Comments by "" (@BobSmith-dk8nw) on "Survival at Sea - Oh Lord the ship is on fire/sinking/exploding/disagreeable" video.

  1. Yeah ... had a friend who had been on the Gambier Bay Off Samar ... those guys were in the water over a day, even though there were a lot of friendly ships about. I failed the water survival test in boot camp. They had this thing where you were supposed to take a big breath and go limp, then just float with your face in the water. Then, when it was time to breath, you'd use your arms and legs to push yourself up through the water as you were breathing out. You'd get a lung full of air, then go limp in the water again. I had bronchitis in boot camp so - I couldn't hold my breath but I didn't try to swim to the side - as they'd just kick you back out into the water if you did that (which is how people drown every now and again during these water survival classes when the instructors misjudge someone's condition ...). But - the next time we took the class it was on a pleasant summer's day - when I could actually hold my breath and I passed it with ease. I wasn't trained to tie off my pants legs but my ex-brother in law was when he went through Navy boot camp. Most of us will never be part of the sinking of a warship but - being involved in a boating accident is much more likely as in addition to oceans and seas, there are lakes and rivers every where and a lot of people have small boats. One thing you want to do as a parent - is make damn sure your kids take swimming classes. My Dad was in the Marines so - with the exception of the time he was stationed in Waterloo, Iowa - we were very close to the water and as kids spent a lot of time in it. I've had a little experience with turned over boats and being familiar with the water - makes these things into problems rather than emergencies. As a ten or eleven year old we were playing with this aluminum boat out on the river when we over turned it. I can remember we could swim up inside it and breath. We tried to turn it right side up, there were about six of us - but we couldn't do it and just towed the boat back to shore. When I was in High School I took a sailing class and turned my Sabot over. Had to swim underneath and get the mast out of it's slot because it was sticking in the mud. After that I just towed the boat back to shore and hosed the mud off the sail. You really see what a difference messing about in the water as a kid makes in the story of Jack Kennedy and PT-109. He grew up on the water and so - he just took charge of his crew - had them make flotation devices to attach their stuff to, then towed his badly burned crewman by taking a strap from the guys life vest in his teeth and towing him along. They'd swim several miles from the boat to one island and another - then he and the other officers alternated swimming out to where they thought their units would be patrolling with a battle lantern. You can see all that in the movie PT-109. He really did all those things. Again - familiarity with the water turned his situation into a problem rather than an emergency ... which if your boat has been cut in half by a destroyer - is something of an accomplishment in and of itself. His brother, Teddy, after driving accidentally off a pier and drowning this girl he had in the car with him then swam across the river to get home. So - there's a lot to be said for learning how to swim. .
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