We left Sunset(Hpt.) at 6:45. It was myself and 2 others on my 21 ft CC. We are cruising along between Lynhaven inlet and CH doing about 20 mph with many boats around us going the same way. I am driving with Jim to my right sitting down. Jeff " The Stickman" was standing behind us with one hand on the back of my seat back bar and the other was on the rod holder rail above. We caught a little wake and the boat shifts a bit. I look back to ask Jeff if he is okay and he was gone. I look into the water and he is about a 100 yds. back. We immediatley U turn and go back to him. We grab him and begin to drag him on to the boat but he wieghs about 700 lbs. with 3 layers of wet clothing .He goes about 160 dry. We get him into a dry coat and head into Bubba's. We got there and everyone was trying to find some dry clothes. We ended up leaving Jim and the boat at Bubba's for about 1.5 hrs. while we took a cab to the laundry mat to dry some clothes. After a 30 dollar cab ride and 8 dollars in quarters later we are back at the boat. I asked Jeff if wanted to call for a ride home because I did not think that he would want to ride back to Hpt. on the boat. He looked at me like I was joking and said that it was only 10:30 and that he was ready to catch his 1st big ocean striper. We went to CH and put a line out . Jeff put the 2nd line out with a big gold spoon on it. After about 40 seconds he had one on. It was 35 inches and FAT. We trolled for a couple more hours so Jeff could reel in about 6 more. Then we headed back to Sunset to call it a day.
Most important of all I am glad that he is okay.

GIL

Wow. That is my worst nightmare when on the boat. Glad that he was ok and even got to catch some fish. Tough dude.

Man! That is my worst nightmare. I have 3 kids and keep an eye on them as much as possible. I freak out when I can't see them out of the corner of my eye. I'm glad everything turned out ok!

THAT IS HARD CORE! Your friend is very lucky! Just think if you didn't notice till past 100 yards. 43 degree water + 5 minutes = ??????? Glad to know everyone is ok and even caught fish.

He said that he did a flip out of the back of the boat and that his head never even went under the water. He said that his clothes were so heavy that he could not even begin to remove them to make himself lighter in the water. He said that the water was so cold that he could not breathe. When I asked him later how long he could have lasted in that water he said that he thought he might have been able to tread for another 45 sec. to a minute.

I hoped in off the tuna tower of a boat off of Maine in July into 53 degree water, I went down 7-9 feet or so, came up an could not even breath beacause it was so cold. I cannot even imagine how cold it is out there today, not to mention with all the cold weather gear on weighing him down. Your friend is very lucky.

Sounds like he had some help from above. Glad to hear he's o.k.

WOW!! That's some scary stuff. It's a good thing you turned to see if he was okay. Glad all made it home safe...and great ending to the story!!

--Don

Very scary.. he must be living right! I went over in a canoe a week after the ice went out in Northern Vermont and I will tell you that as I was hanging on to the canoe (it was in a river) I could feel my heart slowing down. I kept kicking my legs to keep things going until I could touch the bottom and was able to climb out onto the bank. I had some dry clothes in a plastic bag and the air temp was reasonably warm so after I changed I warmed back up pretty quickly and was able to continue the trip. It's something you don't forget! Lucky he didn't get run over by another boat too by the sounds. Well all's well that ends well..

Glad everything turned out on a positive note.You probably should have made the guy go home after that,he could have had mild Hypothermia even when he warmed back up.

My friend's wife bought him one of those CO2 inflatable PFDs for him to wear striper fishing. It fits right over his jacket and doesn't seem any more uncomfortable then all the heavy cold weather gear we wear. My borther-in-law is a Marine State Trooper up in Jersey and they wear them and were require to jump in a pool to test them. Said they worked great. I may have to invest in some for the boat. My boat has short gunnels and I am always worried someone will go over.

WOW..Glad everyone turned out ok. You guys are true fisherman,and determined at that. Im also glad you got to catch fish. Way to go.

Bring Em In
Mike

You are right , but once he had his dry clothes back on he wanted to go back out.
After that mishap I did not care if we fished or not. I was ready to get a ride home and go get the trailer and tow the boat back to the marina.

Thank GOD every thing went right.
For what ever it is worth and depending on how big your boat is:
On my boat, in addition to my own over night/ travel bag, I carry towels, blankets and extra jackets. Bottom line, the safety of the crow and the boat falls on the boat owner/ captain.
Bluntly put.

I bought one for myself this year and wear it everytime out now over my cold weather gear. Don't even notice its on. Like it so much I ordered 4 more for the boat.

[quote=NJ1,Jan 29 2006, 05:06 PM][quote=71Whaler,Jan 29 2006, 02:50 PM]My friend's wife bought him one of those CO2 inflatable PFDs for him to wear striper fishing.  It fits right over his jacket and doesn't seem any more uncomfortable then all the heavy cold weather gear we wear.  My borther-in-law is a Marine State Trooper up in Jersey and they wear them and were require to jump in a pool to test them. Said they worked great. I may have to invest in some for the boat. My boat has short gunnels and I am always worried someone will go over.
[/quote]

I bought one for myself this year and wear it everytime out now over my cold weather gear. Don't even notice its on. Like it so much I ordered 4 more for the boat.

[/quote]

We (beawolf / Donna Sea) Wear those inflatable pdfs in the summer; however, in the winter we wear mustang suits /// comfortable and warm // I have tested mine it will keep you afloat, dry, and warm in the water, its good piece of mind for around 300$

WOW! Glad he was OK. Good job being alert and checking things out...

Great job staying alert. I drive fast boats for the Navy and we were taught from day one to scan everything. All the time. Radar, gauges, compass, front, side, back. We call it situational awareness. I have seen lots of people drive boats and cars and just stare straight ahead. Drives me crazy. Good job and way to be hard and turn a #$@!** day into a happy ending.
Blue Skies and Calm Seas
Jon