A must read!

[dfish28]

Got this from another site... Feel it should be read by all


With the poor soul missing out of Wildwood and everyone talking about going out alone, I thought my story might make you understand it can happen anytime, anywhere, even with other people on board.....


I was a lucky one that made it back eight years ago. I went out with two friends on his new boat in late Sept. We anchored up about 22 miles offshore and after catching like crazy for several hours we went to leave and pull the anchor, but he ran the line into the prop.... what a mess! Seas were really snotty and buliding fast at 4'-8' and growing to 6'-8' along with the tide and wind running really fast. We needed to get this cleaned up and get moving fast! We tilted the outboard up, and as I was reaching over to cut the line when my buddy was walking towards me when a large wave hit, he bumped into me and knocked me over into the skeg and I fell into the water. I couldn't breath and was in terrible pain after breaking 3 ribs. The seas ripped me away from the boat so fast there was only a split second to react. They tried to throw the ring out but missed, and I was not able to swim to the ring, I could barley stay afloat. He pulled the ring back and tried again, but I was too far away. You know that feeling when you get the wind knocked out of you??? try and swim with that going on. At the time, they didn't understand why I didn't swim back or reach for the ring. The ring back in the boat now I watched as they were frantically trying to free the prop and catch up to me, but the fast seas ripped me away. I was just trying to yell " THROW A PFD " but couldn't.

The boat was out of sight in minutes, as I would go up a roller, they would go down one, and I kept thinking.... any second now they will be coming. But the fact was, they weren't, I was truly on my own. With the boat out of sight now I kicked off my shoes, my socks, my pants and my shirt to reduce the weight. Swimming in just my underwear, I was just trying to tread water and keep my head above water. I was in excruciating pain and couldn't believe this was happening. You can only imagine the thoughts that run through your head while alone like this. I have a wife and 4 kids at home....sole provider. What would happen to them? Who would look after them? Would they lose the house that I built with my own hands for my family, forced to sell for money to live? Would they recover my body for my family, or would I be lost forever at sea? Who would walk my beautiful daughter down the isle on her wedding day? Who would teach my three sons how to be men? You would be very surprised at what you tell the lord you will do for a second chance, and then start to face the reality it was most likely over. I had a good run and made peace with the fact the end was near, I was spitting up blood from a damaged lung from the broken ribs, I was tired and wanted to give up. Just thinking about my wife and kids and certain "happy times" like coming home from work and all 4 kids running out to my arms kept running through my head like a record that was skipping, thinking of them and the tears of pain rolling down their cheeks, those memories and thoughts kept me treading water, even after I made peace with the fact I was against the odds. I HAD to keep my head above water, they needed me!!

I had just lost a cousin that I grew up with who fell off a scallop boat in a storm at night way offshore out of Cape May a few years earlier, and saw what the family went through, made ever worse because they never found his body (rip Tony). This was my "perfect storm". About 45 minutes had gone by since I fell off. This dont seem like a very long time to some people, but with broken ribs it was forever! I was a excellent swimmer, and was on many swimming teams in years past, but this was different, I was hurting bad and exhausted, I was out of gas between the pain and the cold water and the adrenaline was gone. The wind and tide were taking me out past the shipping channels very fast, dear god I thought" how could this happen to me?

I finally saw something in between waves, yes, it was a boat! It was my buddies, they had finally tracked me down. Once they got to me, I couldn't even get back in the boat.There was no way I could climb back in, I was cold and shivering and had broken ribs, plus I was in shock. I had to sit on the lower end of the very same outboard that I hit on the way out of the boat, as they tilted the motor up with me on it. Getting back in the boat was the worst pain I ever felt in my life, but I got in. Within a few minutes of me getting in his boat the coast guard showed up, I then had to transfer to the cutter. After a long ride back to the docks I kissed the ground when we arrived.

They found me because my one friend is a mate on a charter boat and had some common sense after the initial panic. He took note on the compass at the direction I was drifting, called the coast guard right away. He also threw a life preserver every few minutes overboard to leave a trail to find me....which worked. In the chaos, he didnt think to just throw a pfd over to me assuming I would swim back, then tried to throw the ring which didn't work. All in all he threw five pfd over the bow and followed the compass and the pfd trail to me.

I have never told this story to anyone, except my family and one other friend who was not with us that day. My wife and my other friend to this day do not know just how close it was or the full details, but after reading about the man overboard in Cape May yesterday and everyone talking about going out alone, I thought others needed to hear this can happen at anytime, anywhere, even with others on the boat. There were many " should of...could of ...would of's, but how will you react when the crap hits the fan? Be prepared for the worst. I never posted this because so many bash what should have been done that day. I hope I reach one person with my story, then its worth the bashing I will take.



BEFORE you leave the dock.....

Make sure you have a MOB plan! Like throwing pdf's over not tied to a rope, along with one tied to a rope. Had they thrown one pdf towards me without a rope, it would have helped, I would have eventually got to it.