A friend of mine drowned up in the BWCA this weekend. He was looking forward to the trip very much and will be missed.

I am posting this only to say that a life jacket would have saved his life. He was 31 years old with a newborn baby boy.

Please wear a life jacket.

Oh wow. Im very sorry for you but especially for his family. Many prayers.

I am so sad to hear of this. Great advice to always wear a life jacket.

I am so sorry to hear this. Many prayers for his family. I hope your post will save other lives and prevent this tragic heartbreak from occurring again.

Tragic....

So sorry to hear this. Prayers for him, his family & friends.

BTW I couldn't help but notice the sad irony of your screen name. Good reminder.

Sorry to hear this. Were there any news stories? Link?

My neighbor just called to inform me about this incident. His wife is related to the family that lost their father. Very sad.

Please stay safe everyone!

Very sad indeed. Prayers for the family.

I don't know why people refuse to wear their PFD. It's just like driving and not putting your seatbelt on. Two simple things that can save your life.

I'm very sorry to hear this. My heart goes out to you and his family.

I just returned from a trip yesterday on which I wore my pfd for the entire trip for the very first time. I finally invested in an expensive pfd. It's very comfortable to wear. It doesn't feel like I'm wearing anything at all while paddling or fishing. Now I want to outfit my whole family in comfortable, modern pfds.

Link:

Perent Lake Drowning

Sorry to hear this. Stories like this make me so sick to my stomach because they can so easily be prevented. Praying for peace and comfort for the family.

ducks: "Very sad indeed. Prayers for the family."

Ditto, so sad that the child will grow up without their father.

Terrible news. Incidents like this have made me officially rethink my PFD habits.

Does anyone know if it was inclement weather?

As horrible as the family must feel, let's also keep his paddling partner in our thoughts and prayers. I can't begin to imagine the guilt he feels having survived while his paddling buddy did not.

I'm so sorry. 15 years ago my neighbor lost their son to drowning. He was on the swim team and a strong swimmer so didn't think he needed to wear a pfd. After that day I started wearing my pfd every time. Because I am also a strong swimmer, but that won't help you.

Heartbreaking.

I am so sorry for your loss and for his family's loss.

The dreaded double posts. Delete all doubles at will. Thanks.

Lest we forget! Thanks for the reminder from such great personal loss for so many. Prayers and thoughts for family and friends.

How many lives will be saved because you have posted here. Maybe not this year, but as PFD usage grows into the expected norm when on the water, maybe the persons saved will be many. "I am a good driver" "I am a good swimmer" thinking will be replaced with a caution (PFD) which cost nothing extra to wear will be the norm. I try to never ever assume safety.

bwcadan: "
How many lives will be saved because you have posted here. Maybe not this year, but as PFD usage grows into the expected norm when on the water, maybe the persons saved will be many. "I am a good driver" "I am a good swimmer" thinking will be replaced with a caution (PFD) which cost nothing extra to wear will be the norm. I try to never ever assume safety."

I'll admit to not being 100% on the pfd usage, when in calm conditions, hot day, easy paddling/fishing conditions...

And yes, I'll be re-thinking that due to this thread. By re-thinking, I mean, wearing it always.

Thanks OP for posting, it will make a difference.

My heart goes out to you and this man's family.

with water temps right now....

hard enough with people I know fighting cancer so hard....

dr bob

I’m sorry for your loss. I read about this tragedy in onematchs thread. So sad for the young family.

It was another same story like this one from Mike McSweem a member here that changed my mind to always wear a PFD when on the water. I used to sit on my life jacket for padding on the aluminum seat. Not any more. Everyone in our group wears a PFD when canoeing or fishing.

So very sad. Here's a brief news report.

Link

So very sad. Here's a brief news report.

Link

irishluck: "I'm very sorry to hear this. My heart goes out to you and his family.


I just returned from a trip yesterday on which I wore my pfd for the entire trip for the very first time. I finally invested in an expensive pfd. It's very comfortable to wear. It doesn't feel like I'm wearing anything at all while paddling or fishing. Now I want to outfit my whole family in comfortable, modern pfds. "

This is key to getting pdf usage," comfortable". I bought some inflatable ones and nobody minds wearing them. The old life jacket or worse "Mae West " style were so uncomfortable no one wanted to wear one. I would hope that people would think enough of there family members to spend the money to get modern , comfortable pdf's.

I am so sorry for the loss of your friend and my heart goes out to his family. Thank you for having the strength to bring this reminder to everyone.

I will admit that, although I am a fanatic about wearing a PFD, I failed to do so on a motor boat off the Florida Keys last month. We were out there to go snorkeling, all of us were excellent swimmers, the person running the boat is an experienced, licensed master but the fact is that it was pretty rough and a capsize a few miles offshore could have been tragic. I should have insisted on a PFD.

K52: "

irishluck: "I'm very sorry to hear this. My heart goes out to you and his family.



I just returned from a trip yesterday on which I wore my pfd for the entire trip for the very first time. I finally invested in an expensive pfd. It's very comfortable to wear. It doesn't feel like I'm wearing anything at all while paddling or fishing. Now I want to outfit my whole family in comfortable, modern pfds. "

This is key to getting pdf usage," comfortable". I bought some inflatable ones and nobody minds wearing them. The old life jacket or worse "Mae West " style were so uncomfortable no one wanted to wear one. I would hope that people would think enough of there family members to spend the money to get modern , comfortable pdf's. "

I think it would be great if there was a gear swap thread set up with the specific purpose of handing down (or selling for a reasonably low price or shipping fee) QUALITY youth PFDs as one's children outgrow them. Maybe more kids would have a positive experience outdoors, their parents wouldn't go broke, and everyone is safe. win/win/win

I'm so sorry to hear. What a tragedy. A person I knew drowned on Makwa Lake a few years ago while cliff jumping off a very popular jumping spot. He was super athletic, but they think he got the wind knocked out of him and he never surfaced. His brother was watching. He also was not wearing a PFD. Count me in as the person who used to not always wear one (I was a State swimmer in high school). I wear one now while canoeing and no longer jump off things into the water.

We started a Gofundme page for him here -

https://www.gofundme.com/

Anything donations will be greatly appreciated

Thanks,

Ryan

So sad to hear. Never get in a canoe without PFD.

Life Jacket: "A friend of mine drowned up in the BWCA this weekend. He was looking forward to the trip very much and will be missed.

I am posting this only to say that a life jacket would have saved his life. He was 31 years old with a newborn baby boy.

Please wear a life jacket."

Life Jacket, I lost one of my best friends to a drowning on Knife lake it will be 17 years this next Sunday, I know exactly how you are feeling, hang in there, we weren't wearing our PFD's either. Cherish the memories you have of you friend

WinstonRumfoord: "Terrible news. Incidents like this have made me officially rethink my PFD habits.


Does anyone know if it was inclement weather?


As horrible as the family must feel, let's also keep his paddling partner in our thoughts and prayers. I can't begin to imagine the guilt he feels having survived while his paddling buddy did not."

I was out this past week on Ogish. Weather was sunny with light winds by the evening. Ironically, I dunked that evening as well -- pfd on. It's more of a struggle than one would think to get to shore about 10 yards away while holding onto the boat and my kayak paddle --and I'm a good swimmer! My thoughts and prayers go out to the young man's family -- truly tragic and untimely.

I am so sorry to hear about this loss - for you, your friend's family, the canoe partner. If even ONE person makes a decision to always wear their PFD while on the water, something positive will have come out of this tragedy.

Absolutely tragic. Today my heart is broken for this family...

WinstonRumfoord: "Terrible news. Incidents like this have made me officially rethink my PFD habits.


Does anyone know if it was inclement weather?


As horrible as the family must feel, let's also keep his paddling partner in our thoughts and prayers. I can't begin to imagine the guilt he feels having survived while his paddling buddy did not."

weather on Sat. June 9 in Ely=

Looks like it was a fine day, no inclement weather at all.

Wow. So very very sad.

I suppose even good swimmers can hit their heads, get wind knocked out of them, have muscles impacted by cold water, etc. etc.

My heart goes out to his family.

Way back in 1971 when we began canoeing together Spartan1 and I made a pact that whenever we were in a canoe together, no matter the place or conditions, we would always wear a PFD. On shallow water, lakes, rivers, streams, in good weather or bad. It has never been broken. Sometimes it has seemed sort of silly, since we both are swimmers, and we often canoe in very safe conditions and places. But we do it. And I am thankful. Especially now that we have grandchildren, and we are setting a good example.

I am going to donate a small amount to this family, and I hope they do get enough help to soften the blow financially, but there is just nothing that will soften the blow in other ways. A very sad thing to lose husband and Dad. My thoughts and prayers are with them.

My condolences on the loss of your friend.

I was raised to always wear a pfd and made my hubby promise to wear his when we started our relationship. My Golden Retriever even wears a pfd, because you just never know... Life is precious.

nojobro: " weather on Sat. June 9 in Ely=


Looks like it was a fine day, no inclement weather at all."

Looks a bit windy to me. Perent Lake looks big enough to get decent sized waves too. Anything over 10mph can lead to bigger waves if it can build up over a mile or more of water. Not huge waves but it doesn't take much to throw you off balance sometimes.

I am so sorry to hear about this.
I would like to mention that along with pfd, we should always wear seatbelts.
My 2 kids and I were saved from harm when I rolled my car up near Red Lake a few years back.
I still get chills when I look at the photos and remember that day.

Life Jacket: "A friend of mine drowned up in the BWCA this weekend. He was looking forward to the trip very much and will be missed.

I am posting this only to say that a life jacket would have saved his life. He was 31 years old with a newborn baby boy.

Please wear a life jacket."

That had to be painful for you to post this, thank you very much, maybe this will change someone's mind.

So sad to hear stories like this. Thoughts go out to everyone involved. Like a previous post mentioned, a comfortable pfd is a lot easier to wear than an old piece of junk.

These types of reports just make me want to scream. If you choose not to wear a PFD and you die because of it, well you're dead and you have no problems. But the people you leave behind, they got hell. Family dealing with the emotional and financial repercussions, communities stepping up and taking care of your responsibilities to your family, rescuers looking for and hauling your dead body and suffering the emotional stress. 3 freakin' kids under the age of 5 and so irresponsible. Bad things happen that you can't prevent, but this isn't one of them.

Thought I would never tip, but I got caught crosswise between current and wind in an empty canoe and flipped in a second.. suddenly underwater wearing blue jeans, sweatshirt, shoes, and fortunately a life jacket that popped me to the surface. Told all the kids it was okay to laugh. I thought then and I think now, I might not have made it back to the surface without that life jacket. That sensation was very real.

Just returned from a trip in the Boundary Waters. It is tough reading about this horrible tragedy just returning from such a Beautiful place but can also be deadly. I always have and will continue wearing my pfd. And I make sure anybody paddling with me is wearing one. So very sorry for your loss. My heart, thoughts and prayers go out to you and all his family and loved ones.

So sorry to hear of this tragic and senseless loss. Never boat without a life jacket, even a great swimmer can be outrun by a blowing canoe, slowed or stopped by hypothermia, or just run out of steam when very far from shore. NOONE is immune from capsizing, to think so is arrogant and stupid. And to those who say that they are responsible for the risks they take, your loved ones deserve better, and the recovery crews have better things to do than look for your ignorant butt. End of speech. So sorry for the loss of your friend.

I admit that I didn't always wear my pfd in BWCA and Quetico. I even was in the habit of strapping the pfd's under the deck rigging of my decked Kruger canoes. Then at some point I got some sense, and a good pfd, and it is now on all the time. I MAY take it off after a portage when I go back for the second pack or canoe, but then it goes right back on. I can say that my daughter and I had our pfds on 100% of the time we were on the water on our last 11 day trip to Woodland Caribou Provincial Park. A big part of it, as mentioned earlier, is getting a GOOD pfd. I have a NRS C Vest, and my daughter uses an Astral Hybrid. The are very comfortable and easy to wear. Astral, Kokatat and NRS make some great ones for about $100. Astral V8, Kokatat MsFit Tour, Orbit, or Outfit Tour, NRS CVest, and the list goes on , We also carry a vacuum sealed survival kit in each, which includes a space blanket, twine, and several means of firestarting. Each vest also has a whistle and a signal mirror. I've got a ACR PLB in mine too. All the more reason to have a pfd on you, wearing it!

How sad to hear. His family and friends will be in my prayers. I just came back from my first BWCA trip ever (EP47) and was surprised how many people weren't wearing their PFD while paddling. I do a lot of kayak fishing and have been wearing an NRS Chinook for at least 5 years now. I don't go on the water without it.

https://www.enrs.com/product/40009.03/nrs-chinook-fishing-pfd

no one is immune from capsizing.. Many happen when you wouldn't expect it.

Get your head out of the boundaries of the gunwales often from mere inattention and you'll swim

Boggles me when folks continue to think they are disaster proof.. especially with the family now literally left picking up the pieces..