Thread: Drowning on Wateree

(Lake Wateree) December 27, 2005 - The Department of Natural Resources is investigating a drowning on Lake Wateree.

According to authorities, two men were out fishing late Monday afternoon when their 14 foot jon boat began taking on water. Both men were wearing life jackets, but only one was able to make it back to shore.

52-year-old Leroy Brunson Jr. from Sumter County died of hypothermia. The survivor, Larry Smith, also of Sumter County, was flown to Palmetto Health where he is being treated for hypothermia.

The incident happened near the Clearwater Cove part of the lake. DNR is still investigating the accident, there were high winds reported in the area at the time.

Yeah we had a teen - ager drown last Thursday on High Rock - they too were in a jon boat - 4 big teens in a 12 foot boat with hunting and camping gear and a wake swamped the front of the boat and sank it very fast - the other 3 survived with only 1 other having to go to the hospital - real sad

the area tween clearwater and colonels creek can get nasty real quick. ive seen them small boats out there in that rough stuff and it makes me glad it aint me with em.

Hate to see that. I have a 14ft jon and was thinking I might take it out in that area for some striper fishing. Not going back there until I get an invite from a larger boat. Didn't seem to bad of an area when Rango and I were out there the other day. Must have been the exception rather than the rule that day. Wouldn't take long to freeze to death in 47 deg water.

Note chart below. The fact that one of he fisherman died and the other survived even though both had on life jackets is depicted in the chart. The minimum time is on the left with the longer survival noted on the right. It depends on how much your struggle, what shape you are in, how many clothes you have on to insulate you. Bottom line is that if you fall in and cannot get back in the boat, you are in very serious trouble even with a life jacket.

If you fall in, have a life jacket on and cannot get back in the boat you should try to drift to shore not swim... Drifting will conserve body heat. Its a catch 22, the longer you are in the water the more chance you will die but swimming or struggling actually uses up body heat because it exposes more body area to the water, i.e. extended arms and legs.

Chart A: How Cold Water Affects You
Water Temp Exhaustion Survival Time
32.5o degreesf Under 15 min .........Under 15-45 min
32.5-40o f 15-30 min......... 30-90 min
40-50o f 30-60 min.......... 1-3 hrs
50-60o f 1-2 hrs......... 1-6 hrs
60-70o f 2-7hrs........ 2-40 hrs
70-80o f 3-12 hrs......... 3hrs to indefinite
Over 80o f Indefinite Indefinite
Source

After looking at the chart winter time fishing is not a game but not one person has said a word about boat safety, as the captain you most know the LIMITATIONS of your craft the classes are almost free I just don't understand why so few people take them! I feel bad for them fellas but if writing this gets one kid in a safe boating class then it's worth it. My Grand dad made me go when I was about 13 or 14 and the lessons are still with me today.
During our rodeo that squall came through and there were 3' to 4' waves in that area my boat is a v bow with a self draining deck and floatation so it will not sink that's the only reason I stayed out in it, had I been in a jon boat I would have been running for the coves like everyone else.
I'm sorry if i've offended anyone here but, boat safety must be taught to save lives. Take a kid to the next class availible, ya never know ya might learn a little something or help teach a kid life long lessons. just my 2 cents
my heart goes out to them fellas families.
Don

Iamfishing's reply reminds me of a discussion a while back about having a small ladder on board to assist in climbing back in after going overboard. I can only imagine how hard it is when you are carrying the weight of your wet cloths, lifejacket, and in shock because of how cold the water is. Note to self, find some sort of ladder to pack in the boat, within easy reach, in case of an accidental swim.

i fell off the front of my boat in april, 2000 while i was puttin out driftsocks. fortuantly i fell into the sock, else id probably been a goner since the wind was blowing hard and would have pushed the boat away from me. i pulled myself to the boat and was holding on to the side, trying to figger how to get in, when two fellers in a bass boat come by and got me in the boat and to the landing.. i was gonna work my way to the back and step on the cavitation plate and crawl over the transom. the sides was much too high for me to crawl over. i hate to think what would have happened if id not fell into the sock, since i had all me cold weather clothes on and the water was cold as heck.

One tactic that was used by sailing vessels either explorers, fishing or whaling was to have a throw line that dragged behind the boat. These vessels were almost impossible to turn quick enough to retrieve an overboard sailor. The drag line if the sailor was lucky enough to grab it as it passed would allow his fellow sailors to pull him back on board. I used drag line with my first bass boat because you stand on it and not down in it. Everytime I would stop to fish I would kick this drag line out. It wasn't more than five feet long. I figured if I fell overboard which is easily done on a bass boat, then this line would allow me to at least swim close enough to the boat to grab it. If you have ever tried to grab on to the side of a slick boat side you know that it could be blown away from you all the time you were drowning trying to catch hold of it. The throw line gave me some confidence that I could at least secure the boat before it floated away and use the line to haul myself up. The second bass boat I had had the ladder on the transom. That was a real confidence maker. You still had to catch the boat though.

The boat I have now is a deep V center console. The sides of this boat are over four feet high and impossible to climb over. I use the drag line when I am by myself. I don't want to fall in but if I do I want every opportunity to stay with the boat and hopefully work myself around to the rear and get up on the motor foot and over the transom. Winter fishing makes this challenge a life or death struggle if the boat gets away from you.

I use a throw line off the back of my canoe. Fell out once and couldn't catch it. My "bow wake" from my forehead kept pushing the canoe out of reach when I got near it. Finally caught it by swimming under water and surfacing right next to it.
With a boat, the best bet would be to try to climb the cavitation plate as Rango said. Unless of course, you had a small portable ladder withing reach of waterside.