Within minutes my engineer and I arrived alongside a 16-foot Centerline with the dog, a chocolate Labrador. The boater who made the call to the Coast Guard lay alongside the Centerline in around 42 feet of water, approximately 1500 yards off the beach, Muskegon State Park. After directing the assisting boater to set an anchor on the boat adrift with the dog, we began a search of the area. About 150 yards south of the boat with the dog we spotted a pair of Reebok tennis shoes and a pack of Mareboro Lite cigarettes. We marked the coordinates with our Global Position System (GPS), scooped up the shoes, and continued our search of the area.

Negative sightings.

We then requested assistance from Coast Guard air and the Muskegon Sheriff Marine Patrol.

This was not good. A boat adrift with a dog, shoes in the water, and a brand of cigarette that matched the same pack laying on the floor of the boat with the dog. Too bad the dog couldn’t speak but the chocolate lab, Spirit, did provide a clue as to his owner- his dog tags.

The tags led to the dog’s master a 36-year-old male who, according to the source contacted on the tags, had launched early that morning from a Muskegon Lake boat ramp. This was later confirmed by the boat ramp attendant. Also, a boater in the area of the search advised us that he had seen the boat on the lake around 9:30 a.m with the dog and an adult male.

That the boat was so close to the shoes led us to believe that the operator was some where near that location. By now, the Coast Guard helicopter was over head searching along with my surface craft and a Muskegon County Sheriff’s boat. The weather was ideal for searching, with clear skies, unlimited visibility, 7-10 ten knot winds, 1-foot seas, air temperature near 70, and a water temperature around 65 degrees although it felt colder than that.

While conducting the search, I kept thinking what may have happened that put the 36-year-old in the water and why did he remove his shoes? Did he accidentally fall in and then remove his shoes to swim to the boat which was, no doubt, drifting away pushed by the wind and seas? It wouldn’t take much to push along the 16-foot aluminum-hull boat. Reportedly he was a good swimmer. But then I thought of the times I’ve performed rescue swims with the Coast Guard and how 60-degree water temperatures literally jolted my system.

It brought to mind a training rescue swim I conducted several years ago off Manistee. I live around four miles north of Manistee, across from Lake Michigan. The crew dropped me off around 300 yards from shore. Donned in a full survival suit my plan was to back stroke to shore and walk home. Was I in for a surprise!

Just the night before, I swam in the lake, in fact, I swam around a quarter of mile routinely in the lake. It was late August and the water temperature was about 68 degrees the night before. That was the night before. Over night low temperatures and an offshore wind had cooled the lake considerably. That 300 yards seemed like 3000 yards. And because of the shallow depths the CG boat could not reach me if they had to. I was on my own: it began to gnaw at my confidence. Nothing can do that like cold water, believe me. By the time I reached shore my fingers looked like dried prunes and despite a 75-degree air temperate, I was experiencing hypothermia. I can only imagine what condition I would be in if not for the survival suit.

So, with that in mind, I wondered how long in those water temperatures even a good swimmer- assuming he was in condition and swam daily- could survive, especially without a life jacket. And so, I suspected that for whatever reasons the fisherman ended up in the water, he was not wearing a life jacket.

Why? Well, by day’s end the Coast Guard helicopter had flown a series of searches, two Coast Guard surface vessels combed the search area, racking up 17 hours before night fall. In addition, two Sheriff Marine boats performed searches and a dive team from the Muskegon Fire Department also took part in the hunt. Then, add to that a steady flow of vessel traffic through the search area- all failed to come up with a find. What’s more and even more convincing, the wife and a close fishing friend of the missing boater told the Coast Guard that he did not wear life jackets.

For certain only Lake Michigan knows the answer. Boat Smart, wear a life jacket especially if you are alone on the water.

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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.