Allofus123
Here ducky, ducky, ducky!
- Joined
- Aug 25, 2001
- Messages
- 3,869
Last night a group of us were in the chat room cutting up and posting pics and such. One pic that I had posted was taken on New Years Day 2001. I have had several people ask me about that picture and thought I'd post the story as I remembered it the following day of the event. I am so glad that I took the time to write it down at the time as I could never tell it today as I did then. It definently was a wake up call for me in my life......
My last hunt of 2000
I wake up this morning, Jan. 1st, 2001, wondering if it was all a dream. I reached over to hug my wife but she was not there. I called out to her and she answered me from the living room. What a relief to hear her voice…. confirming to me that I survived. What happened to me and my friend, I pray nobody ever has to experience. This is my attempt to write this hell day down before the memory loss sets in.
It started out like any other duck hunting morning. Up at 3 a.m. and preparing coffee amongst my two dogs Ricki and Sugar. As always the excitement sets in to their tails (clearing coffee tables and such) when they see me in my camo fixing coffee. Today Ricki would stay home and Sugar who is home for the holidays, she’s been with a trainer for the pass 2 months, was going. What was suppose to make this so special was my friend was bringing his dog Honey who happens to be Sugars mother. We called it a Mother/Daughter hunt.
Vic was taking us to a place I had never hunted before The San Bernard National Wildlife Refuge. Our last couple outings had been somewhat slow and we felt a change of area from our usual spots were in order. Besides, even if we didn’t have any birds we really wanted to work the dogs. I met Vic at his place and we loaded up the dogs, guns, ammo, dekes, waders, boat etc… His boat is a 16 ft Monark (Sp?) with a 90 Merc.
We settled in for the hour or so ride talking about everything from hunting to Christmas presents we received. The road we were traveling on dead ends into the Intracoastal Waterway, which is a large, dredged out waterway inside the shoreline of the Gulf of Mexico. Barges and other boat traffic use it. We were heading down this road about 65 M.P.H. joking and still talking when I heard Vic holler “Oh F***” and locked up his truck. What happened in the next 5 seconds seemed like slow motion to me this morning. The road was pitch dark, no lights but the headlights. The boat ramp parking lot at the end of the road has a streetlight but it was out. (We later learned the lights had been shot out) When I heard Vic holler and lock it up I could see the 2 to 3 foot poles sticking out of the ground that formed the border around the parking lot. At this time, since I had never been here before, I thought we were getting ready to mow down a pole and end up out in a field. That was my first thought for about 2 seconds of the slide. I processed in the next second that there was no field beyond those poles….it was the water. The next 2 seconds all I thought about was brace yourself. When we landed I was surprise at how soft we landed. It almost felt like we landed on a pillow. My focus now turned to getting out of the sinking truck. Neither of us appeared injured but as the next 10 to 15 minutes unfolded I did have some concerns for Vic. His reactions to me appeared slow and somewhat incoherent. I realized now it was shock.
The water was coming in now and I couldn’t open the door. I kept thinking about survival training and how we had to let the truck fill up to the top before being able to open the doors. The water was now up to the seat when I saw the electric window go down. (While I had been trying to open the door Vic hit the window buttons and they worked.) Once I saw that window go down my mind automatically switched to the dogs. Their kennels were strapped in the bed of the truck. I saw the boat floating on my side of the truck but still attached to the winch on the trailer. I pulled myself out the window and threw my body out landing on the truck bed railing. The truck bed was for the most part still out of the water but you could see the front of the truck was going under. I landed mostly in the water soaking me from just above the waist down. I pulled myself into the bed of the truck and opened the first dog kennel grabbing and literally throwing the dog into the boat. I repeated this with the next kennel. I then jumped into the boat myself and started grabbing anything I could see floating. This including hunting parka’s, wader’s, blind bag’s, etc… It was at that time that I realized that Vic was just getting into the bed of the truck. He asked about the dogs and I told him to get in the boat I already had them. That’s when I realized that he was not processing quickly. I continued to grab what I could from the water and toss it in the boat. I heard Vic holler we’re still attached to the trailer as he hung over the side trying to release the winch from the bow. Once he got the bowline free I began to sigh a bit of relief. We were all safe and relatively unhurt.
We lowered his trolling motor and retrieved the 3 bags of dekes that had floated away. We returned to the truck, which had settled to the bottom. It was apparently on a slope as the right rear of the trucks roof was bearly visible at the water line and the front left was two to 3 feet under. I figured the boat trailer was acting like an anchor. Lucky for us as the channel is some 20 to 40 ft deep. The dog kennels were completely submerged. It just didn’t seem real. We floated over the top of the truck and I reached down and unhooked the strapped in dog kennels. We then docked and unloaded the kennels and dogs. My cell phone which I retrieved from the submerged glove box at some point (I still don’t remember when I did) was dead. Apparently shorted out from the water. Vic decided he was going to start walking for a phone and I would stay with the dogs. After he left I started to realize how cold it was. I was soaked from just above my waist on down. The air temp was around 35 with a sharp east wind of 10 to 15 mph. Every bit of warm clothing I had was soaking wet. I started walking around the parking lot trying to heat up.
About 20 to 30 minutes had passed when a truck approached. It was trailering an airboat and as it got closer I realized that Vic was in the bed of the truck. Three guys (duck hunters) had seen Vic walking and picked him up. They had a cell phone and Vic called his wife to round up his brother-in-law and truck to come get us. After a few minutes of explaining to these guys what we had just been through and thanking them for the use of the phone we wished them well on their duck hunt. We knew that we had help on the way and there was no sense imposing on these strangers any more then we already had. What happened next floored me. One of the guys said that if we would lock his truck up if we left before they returned that he would leave his truck unlocked so we could get out of the cold and to help ourselves to the cell phone. We told them that they didn’t need to do this that we were fine but he insisted. After they launched their airboat and were on their way I was really happy to be able to get in that truck. I was shivering from the cold and the wind appeared to be picking up. Talk about renewing your faith in your fellow man. These guys left a brand new 2001 F-150 crew cab truck unlocked + their cello phone for two total strangers.
There is quite a bit more to this story that involves the way the truck and trailer was pulled out of the water and the return trip with my trailer (his was totaled as was his truck) so that we could retrieve his boat. Those are both stories within themselves and I might try and write them down later today.
Today I am thankful to be looking at another year. It seems like a dream looking back at what happened yesterday morning. I realized today that during the whole episode I never once had my life flash before me. I never once thought about my wife or children. During the first 3 to 5 minutes we were in the water I never once even thought of Vic sitting next to me. (I was thinking of the dogs) My mind was so wired into staying calm and surviving that I didn’t have time to be thinking of anything else. Seems a bit strange now. My family means the world to me.
I spoke to Vic this morning and he said he felt fine. I have some bruises on my shin, probably from jumping in the truck bed or boat. We lost some electronic gadgets …not physically…the water ruin them. (Cell phone, GPS, etc..) Vic lost his truck, trailer, and some extensive fiberglass damage to his boat ABOVE the waterline, thank god. I told Vic that I think it was a good trade. A few physical possessions for our lives.
My last hunt of 2000
I wake up this morning, Jan. 1st, 2001, wondering if it was all a dream. I reached over to hug my wife but she was not there. I called out to her and she answered me from the living room. What a relief to hear her voice…. confirming to me that I survived. What happened to me and my friend, I pray nobody ever has to experience. This is my attempt to write this hell day down before the memory loss sets in.
It started out like any other duck hunting morning. Up at 3 a.m. and preparing coffee amongst my two dogs Ricki and Sugar. As always the excitement sets in to their tails (clearing coffee tables and such) when they see me in my camo fixing coffee. Today Ricki would stay home and Sugar who is home for the holidays, she’s been with a trainer for the pass 2 months, was going. What was suppose to make this so special was my friend was bringing his dog Honey who happens to be Sugars mother. We called it a Mother/Daughter hunt.
Vic was taking us to a place I had never hunted before The San Bernard National Wildlife Refuge. Our last couple outings had been somewhat slow and we felt a change of area from our usual spots were in order. Besides, even if we didn’t have any birds we really wanted to work the dogs. I met Vic at his place and we loaded up the dogs, guns, ammo, dekes, waders, boat etc… His boat is a 16 ft Monark (Sp?) with a 90 Merc.
We settled in for the hour or so ride talking about everything from hunting to Christmas presents we received. The road we were traveling on dead ends into the Intracoastal Waterway, which is a large, dredged out waterway inside the shoreline of the Gulf of Mexico. Barges and other boat traffic use it. We were heading down this road about 65 M.P.H. joking and still talking when I heard Vic holler “Oh F***” and locked up his truck. What happened in the next 5 seconds seemed like slow motion to me this morning. The road was pitch dark, no lights but the headlights. The boat ramp parking lot at the end of the road has a streetlight but it was out. (We later learned the lights had been shot out) When I heard Vic holler and lock it up I could see the 2 to 3 foot poles sticking out of the ground that formed the border around the parking lot. At this time, since I had never been here before, I thought we were getting ready to mow down a pole and end up out in a field. That was my first thought for about 2 seconds of the slide. I processed in the next second that there was no field beyond those poles….it was the water. The next 2 seconds all I thought about was brace yourself. When we landed I was surprise at how soft we landed. It almost felt like we landed on a pillow. My focus now turned to getting out of the sinking truck. Neither of us appeared injured but as the next 10 to 15 minutes unfolded I did have some concerns for Vic. His reactions to me appeared slow and somewhat incoherent. I realized now it was shock.
The water was coming in now and I couldn’t open the door. I kept thinking about survival training and how we had to let the truck fill up to the top before being able to open the doors. The water was now up to the seat when I saw the electric window go down. (While I had been trying to open the door Vic hit the window buttons and they worked.) Once I saw that window go down my mind automatically switched to the dogs. Their kennels were strapped in the bed of the truck. I saw the boat floating on my side of the truck but still attached to the winch on the trailer. I pulled myself out the window and threw my body out landing on the truck bed railing. The truck bed was for the most part still out of the water but you could see the front of the truck was going under. I landed mostly in the water soaking me from just above the waist down. I pulled myself into the bed of the truck and opened the first dog kennel grabbing and literally throwing the dog into the boat. I repeated this with the next kennel. I then jumped into the boat myself and started grabbing anything I could see floating. This including hunting parka’s, wader’s, blind bag’s, etc… It was at that time that I realized that Vic was just getting into the bed of the truck. He asked about the dogs and I told him to get in the boat I already had them. That’s when I realized that he was not processing quickly. I continued to grab what I could from the water and toss it in the boat. I heard Vic holler we’re still attached to the trailer as he hung over the side trying to release the winch from the bow. Once he got the bowline free I began to sigh a bit of relief. We were all safe and relatively unhurt.
We lowered his trolling motor and retrieved the 3 bags of dekes that had floated away. We returned to the truck, which had settled to the bottom. It was apparently on a slope as the right rear of the trucks roof was bearly visible at the water line and the front left was two to 3 feet under. I figured the boat trailer was acting like an anchor. Lucky for us as the channel is some 20 to 40 ft deep. The dog kennels were completely submerged. It just didn’t seem real. We floated over the top of the truck and I reached down and unhooked the strapped in dog kennels. We then docked and unloaded the kennels and dogs. My cell phone which I retrieved from the submerged glove box at some point (I still don’t remember when I did) was dead. Apparently shorted out from the water. Vic decided he was going to start walking for a phone and I would stay with the dogs. After he left I started to realize how cold it was. I was soaked from just above my waist on down. The air temp was around 35 with a sharp east wind of 10 to 15 mph. Every bit of warm clothing I had was soaking wet. I started walking around the parking lot trying to heat up.
About 20 to 30 minutes had passed when a truck approached. It was trailering an airboat and as it got closer I realized that Vic was in the bed of the truck. Three guys (duck hunters) had seen Vic walking and picked him up. They had a cell phone and Vic called his wife to round up his brother-in-law and truck to come get us. After a few minutes of explaining to these guys what we had just been through and thanking them for the use of the phone we wished them well on their duck hunt. We knew that we had help on the way and there was no sense imposing on these strangers any more then we already had. What happened next floored me. One of the guys said that if we would lock his truck up if we left before they returned that he would leave his truck unlocked so we could get out of the cold and to help ourselves to the cell phone. We told them that they didn’t need to do this that we were fine but he insisted. After they launched their airboat and were on their way I was really happy to be able to get in that truck. I was shivering from the cold and the wind appeared to be picking up. Talk about renewing your faith in your fellow man. These guys left a brand new 2001 F-150 crew cab truck unlocked + their cello phone for two total strangers.
There is quite a bit more to this story that involves the way the truck and trailer was pulled out of the water and the return trip with my trailer (his was totaled as was his truck) so that we could retrieve his boat. Those are both stories within themselves and I might try and write them down later today.
Today I am thankful to be looking at another year. It seems like a dream looking back at what happened yesterday morning. I realized today that during the whole episode I never once had my life flash before me. I never once thought about my wife or children. During the first 3 to 5 minutes we were in the water I never once even thought of Vic sitting next to me. (I was thinking of the dogs) My mind was so wired into staying calm and surviving that I didn’t have time to be thinking of anything else. Seems a bit strange now. My family means the world to me.
I spoke to Vic this morning and he said he felt fine. I have some bruises on my shin, probably from jumping in the truck bed or boat. We lost some electronic gadgets …not physically…the water ruin them. (Cell phone, GPS, etc..) Vic lost his truck, trailer, and some extensive fiberglass damage to his boat ABOVE the waterline, thank god. I told Vic that I think it was a good trade. A few physical possessions for our lives.
