Recent Incidents Prompt Awareness For Boating Safety
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The warmer weather means boaters are heading out onto the water. It also means we're starting to see accidents.
A late-night fishing trip turned dangerous after a sinking boat forced people into a central Minnesota lake. It happened just after midnight Sunday on Lake Carlos in Douglas County. The sheriff's department got a call from a boater who said his boat had sunk.
Deputies were able to rescue the five people who were in the water, with the help of someone who lives nearby. There were no life jackets on the boat.
Meanwhile, crews are still searching for a boater who fell into the Mississippi River Saturday morning. It happened just before 1 a.m. by Shepard Road in St. Paul near the Ramsey-Dakota County border. A caller told emergency crews that a man fell out of his fishing boat and into the river.
Two men were on the boat, but the man who fell was not wearing a life jacket.
It's the time of year when officers are urging people to wear their water safety gear. But that gear isn't what it used to be.
The days of those bulky orange life jackets are gone. These days, they are much lighter in weight and bulk. In fact, they aren't even called life jackets, they're personal flotation devices.
It's now easier than ever to be safe in the water. It just takes some forethought and discipline.
On a crisp Minnesota spring day, they set sail in Minnetonka, Tom Larson even got his feet wet.
"The water's a little cold but it felt great today because I ran the half marathon so it was actually a little refreshing on the legs," Larson said.
He knows that water can mean danger, but he does what many adult boaters do when it comes to safety jackets.
"My little kids wear them all the time obviously but as adults I do not, I have to admit. It's just one of those things I don't wear unless I'm jumping in the water," Larson said.
It's a very common perspective.
"A lot of complaints are the bulkiness -- it's so big, it's so all over," Phil Raymond of Midwest Mountaineering said.
But this avid paddler and safety consultant says there are many lightweight options.
"You hardly even notice them, that sort of eliminates the whole bulky feel," Raymond said
He showed us some that are barely even noticeable.
"You can wear it around the waist. It's just a fanny pack as you're standing up," Raymond said.
And instead of being a nuisance, some PFDs can enhance your boating experience.
"Everything from your beverage to your pliers to your fish grips, just about everything can be carried on these jackets," Raymond said.
And that's what he says is the key: To invest in a jacket that you'll wear and not just stow away.
"That jacket isn't necessarily that easy to get on in the water and it's not doing you any good if it's not on you," Raymond said.
The law is you have to have a jacket on board with you, but like he says they don't help unless you're wearing them.
A couple of other safety devices good to have include a water whistle and this tiny light you can wear. They both could be game-changers if you end up in the water. They cost about $7 each.
