SACair Forum

Ok i'm going to Tarentino this story and tell you the lesson you should take from it first... if you are on the water always be aware of your surroundings and do not horseplay near deep water.

Whoa, dude. Thats some heavy sh*t right there.

The majority of people out there are so ill prepaired mentally let along physically to handle a crisis that even something as simple as bringing a rope with you to toss to someone in trouble instead of diving into the water after them, which in itself is a suicidal thing to do unless you are a VERY strong swimmer, seems silly and "paranoid" to them.

Yes, speak the hell up... had they been louder or said anything we might have gotten him but NONE of us saw him get in the water or struggle so we had no idea where to look for him. We actually swam right over where he went down but we had no idea.

man, this goes to show how short life could be if you're not cautious, ive almost drowned from a riptide in the american river too, i got sucked under from the surface and i was in a pit that was 10 feet below(not as bad as 60 feet) the surface and i looked up and saw my short life flash before my eyes, just then i made the decision that if i didnt swim as hard as i could i was gonna die so i swam as hard as i could and i actually reached the surface. and then i went down 4 more times :D

I grew up in Oregon swimming in cold, fast moving rivers like the McKenzie and the Willamatte. I shudder today remembering the crazy shit we used to do. Things can get real bad real fast no matter how good a swimmer you are.

[quote="GodModeJohny"]I grew up in Oregon swimming in cold, fast moving rivers like the McKenzie and the Willamatte. I shudder today remembering the crazy *poop* we used to do. Things can get real bad real fast no matter how good a swimmer you are.[/quote]true dat

Thats a horrible story Rich. I have seen it before when I was a V Fire Fighter. Pulled a dead kid I knew from the American river. Horrible thing to do. I give you the most props though for trying. Im river certified and I still almost drown in pools.

I never go outside other than to do battle, so I suppose I'm safe. :shock:

I am a great swimmer.

always wear protection, it will save your life

The summer of 87 during a typical hot June day. I lived in the town of Oroville and there at the Feather River is this rocky island that split the river just west of the fish hatchery. It was the ideal place for us teens back then due to the ability to dive off the 8 to 12 foot rocks into the water. If that wasn’t daring enough, we’d go for a little rebel law breaking while jumping off of the truss bridge now used for pedestrians that was 30+ feet high. That was the bridge that connected Washington Ave from the Oroville side to Table Mountain Blvd on the Thermolito side. That day, there had to have been 20 or more of us swimming. There were a few of us that had been there all day, I had just shown up when I heard a lot of yelling and what appeared to be panicking. Someone had gone under on the north side of the island and did not come up. A few of us thought someone was pulling this prank that I’ve done myself, where we’d go under the water and swim through this small tunnel of rocks and come up in breathable space on the other side. We realized this not be the case due to the level of panic. The best friend of the current victim had tears in his eyes and I knew him not to be a prankster. Myself and my companions jumped in the water to see what we could do. I can’t remember how long we were in and out of the water, but I don’t remember being that much out of breath since. I myself was lucky not to be a victim. The best friend of the victim and the 2 brothers that accompanied them were still free diving for the guy. Someone had already called 911 before I had gotten there and what seemed to take forever an officer showed up and with a little more urgency than that of the first story, he threatened to arrest us if we all didn’t clear the river. He made a few calls on the radio, got confirmation from the victims friends where he went in and from the shore tried to look down in the water. Those of us that were kicked off the river went up on the bridge to get a birds eye view of the whole thing. I’m not sure exactly how long he was under, but for us on the bridge, there was no joking. Only speculation and a few second hand witness views exchanged, but no first hand knowledge how this happened. There was a diver that put on his gear and got in the water. By then an officer kicked us off the bridge too. We all went and waited at the burger joint close by. About an hour had passed since we were kicked off the bridge when someone said that they had recovered him. A few of us had the idea that he would be OK due to modern medical science. The horrible realization had occurred to me when I got the news that he was pronounced dead on the shore. Even for how little I was involved, I was sick with guilt as to what I, myself, should have done. I’m not sure if me knowing the guy by being in a class with him had anything to do with it, but to this day I still have some guilt.