Water Rescue Plan

Yesterday I was involved in a very scary situation where a rider was face down and knocked out cold. Everything turned out ok, but this morning after telling my wife the story, it occurred to me that boat owners and riders should discuss what to do, and how to do it at least once a year. There are so many issues in play, that if one goes wrong, it could start a chain reaction that could lead to disaster. Here are a few things my wife an I thought about when your rider is face down.

1. FIRST, always have a spotter. I have been guilty of outlawing a few times and after yesterday, I won't ever do that again. Having four in our crew was a definate plus yesterday.

2. when turning the boat around, cut or unhook the rope. This may sound stupid, but the two things... the driver needs to not worry about wrapping up the rope on the prop... you may need to haul a$$ afterwords and he needs to get that swim deck to the rider as fast as he can. Not having to deal with the rope is a huge plus.

3. Get CPR training. We were moments away from needing it. In a worst case senario, if your boat happens to get tangled in the rope and you are with the rider and need to do CPR, use a wakeboard to support the rider and try to do CPR in the water. One person could support the rider on the board while the other pushes on the chest and does mouth to mouth. As I was swimming the rider to the boat and she was not breathing, I felt useless without the swim deck.... this made me think of options this morning.

4. Discuss the signs of when concusssions go bad. Our injured rider was pretty cognisant of her surrundings after she came to but within 10 minutes she was fading QUICK. By the time we got to the dock, she did not know her name. PAY ATTENTION to the person. Keep talking with them and constanatly monitor their condition. ANY signs of memory NOT improving and going the other way... call 911!!!!

5. if you have extra crew and someone is available while the rider is being pulled in, call 911. In our situation, all hands were occupied. From this experience, I think getting knocked out warrants a 911 automatically.

Not sure what else... but my point it... plan what you (and your crew) might do in a situation like this. I could not belive I was living it, but luckily everyone involved knew what to do.

Like my Dad always says... plan your work and work you plan.

Be Safe.

-Uj