The 27-year-old Corbin and his sister, along with four friends, simmered in the midday sun aboard a pontoon boat in East Traverse Bay, approximately 150 yards off shore. The furthest thing from Corbin’s mind when he foolishly pushed his sister off the boat into shallow water was that it could be fatal.

In fact, even after he pushed her overboard, the crew continued on with their merriment. It wasn’t until his wife and then Corbin saw life-threatening fear in his sister’s eyes, and that she couldn’t cry out that something was dreadfully wrong. He impulsively dove in and instantly realized his sister’s plight- ice cold water ripped the breath from his lungs. The others aboard, including a state trooper friend, appeared oblivious to the prevailing trauma.

Corbin’s sister clasped her arms around her brother, drawing him under. Floundering to stay afloat, Corbin struggled towards shore. Fortunately his feet found the bottom and he was able to reach safe waters with his sister in tow. I asked him on a scale from 1-10 how close he came to drowning? He responded- 91/2 to 10. It was that close; the cold water nearly broke his will. I asked him why he didn’t throw his sister a flotation device. It never occurred to him; he dove in because that’s what they do in the movies.

He told me that he had lived near water all this life, kept physically fit, yet a seemingly benign environment nearly claimed his life. I told him his situation was not unusual and that after 26 years in Coast Guard search and rescue, I’ve concluded that when you least expect to be ambushed on the water, that’s when you most likely will be. I’m convinced now more than ever that the moment you put your guard down is the moment you should be most on guard around water, especially on a so-called nice day.

Corbin told me his story during a airplane flight from California to Michigan in late March. In fact, it was 29 March. I remember the date because when I arrived home in Manistee, Michigan, I was greeted by headlines in the local paper of three young men who were rescued from Manistee Lake after their 14-foot boat capsized. Later, I talked with Leland Reed, one of the young men involved, his recall of the events sounded much like Corbin’s story.

A nice day, an inland lake, only yards from shore. "I never thought I would be swimming that day. In the water, I thought, how in the heck did I get here?" said Reed.

Reed and his friend’s ordeal began when winds whipped Manistee Lake into white caps. Beating into the seas only a few hundred yards off shore, they began taking on water. "Within two minutes I knew we were going down. We sank in less than five," said Reed. "The water was cold, like nothing I ever felt before. I thought of swimming to shore, but my clothing was water logged and my boots prevented me from kicking."

Reed struggled to slip into a life jacket floating nearby. "I tried to put on the life jacket but I put my head through the shoulder and arm slot. I almost choked myself trying to put it on." I told him that trying to put a like jacket on in water is like trying to put on a safety belt during a car wreck.

"Heck, " he responded, "The lake wasn’t very deep, about twelve feet, but I guess deep enough to drown me and it nearly did," he said dryly.

A boater on shore who spotted the three men at first took their heads for buoys. Their cries drew his attention. He pulled them to shore in his 14-foot boat. A wise move, since hauling them aboard may well have capsized his boat. "I was really weak. Sitting on some rocks near shore, I couldn’t stand up. I needed assistance." said Reed. Reed is a big fellow at 6.4' and 290 pounds. I certainly would like him on my side if it came to blows.

But that and seventy-five cents will get you a cup of coffee when it comes to a seemingly friendly water environment. As Reed said: "It never occurred to him that this could happen in friendly familiar waters." The fact is, that is when it most often does. This is especially true this time of the year on Lake Michigan and connecting lakes when warm air fools you into believing the water is warm.

Not so. I went to my Boat Smart web site (www.boatsmart.net) to get Lake Michigan water temperatures between Frankfort, Michigan and and Michigan City, Indiana: it showed an average water temperature of 55 degress with 52 degrees at Frankfort and 58 at Michigan City. The National Weather service is forcasting air temperatures to reach close to 80 degrees by Friday (June 9, 2000).

Boat Smart, don’t be fooled by a benign marine environment, but if you are, have the good sense to wear a life jacket.

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Boat Smart is now on the Internet: www.boatsmart.net (includes Lake Michigan water temperatures and local weather).

Use channel 16 for emergencies, and channel 9 for calling fellow boaters.