A rescue adventure

[He Reigns]

I will start this story by saying, I have not done any work on my boat or taken it out in a couple weeks. I still don't trust it to run right and only travel upstream from boat ramp........

My buddy calls me and all I could hear is stranded and rock creek and lost the call. Rock creek is 7 miles down stream from the ramp and in hells canyon. The ramp is 25 miles from house with 15 miles of gravel road.....

So my boys and I grab the boat out of garage and of course it looks like a tornado had gone through it. While the boys were taking all the junk out of it, I did a quick assessment, trying to remember if I had anything torn apart for repairs. We removed everything not essential, no fishing gear, all was left was a lot of tools and a cooler with water when we left......

Had to stop to fill up with gas, I was still assessing the whole of the situation. I was in a in my eyes a untrustworthy boat, 15 miles of gravel and no spare tire for trailer, going into hells canyon, which is basically in the middle of no where. I called another friend to let him know if I am not back in 3 to 4 hours come and get both of us......

We drive out to the boat ramp without problem, noting the temperature reads 104, with arriving to see 2 1/2 foot swells and chop with white caps. Now my boat has not seen anything bigger then 6 inches and it had cavitation problems with that, so we shove off. Going downstream with a 10 mph head wind pounding rollers, cavitating like crazy, I could barley maintain a plane. So at 15 mph plus with splashing coming over the bow we raced to the rescue. I sure the whole boat was airborne a few times, pounding and pounding the flat bottom. Splashing and splashing, it actually felt good to get wet because it was so HOT.......

We finally found them and rigged up a strap and rope to tow them back. He had a fuel problem that I did not want to try to fix on the bank in the middle of nowhere in 104 degree heat. The tow back was uneventful other than with my stick steer and lever throttle that came off the jet ski, my hand was getting cramps, so I reached down and gave a couple turns to the idle adjustment screw to maintain a 10 mph tow. The only other problem is I am still sitting and the dang 2x4 and my backside was getting tired.......


Everything worked out, my boat proved itself, and if anything it has given my renewed interest to get it finished sometime this year. In the end it was a great adventure with some fun mixed in.

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[surfman]

Well at the very least it proved out to be more reliable than your buddies.

 

[tonynoriega]

They don't call it Hells Canyon for no reason...

"What the hells wrong back there Jim?"

"Hells if I know..."

 

[He Reigns]

Tony, if you look in pics the water is at high water mark. The snake is still flowing hard. Is CJ Strike full? Crappie fishing is a bust, plenty of fish but all to small, by the looks of them it will be 2 more years for good keepers.

 

[Attwanl]

It's nice to have friends to get ya out of tight spots....where you at that it's 104?

 

[He Reigns]

Idaho, the land with four seasons. Pretty normal to reach 110 in summer and -10 in winter.

 

[PSG-1]

Glad to see you putting your boat to good use already!! =D>

I've used my jet boat quite a few times to tow people in, and even a couple of times in rescues.

One of them was a near-drowning where a guy fell out of his kayak, and the wind blew it away from him. The really bad part was that anytime he could find bottom with his feet, it was an oyster bed. :shock: I managed to recover the kayak, then help him into it, and pull him back to shore where the rescue squad was waiting. He was a cut up bloody mess, and had lost enough blood (and had gained enough alcohol) when he stood up at the landing, he collapsed. EMT's thanked me for bringing the guy to them, as they were at a loss to figure out how to get to where he was, given the fact it was a falling tide, and getting dark.

Just a couple of weeks ago, my jet boat was used to rescue me, when I snapped the driveshaft on my Merc 50 by striking an underwater obstruction. Sitting dead in the water, I called my girlfriend at the house and told her I'd snapped the driveshaft and needed a tow, go ahead and hook up to the jet boat and come to where I was. About 15 minutes later, we saw her launch at the ramp, then coasting across the flats on low tide (she knows the route as well as I do) We got tow lines hooked up (I carry a set of lines specifically for towing, aboard the jet) and got my other boat back to the hill.

In addition to a good tow boat, my jet is also a good waterskiing boat. It's also a great fishing boat. Gotta love that multi-purpose aspect!!

 

[acabtp]

PSG-1 » 54 minutes ago[/url]"]... I called my girlfriend at the house and told her I'd snapped the driveshaft and needed a tow, go ahead and hook up to the jet boat and come to where I was. About 15 minutes later, we saw her launch at the ramp, then coasting across the flats on low tide (she knows the route as well as I do) We got tow lines hooked up (I carry a set of lines specifically for towing, aboard the jet) and got my other boat back to the hill.

wait a second... your girlfriend hooked a trailer to a tow vehicle, drove the tow vehicle somewhere, launched the boat, and drove it to come get you all by herself?!? :shock: :shock: that's amazing, i need to show this post to my wife

 

[Stumpalump]

acabtp » 08 Jul 2014, 06:52[/url]"]

PSG-1 » 54 minutes ago[/url]"]... I called my girlfriend at the house and told her I'd snapped the driveshaft and needed a tow, go ahead and hook up to the jet boat and come to where I was. About 15 minutes later, we saw her launch at the ramp, then coasting across the flats on low tide (she knows the route as well as I do) We got tow lines hooked up (I carry a set of lines specifically for towing, aboard the jet) and got my other boat back to the hill.

wait a second... your girlfriend hooked a trailer to a tow vehicle, drove the tow vehicle somewhere, launched the boat, and drove it to come get you all by herself?!? :shock: :shock: that's amazing, i need to show this post to my wife

I was wondering if she had a sister? What a great story of a rescue and friendship.

 

[tonynoriega]

Yep... the Snake is still flowing good all the way from CJ and Swan Falls???

Water is pretty high and muddy as all get out...

Usually it is clear by this time of year but not this time...

 

[onthewater102]

acabtp » 08 Jul 2014, 09:52[/url]"]

PSG-1 » 54 minutes ago[/url]"]... I called my girlfriend at the house and told her I'd snapped the driveshaft and needed a tow, go ahead and hook up to the jet boat and come to where I was. About 15 minutes later, we saw her launch at the ramp, then coasting across the flats on low tide (she knows the route as well as I do) We got tow lines hooked up (I carry a set of lines specifically for towing, aboard the jet) and got my other boat back to the hill.

wait a second... your girlfriend hooked a trailer to a tow vehicle, drove the tow vehicle somewhere, launched the boat, and drove it to come get you all by herself?!? :shock: :shock: that's amazing, i need to show this post to my wife

A girlfriend might do this - a wife will just ignore the phone call and read about the discovery of your remains in the paper the next morning.

 

[PSG-1]

Stumpalump » Today, 12:03[/url]"]

acabtp » 08 Jul 2014, 06:52[/url]"]

PSG-1 » 54 minutes ago[/url]"]... I called my girlfriend at the house and told her I'd snapped the driveshaft and needed a tow, go ahead and hook up to the jet boat and come to where I was. About 15 minutes later, we saw her launch at the ramp, then coasting across the flats on low tide (she knows the route as well as I do) We got tow lines hooked up (I carry a set of lines specifically for towing, aboard the jet) and got my other boat back to the hill.

wait a second... your girlfriend hooked a trailer to a tow vehicle, drove the tow vehicle somewhere, launched the boat, and drove it to come get you all by herself?!? :shock: :shock: that's amazing, i need to show this post to my wife

I was wondering if she had a sister? What a great story of a rescue and friendship.

LOL, no, she's got 2 brothers, no sisters. And 1 of her brothers was the occupant in my boat that day, so, calling him to come get me with his boat was not an option. Fortunately for me, my better half was home, and she knows how to run all kinds of boats, even tugboats. And she's no stranger to jet boats. When her dad was a commercial crabber in Winyah Bay, she worked with him and ran the boat while he worked the traps. It was a Diamond Jet, had a big V8 engine.

I've let her run my jet boat enough that she is confident in how to handle it. Watch as we go through an unfamiliar inlet on a falling tide, not to mention her superb trailering skills:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9cEvnKHj1Q