Some boaters don't take a tidal river serious. We were anchored out in Essex yesterday having some lunch. Next thing we know a 68' Azimut pulls up on our front port side and drops anchor. Three people on the boat plus the Captain. Then a lady on the boat jumps in the water. The Captain throws her a life jacket to float on and to swim around. What they obviously didn't realize was that the tide was going out and the current was ripping. She tried to swim against the current and was going backwards. Then the guy on the boat jumps in without a jacket and makes his way to her. I yelled out to see if they were in trouble and he answered yes. My wife and I immediately tied a fender to a line and then tied line after line to each other to try to reach them as they were going down river. He was having trouble staying above water and out of energy. After getting out about 150' of line he grabbed he fender. My wife also tossed the floating cushion which reached him as well. She made a great toss in very windy conditions. Someone in a dingy pulled them onboard and they brought back my fender and cushion. They said thanks and motored away quickly on that beautiful boat. Just glad to know that they made it out ok and we all felt good that we may have saved someone from what could have been a tragic day. People should not ignore the strength of a river, especially a tidal river with an out going tide.
CT River Current
- Thread starter At Ease
- Start date
Gofirstclass
Well-Known Member
Nice job in saving two lives. That could have turned into a real tragedy had it not been for your actions.
skibum
Well-Known Member
People actually swim in the Hidson? I was under the impression that the water would take your skin off based on what I've read on here.
Kudos on the rescue. :thumbsup:
Danny Troy
Member
I think the more south the river runs the dirtier it gets, but it's probably fine for swimming, as long as you're not a fish :wow:
My boat actually spent 20 years on the Hudson, before I bought it.
BTW, that's why my boat is named "Lake Spoiled". You can only appreciate the name after having had boats in saltwater for many years.
At Ease.... a nice "save" there. They should have bought you guys dinner, but were probably too "in shock" to think about it. Maybe next time you come across them!
My boat actually spent 20 years on the Hudson, before I bought it.
BTW, that's why my boat is named "Lake Spoiled". You can only appreciate the name after having had boats in saltwater for many years.
At Ease.... a nice "save" there. They should have bought you guys dinner, but were probably too "in shock" to think about it. Maybe next time you come across them!
Thanks guys! After assessing our actions, we did make what I consider a big mistake. Neither my wife or I put on a life jacket before going on the swim platform. It would have been very easy for one of us to have gone in water by accident. The good news is we did not but if ever faced with that situation again, I will make sure to take care of ourselves before attempting a rescue.
The boat was from Long Island, NY so we will likely not see it back on the CT river again.
A nice dinner on board would be nice!
What bugs me about this ordeal is the Captain of the boat did nothing. No rescue lines, no life ring, nothing! I do know that I will go and purchase a life ring that is easier to throw than one of the mandatory cushions. They are way to light in my opinion.
The boat was from Long Island, NY so we will likely not see it back on the CT river again.
A nice dinner on board would be nice!
What bugs me about this ordeal is the Captain of the boat did nothing. No rescue lines, no life ring, nothing! I do know that I will go and purchase a life ring that is easier to throw than one of the mandatory cushions. They are way to light in my opinion.
wvsundancer
New Member
we always throw out a line when we swim in the river.. you can easily swim against the current but we do this as a safety measure
I do the same. Fender to a 25' line off of the stern cleat. But I would never go in or allow anyone from my boat to go in as the tide was going out. I don't think Michael Phelps could have swam up river in this current. They were swimming as hard as possible and were going backwards.
Redlined
New Member
Great save at ease! We were having lunch yesterday (mon) across from Essex Island marina. The current was intense!