I am very glad that it turned out well. I guess this illustrates the
chant I was taught for remembering the order of preference of rescue
methods when someone is in trouble in the water:

Reach . . . Throw . . . Row . . . Go

Reach (with a pole, boat hook or oar)

Throw (a life ring, a life jacket, an empty cooler, or anything else
that floats)

Row (use a boat)

Go (into the water and swim to assist . . . the most dramatic and
least preferred method for the reasons you shared.

Thanks for the story. Sometime I will relate the tale of how my
father and I ended up pouring gin on our legs to disinfect cuts we got
after we ran aground on a artificial reef made of old tires used to
raise oysters in the middle of the night.

John