On Aug 7, 9:11?am, wrote:
On Mon, 06 Aug 2007 22:00:50 -0700, Chuck Gould

wrote:
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."

The Red Cross lifesaver motto is "Reach, Throw, Row (and as a last
resort). Go.
In open warer "Go" is the worst option and then you shound be trained
and wearing a PFD.

Doing some research on this subject to refresh/update my personal
knowledge and possibly prepare a magazine article.

Came across one very excellent bit of advice.

It's commonly recommended to throw a life ring ASAP. Many sources
remark that the ring will help maintain visual contact with the MOB.
Maybe so, but a safety site for commercial fishermen comments that if
you can't see the MOB bobbing around, you may also have a tough time
spotting the life ring. That source advises additionally tossing an
orange smoke flare (which might attract help from a nearby vessel) and
if visibility is poor or the light is fading a light as well. I like
the floating smoke flare idea, to the point where I will be adding a
floating smoke flare to my inventory.