone where they're going and when they're due back so someone knows where they are if they don't come home.