not a river tale

[EdK]

Hey Ken, it was good to have run into ya at the crap plant a few weeks ago and talk with you in person....got a short story to share with ya and your following....altho its not a river tale...I was out canoeing at Douglas pond in Oswego last Wedn...I was planning on doing a little fishing and I just put in and paddled out a ways when the canoe flipped...now I'm a very marginal swimmer, but I'm no fool and I'm wearing an inflatable life jacket..the type that is like a parachute..you have to pull a cord to inflate it...so there I go into the 45-50 degree water and I pull the cord and it works like a charm. I'm now bobbing about in maybe 10 feet of water and its cooooold....and to make matters a bit complicated I can't get to shore because I'm tangled up in my anchor rope...fortunately a home owner happens to look out his window and puts two and two together and calls the fire dept...I have never been that cold...I don't know how long I spent in the water b-4 they got me out..its obviously difficult to judge time in that situation, but if that home owner hadn't come along when he did it would have gotten very interesting...... I'm still wondering what I did wrong to have cause the canoe to flip ... I'm no expert, but I've been out in a canoe many a time and this is a first. Man it happened so quick. I'm a bit spooked- but I went back to the pond the very next day and got in the canoe to try to fish out the 3 rods I lost. (no luck tho) but I do feel fortunate tho..I always figured that it was not a matter of IF but WHEN I would fall into the water -so I always wore a life jacket...ya know up to this point my spring hasn't been all that productive...maybe my luck is changing.........(next time I'll talk about the river) and hopefully some success on it...

[Ken G]

Shit Ed, sounds like your lucky to be alive.
Hypothermia is no fun, I've had it twice. Takes way too long to get back warmed up and the whole time your kind of wondering if your heart is going to just stop.

I've flipped a kayak, but not yet a canoe. Maybe its time to get those canoe stabilizers.

Too bad about the rods, but at least your safe. If not feeling a little stupid.

That's one of the reasons I stick to relatively shallow rivers like the Fox. All I have to know how to do is stand up.