BRAINERD, Minn. — When Alec Stark and his duck hunting friends pushed off from shore on a cold, miserable October morning a few weeks back, they had no idea the most important moment of the day had already passed.
It was the moment they decided to wear life jackets with their camo.
The group was in a blind on Long Lake near Brainerd when they decided to return to the boat landing. They left the sheltered calm of the blind and quickly found themselves in howling, 24 mph winds and rolling waters. Instead of crossing in the turbulent middle of the lake the crew hugged the shoreline, but it wasn't long before the 16-foot fishing boat began taking on water as waves crashed over the bow. It became clear they wouldn't make it.
Stark and his pals threw their decoys out of the boat, hoping to use them as floats. But it turns out the group's decision to actually wear their life jackets -- and not just have them in the boat -- likely saved their lives.
“Without the life jackets, we wouldn’t have been able to swim back. And had we not already been wearing them, there wouldn’t have been time to put them on,” the 24-year-old Stark told the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR). “The shock of the cold water – you can’t even think. You’re just trying to breathe.”
Stark, who also was wearing waders, flipped onto his back and started kicking for shore. As soon he was in the shallows Stark called 911. A North Memorial Ambulance crew took all four hunters to the hospital to be treated for hypothermia.
“This story easily could have had a different and tragic ending,” said DNR Conservation Officer Eric Sullivan, who helped on the scene. “Their preparation on the front end likely saved their lives. They wore their life jackets and had a safety plan to deal with the extreme conditions. And when it became necessary to put their plan into action, they executed it by leaving most of their equipment behind and using their duck decoys for additional flotation.”
The DNR says nine people have died so far this year in boating accidents, the fewest since 2010. While most boating-related incidents occur during the summer months, a higher percentage of those that occur during the cold-water season are fatal. DNR water safety experts say anyone who boats during the cold-water season should wear a life jacket (foam is better than inflatable), file a float plan, carry a cell phone to call for help, and be prepared to deal with an unforeseen incident.