http://news.yahoo.com/boat-sinks-texas-man-survives-30-hours-gulf-165253660.html

His buddy didn't make it.

I don't think it was this guy as the boats are different.

Harrowing story - prayers go out to the deceased family.

I read that it's ashame he lost his friend, prayers sent

God bless them both.

Not trying to criticize but learn from mistakes made. If you fish offshore install float switches on all bilge pumps. Turn them on and leave them on. There's no telling where the water came from or how it got in there.

I was once fishing outside the Port A jetties in a 24' Kenner. After hooking up a 10-12' Tiger shark he made a run toward the stern of the boat. He came faster than I could retrieve line. The line ended up wrapped on a plug. When the shark turned to run another direction the line pulled the plug and the boat began to fill with water, unbeknownst to us.

Our first clue was when the bilge pumps came on and kept running. We ended up cutting the shark loose and headed for the marina as fast as possible. Once the boat was on the trailer we figured out what happened.

Without bilge pumps rigged on float switches we might not have known until it was too late.

Stay safe out there.

Hey LP u back down to the coast now???? send me ur ph # lost it thanks,Bill

Unfortunately I'm at home. I'm not staying in Port A this summer. Wife's job lay off last year squashed that plan. I'll be making a few runs down there over the course of the summer. Once we get back on our feet again we will look at setting up the RV somewhere again. Maybe next summer.

God bless those men and their families. One thing I will mention. The life jackets did their job. At least wear them when the big motor is running in your boat. That is what I do. God Bless everyone.

Thoughts and prayers for them and their families.

Prayers for all involved !!!!

I read that article. I started think about lifevests and how those fellows were able to access theirs quickly. For years, my family didn't have a boat and fished out of canoes. We spent a lot of time practicing capsized drills. Now that I have the bayboat, we haven't practiced "get a life vest quickly" or any anything else for that matter. We should probably rethink that.

My boat has auto bilge. I had a livewell pump fitting crack in a rough ride across the bay. Water started to enter. The first warning were the pumps kicking on. We were just fixing to hop out for a wade. Without the auto bilge, the boat would have sank in waist deep water.

PFD's

I like the T-bag. Keeps the PFD's close by and easily accessible on the t-top. Personal beacons or strobes are a good idea for each vest.

Oh, and every trip out one person was assigned the single task of retrieving and handing out vest if/when the order was given.

someone should forward this thread to marx88. yeesh.

That is truly sad. On my offshore boat I don't use the fish boxes on the floor so I put the PFDs in there. Always at hand and will float out if the boat goes down. I'm a big fan of the immersion suits also, it would of saved his life.

Joe

Sad story

The fellow that made it is the cousin of a guy who works in my building. He's a Sheriff's Deputy trained in water rescue/survival. The guy who died from hypothermia was younger and very thin. They swam to the first satellite rig which was unmanned and had no ladders to board the satellite from the water. That's when the survivor told the decedent (who was already becoming hypothermmic) that they were both going to die if he didn't get to the next rig. He cut himself loose and finally made it to a manned rig. Made his way to the galley and got help, but his buddy was deceased when found. Very sad story, indeed.