Basic Safety Principles for Outdoor Adventures

The miraculous rescue of a stranded fisherman in late June off Cape Canaveral underscores the importance of safety, even during good weather or a short outing. The 53-year-old angler was eight miles off shore when he bent over to grab a fishing rod, lost his balance and fell overboard. He didn't have his kill switch attached and, because the boat was in gear, the 24-foot boat began to idle away.

Despite the fisherman's best efforts he couldn't catch up to the boat and it wasn't long until he was in the water, alone. Four hours later a crew member on a casino cruise ship spotted him, and he was rescued. The angler's boat, named "Bad Example" is still at large, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.

The man was exhausted, but in good shape according to the emergency medical technicians who examined him.

A kill switch attaches to a boat's driver by a lanyard, and if the person driving is thrown overboard it automatically pulls the switch, which shuts off the engine. Even in freshwater lakes with relatively calm water it's an important safety feature. Aside from the boat driving off and leaving you, if the motor's still running its torque can make the boat start going in tighter and tighter circles, often striking the person in the water--the so-called circle of death.

Think twice before you head outdoors alone. Seemingly small incidents, like this one, can become life threatening quickly. Had another person been on board the boat it would have meant little more than a change of clothes, instead of the fisherman being forced to tread water for four hours.

Coast Guard officials said it was a miracle anyone saw the boater. The quick thinking angler had taken off his pants and was swinging them in the air to attract attention.

Regardless of the outing's length, destination, or comparative safety, search and rescue officials recommend outdoorsmen leave a detailed list with someone they can trust. Included in that list should be destination, route to and from (just in case you break down along the way), exact day and time you anticipate being back and precise time authorities should be contacted if you are not back. All of us think nothing will ever happen, but if you're in a life-and-death struggle to tread water, stuck on a cliff, or lying on a trail with a broken leg, knowing precisely when help is finally on the way is a huge psychological advantage.

In addition, if a search is to be mounted, a list of the gear you took with you will be invaluable. If you take any medication, note the precise amount along. Color of your backpack will be a tremendous help if an air search is mounted, especially if the area is a popular destination. Shoe size, food, water supply and foul-weather gear are other important considerations.

For 12 years I was with search and rescue in Arizona--scouring everything from the desert floor to elevations that reached 10,000 feet--and accurate information often made the difference between life and death. More often than not we had little more than a physical description or a photo of the lost person. But, if we knew the backpacker always brought along a certain brand of granola or candy bar, finding a discarded wrapper and a fresh track was the kind of clue that could redirect the entire search pattern, and get that victim home, safe and sound. Without that kind of information, the trash might be completely overlooked.

Hedge your bets by leaving detailed information behind, regardless of the trip's length. If even a small storm blows in, the odds are pretty low that a casino cruise ship will be coming to your rescue.