NEVER tie yourself to your boat
I’m not much of an absolutist. Most situations are complex. Many solutions work for the same problem. I can even think of exceptions to my “never” statement here, but in general, tying yourself to a boat on a river is a recipe for disaster.
The recent drowning of a famous Oregon chef named Naomi Pomeroy illustrates why. She was only 49 years old and a LOT of people are distraught over losing her. She paid the highest price for mistakes that are understandable.
Naomi was tubing with a group of friends on an easy river when their flotilla ran into a “snag”. River runners call it a strainer. A strainer is a tree or branches in the water. It’s called a strainer because water runs through it, and people and boats might not. AND she was attached to the tubes. Strainers are very dangerous, even when you are not attached to your boat, because branches can catch on things.
A lot of people are harping on the fact that she wasn’t wearing a life jacket. It’s true, the vast majority of drownings involve people who don’t have a life jacket on. We ALWAYS wear life jackets on the river, because it is our #1 survival tool. But I worry that in all the noise about life jackets people won’t get the message about attaching themselves to the boats.
It’s an easy mistake to make. It seems like a good idea to most folks who don’t run rivers. You don’t want to fall out and have your boat get away. Parents can think it’s a good idea to rope their kids to a raft, thinking they can just reel them back in like a big fish if they fall out. The problem is that ropes get snagged on things. That’s what happened to Naomi.
A life jacket also might have saved her. I heard by word of mouth that rescuers were able to cut the line that was holding her under water, but that then she was swept deep under water and not seen again. If she’d had on a life jacket, they might have been able to grab her by it. If she’d had on a life jacket, she would have surfaced so that they could attempt resuscitation.
Naomi and all the things she would have done will be greatly missed. May we all honor her by teaching the lessons that will save lives in the future. Always wear your life jacket. And Never tie yourself to a boat.
For those who think more deeply about it, here’s the exception: Surfers in the ocean and standup paddle boarders on large rivers justifiably use ankle tethers to keep their boards from getting away. Better break-away tethers are under development so that even these people aren’t irreversibly attached to their craft.
