Lessons For Life

These Kayakers Fought for Survival After Big Waves Overturned Their Boats

One by one, the three kayakers capsized in the cold, angry water. Then they became separated. It was meant to be another boys’ trip, the latest in a tradition that stretched back more than two decades. Every other year, the old friends—Jim Farrington, 49, an electrical lineman in Alden, Michigan; Sean Royston, 47, an electrical grid systems manager […]

Teen Boaters Rescue Five From Capsized Boat

The radio made all the difference, Evan Kamoen says. Evan, then 18, was heading to a favorite fishing spot on Long Island Sound with friends Ryan Kelly and Luke Voegeli last summer when they heard the call. “It was ‘Mayday! Mayday! Mayday! Our boat is sinking!’” Evan recalls. Five men were aboard the stricken vessel, […]

Who Do You Call When Your Kayak Sinks?

Treading water three miles offshore is no place for a wrong number Christian Nelson didn’t know the trouble he was in. He was three miles out from Gulf Shores Alabama when the kayak he was trolling from developed a 9-inch crack between the scupper holes. He didn’t notice the damage until the kayak was full […]

Heroes Rescue Kids From Epic Boating Smackdown

By Jeff Moag Shane McDonald couldn’t look away. He and his son Jake were on stand-up jet skis, following a 30-foot center console out of Boynton Beach Inlet. Under certain conditions, the south Florida pass opens into a line of breaking surf, and on that particular day the waves just beyond the breakwater looked like […]

Surfski Paddler Risks All To Save Kayaker From Freezing Lake

Five lessons from a dramatic close call caught on video Anyone who has helped a fellow paddler recover from a swim in deep water knows how difficult it can be, whether the craft you’re working from is a canoe, a sea kayak or whitewater boat. Now imagine handling such a rescue alone, with a victim […]

Lone kayaker saves two men from sinking motorboat

Unlikely hero credits kayak safety training for rescue of two non-swimmers from South Carolina Lake Allen Hutto was having one of those days. He’d loaded his sea kayak for an early morning paddle, but on the way to the lake his car picked up a nail. Repairing the flat took a couple of hours. The […]

Incredible Boating Rescue Caught On Camera

‘This Could Have Killed Him!’ fishing guide says, and that’s no hype You never know when a slow day fishing will turn into a story you’ll be telling for years. Take Ty Southerland and his new neighbor Chris Pace. Ty is a well-known fishing guide out of Rockport Texas, and host of the “30 Miles […]

Heroic Boating Rescue at Destin Pass

Sgt. Brian Parkton knew the situation could turn bad in a heartbeat. The veteran marine patrol officer was responding to reports of a boat in trouble with nine people, including three children, still on board. The 21-foot open motorboat had filled with water and lost power at the mouth of Destin Pass, a northwest Florida […]

The Rest of the Story

What happened after this viral smash-up at the mouth of the Columbia is just as scary as the crash itself. By Jeff Moag If you’ve been on the Internet in the last four years, you’ve probably seen the video. It starts with three salmon fishermen waving and shouting as a 31-foot powerboat bears down on […]

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 […]

Answering the Call

When a 17-year-old paddleboarder was swept out to sea, his survival depended on his cell phone — and the voice on the other end of the line. By Jeff Moag The emergency calls came in a flurry as the weather turned sour along the coast of North Wales. When the last one came, Andy Bolter […]

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.

Collision on the Chesapeake

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

Rescue at Pictured Rocks

By Jeff Moag It was meant to be another boy’s trip, the latest in a tradition that stretched back more than two decades for old friends Jim Farrington, Sean Royston and Tolan Annis. It turned into a life-and-death struggle in the chill waters of Lake Superior. Jim, 49, was an electrical lineman out of Alden, […]

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 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 […]

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 […]