Water Safety

For those who don't know me, I am a pro rider and have been competing for more than 10 years. This past weekend, at a comp, I was face down the water until the boat came and Drew Mcgukin pulled me onto the boat. This was a scare and a wakeup call for everyone including myself. The tour is now requiring everyone in the boat to be trained in CPR and I believe water safety training as well. I told some of the uppers at the tour they need to take advantage of their power and require each competitor on tour to take the same courses since we are all on the water so much and can have this same situation happen to any of us. The reason for me telling you this is that you should take some local action and make sure you and your riding buddies are ready for a serious situation. Take a CPR course AT LEAST. Wakeboarding is a unique sport in that we are normally a good distance to getting medical help, so be ready. I don't want to scare people, just realize that if you find yourself in this situation, you don't want to be mad at yourself because you didn't want to take the time out of your schedule to learn what to do.

What are your feelings on approved vs. comp vests?
What did you have on at the time of your fall?

I second that sentiment on CPR and First Aid training. It comes in handy, and not just for wakeboarding. Many, many people are alive each year because someone knew what to do. The Red Cross, Amerian Heart Association, and the National Safety Council all offer courses and most are one evening and inexpensive or sometimes even free (schools often offer free courses for staff and students). In just a few phone calls in your area, you will know where to go and when.

Shaun - I am very happy to hear you are OK. I hope to see you ride this year sometime.

We were at the PWT in Atlanta and it was a scary 10 min. after Shaun's fall. My son competes and uses a comp vest, much to his arguments I ordered him a approved vest yesterday. Get well soon Shaun.

I would say there is a really good chance he was wearing a comp vest prob around 99.9% chance.

Very well said Shaun,

Our crew also ALWAYS uses hand signals.... No matter if its a big trick or small, hard fall or not we all look back to see if the rider just throws his hand up in the air.... By seeing that simple hand wave we know they are ok, if we don't see that wave we power turn & accellarate immediately back to the rider & prep to dive in...

Thanks for bringing these issues into the spotlight, nothing but good can come from it. Tke care & best of luck to a speedy recovery.

After my concussion 3 yrs back my equalibrium was off for a week, had trouble keeping my balance, thinking quickly & reactions were slow. Take care and best wishes for a safe and speedy recovery.

Man that is sooo right! I broke my femur about 4 weeks ago on the water and it took the ems atleast an hour to find where i was. Pepole that are out on a regular basis should know what to do in a couple of situations at least (broken bones,someone gettin ko'ed, cpr,)As soon as i can walk i am going to take a class.

Shaun,

I agree that all persons in the boat should be fully aware of whats going on at all times. It also comes down to what gear you pros are selling. People see the comp vest and think it gives them an advantage, until they land wrong. Then the coolness factor isn't such a big deal anymore. I was pulling an older friend a few years back and the vest pulled up over his mouth when he skipped out and landed on his back, this combined with the board attached to his feet (it was his first time) freaked him out. I had to relenquish the bridge and dive in to help him.
What caused you to lay face down? Were you knocked out? Were you wearing a helmet? Will you in the future?

Keep rockin', we love watching!

Shaun,

Glad to see you are feeling better, and care enough to put out your message. Coming from you, it means everything.

I guess I am lucky. I worked the last 25 years in the medical field in one capacity or another. I also ride with nurses, medics, etc. You are right. EVERYONE should at least have CPR training, but also a basic first aid class, or better yet, EMT training. I personally have been in many ilness/injury situations where no one in the crowd had a clue what to do. It is even more critical on the water. It really adds a whole new element to deal with. That should not happen these days. Classes are relatively short, easy to find, and most of the time, FREE. God forbid you ever need to use these skills on one of your own familiy members or friends, but imagine how you would feel if you needed to, but had not aquired the training or skill. Not a good feeling.

Once again Shaun, glad to see you are OK. Put a scare into me when I heard about you, and Soven also. Man! Would be good to hear your feelings on comp vs CGA vests.

Heal up bro! Good to see you back out there.

I dont think he would be face down in the water if he wasent knocked out. But Shaun is the man he will be back shortly schoolin the competition, Right Shaun?

Being in the boat, I can say he was knocked out. It was one of the scarier things I have seen. It definitely brought attention to something we have been talking about for a couple of years. At least this is going to be the catalyst to finally make it happen.

As far as Shaun's vest he uses the Full Metal Jacket. It is his signature Jet Pilot vest, and it is USCG approved. Jet Pilot asked Shaun if he also wanted to make the same vest, but non-approved as another option, and he said no. That is what everyone rides at our camp, unless they are hell bent about wearing their own, but we give them the lecture. It is pretty stupid to take chance on something like that.

Right on shaun glad your ok..

Travis couldnt agree with you more..

It's sad that a bad event like this has to happen to draw attention to safety. Even worse is it wears off. Cory for example. Everybody swore to always wear a vest and it lasted a while. Now you see more and more pics in print of riders without a vest. Sad sometimes that history has to repeat itself. Props Shaun for raising awareness, even if it's only for a while.

Unfortunately it has to take an event as such, (to a very well respected rider) for people to come to their senses about safety , basic 1st aid and hopefully a 3rdrider. I'm kinda shocked that 1st aid/BCLS wasn't a requirement for any involved the PWT. Maybe that's just my naive thinking.
I've been ridiculed about this very subject by many people since they think: 1)their cell phones will work in all situations, 2) expect that there will be other boats/riders out when they're riding 3) nothing will happen to them
Anytime anyone is involved with a risky sport, there should be at least 2 people with 1st aid training tagging along.
Hopefully this will also be a standard of all wakeboard camps/comps in the future.
Just an FYI- Giving CPR is a hell of a workout your body starts to ache/fatigue after 5 mins worth of chest compressions .

Phantom - I with you. First hand experience with CPs. You never know until you actually do it.

I'll take the ridicule for this if it raises awareness.

How many of us go on trips to Mead and Powell? I know some bring first aid ITEMS but really, how many even think about it, or have training in BCLS/ACLS or first-aid. I think about the last few posts showing Femur breaks. To those that had them happen, you're lucky. Femur breaks can easily tear a major artery leaving you to bleed to death in minutes without a trained person to handle it. It's not hard to learnand could save a buddies life sometime.

Riding Lake Mead (or insert your favorite BIG lake here) somwhere between Echo Bay and Temple Bar @ the north end of Boulder Bay. Your buddy falls face first, is unconcisous and not breathing when you get to him. Cell phone is no good out there and a boat ride to the closest place is probably and hour to either Echo or Temple for EMT help.

Not saying we have to not go for tricks but remember where you are and how hard it is to get help if no one on the boat knows what to do.

Let's have fun!!

Shaun, first off, im glad your ok!!! You are so right. As you can see by my screen name i am in the profession of saving lives. I am also an AVID water person. CPR is so easy to learn. My nephew is 5 yrs old and has been taught CPR. We must all remember that we are out on the water to have fun, but lets be prepared for those unfortunate incidents as well. Thanks for speaking up shaun.

Guess we have always taken the safety training for granted on our boat. Usually the crew that we ride with contains 2 ER doctors, an ER nurse, and a state trooper!