In the local news today, a 54-year old man is missing and presumed
drowned in Lake Washington. (I believe the incident occured in area of
the Seafair log boom).

The missing man is described as a "boat owner who jumped into the lake
to assist another swimmer experiencing difficulty."

Ironically, the swimmer who was initially having trouble was wearing a
life jacket and was successfully recovered. The would-be rescuer
jumped in without a life jacket and sank out of sight in 200-feet of
water.

I've always understood that if there's somebody having trouble in the
water, you have more options available for rescue if you remain aboard
your boat. Second best is to get out to the victim in a dinghy.
Jumping in has to be the very last resort, doesn't it? Maybe if the
victim is going down or unable to assist in their own resuce....but
you essentially wind up with two people in the water.

Monday morning quarterbacking- maybe a "throwable device" on a rope,
maybe even just a line tossed to the MOB..but once the MOB has grabbed
the device or the line it ought to be easier to haul him back onto the
deck from aboard the boat.

Maybe if you *have* to go in after the victim, it would be smart to
don a PFD, and perhaps grab a second one for the MOB? (in most cases,
the MOB won't be wearing one- this specific situation was unusual).?

Who's had some actual training or hands-on experience in this field?
Tom, maybe?

You have to admire the guy's courage for jumping in, but a different
decision would oviously have been better. I guess the time to mentally
rehearse for these situations is before they occur.