As I get closer to getting my own boat, I'm reading about boating
accidents so I'll be as ready as possible to avoid making mistakes.
I'm also going to take any safety courses available, and hire an
experienced captain to be with me and show me the ropes for the first
time the boat touches water.
I owe it to myself, my passengers, and fellow boaters.
I found a site that reports years of Pennsylvania fatal accidents in
rivers, lakes and ponds. Many of the accidents are canoeists and
kayakers getting caught in fast water "strainers" or just overturning
in hypothermia-inducing waters. But there are also plenty of motor
boat accidents.
It is really surprising to see how many people with no experience on
water make fatal excursions there.
I made plenty of dangerous/stupid moves myself when I was young, but
never when it would endanger others (well, excluding the drunk driving
stuff for which I have plausible deniability.) But how somebody
would take his family out on a boat without doing all he could to
ensure their safety is beyond me.
I'm glad the site reports only the bare facts of these accidents,
because each is a tragedy. Reading these as news stories would bring
my spirit low and I wouldn't read so far.
As I read about these accidents, it's clear that the most common are
easily avoided. Don't overload your boat. Don't anchor the stern of
a low-transom boat. Don't speed where you shouldn't. Don't get drunk
and fall overboard. Don't venture into seas/weather that your boat
isn't meant for. Don't horse around. Don't capsize your boat. Don't
get swamped. Always be attentive.
Then there's the "do's" regarding maintenance, safety equipment,
planning, etc, which I won't get into here.
In most cases where experienced boaters die, their initial mistake is
fatally compounded by lack of plans "B" and "C". And those plans
are most often related to good PFD management, because simple
drowning is usually the ultimate cause of death.
Once your boat is gone, it's just you and the water.
Accidents happen to experienced boaters with Power Squadron training
as well as neophytes. And "very good swimmers" drown all the time.
In any case, the best laid plans often come to naught, and stuff
happens. So you simply have a Plan "B" or "C" kick into action.
That's what I thought until my reading got me to this accident.
Now I'm gonna need to come up with Plans D through Z.

"An 81-year old angler lost his life when he capsized his 12-foot
rowboat. The likely course of events is that the victim was anchored,
fishing and got his lure hooked into his anchor line. He attempted to
remove the lure’s hook form the anchor line, untying the anchor.
During this procedure he capsized the small boat, catching the lure
and hooks in his left sleeve, which then caught in his trousers,
restricting the movement of his left hand. As he rolled from the
vessel, he caused the fishing line to wrap around his feet. He also
snagged his hand on a lure further restricting his movement. PFDs were
onboard but not worn. The boat was a johnboat and had a seat welded on
top of the operator one increasing its instability. When divers found
the victim’s body, they had to cut fishing line so they could bring it
to the surface. The victim could not swim and was a very experienced
boater. It is unknown he had any formal instruction in boating
safety."

--Vic