Accidents with Lessons For Life

Lifeline

Adrift on a capsized boat 16 miles offshore, a palm-sized personal locator beacon was their best last chance. By Jeff Moag The situation went bad in a hurry. Tan Boriboune joined a group of five friends for a day of spearfishing off Virginia Beach on August 16, 2020. A heavy swell was running that Sunday […]

Bass Boat Hero Coralls Runaway Boat

Getting thrown from a bass boat at 60 mph is one way to learn about the importance of Engine Cutoff Switches.

A Whistle in the Wind

Mark Wheeler went overboard in pitch darkness and a 40-knot squall. This is the remarkable story of how his friends got him back. By Jeff Moag Mark Wheeler went overboard a few minutes before midnight. He was in the middle of Lake Michigan, 30 miles offshore in 40 knots of wind. As he fumbled for […]

Collision on the Chesapeake

What re-enacting the unlikeliest accident on Chesapeake Bay tells us about boating safety.

Losing a 300-pound Marlin—And Their Boat

Ten minutes, maybe less. That’s all the time Dan Suski had from the moment he cut the marlin loose until he was treading water in the Atlantic, the 33-foot sport boat Reel Irie already on its way to the bottom some 1,800 feet below. “That’s a pretty surreal feeling, seeing a boat just disappear into […]

A Lesson to Live By

Kayak angler Sean Danielson’s father insisted he wear a lifejacket. Years later, that advice would save his life. By Jeff Moag Sean Danielson is a lucky man. After nearly three hours in the frigid waters of Chesapeake Bay, the kayak fisherman was hypothermic and barely conscious. The sun had just set, and if Lana Lohe […]

Kayak Angler Smashed by Motorboat

August 31, 2019 was shaping up as an unforgettable day even before kayak angler Adam Irino got steamrolled by a motorboat and caught the biggest fish of his life. Adam and two friends launched their kayaks early that morning from Rockaway Beach, a few miles south of San Francisco. As the sun crept over the […]

Rescue Under the Lights

When a night-fishing mission goes awry, two kayak anglers learn the importance of staying calm and working together

Mississippi Miracle

How river pilot Sean Tittle stopped a 12,000-ton vessel and saved a family of three

Tragedy on Dungeness Bay

A sea kayaking accident underlines the peril of cold water. By Jeff Moag Dungeness Spit is a sliver of hard sand barely 100 yards wide and more than five miles long, sheltering a shallow bay on the northern edge of Washington’s Olympic Peninsula. The wildlife sanctuary teems with birds and sea life, and the spit […]