Tom Takes a Swim

With our traps being on the bottom of the bay for almost two hours, Tom and I were looking forward to our traps being full of crabs. Tom drove along our usual route that took the boat past the public docks and the offices of the Port of Alsea. It didn't take us very long to get over the trap at the beginning of our trap line.

Tom lined the boat up with the float and rope attached to the first trap. The tidal current was very swift, but I was able to grab the rope and put it up over the pulley on the davit. I began to take up the slack as Tom slowly drove the boat to a position directly over the trap. The trap was very heavy, so much so that I was beginning to think I wouldn't be able to get it up to the boat. Tom and I figured we must have our biggest trap-load of crabs ever.

I finally was able to see the trap as it neared the surface. I was surprised and disappointed to see that the trap contained not one single crab. The reason for the heavy weight became apparent when I could see that the trap was full of old waterlogged pieces of wood. I think we must've found remnants of the old railroad trestle that Maggie told us about earlier. Tom and I agreed that we should move our traps away from this area.

With the retrieved trap stowed in the bow, Tom said that he would like to try pulling a trap using the new davit-mounted pulley. So, I took over the controls of the boat for the first time. I found that I was unfamiliar with the controls. The control lever is mounted vertical rather than horizontal as it is on my boat. Also, the distance between forward and reverse on the control was much farther apart than what I am used to. It took me a short time to find the points on the control where the transmission engages.

I was now ready to drive the boat up next to the next crab trap float. I was able to get in position next to the float, but I had trouble keeping the boat running parallel to the rope. The current was very strong and I still was not used to the vertical control. When I was close enough Tom was able to retrieve the float and rope.

Last picture of Tom before he went for a swim

Tom put the rope on the pulley and began to pull. He said the trap felt very heavy. He had about a third of the rope in the boat when the tidal current and the wind caught me off guard, swinging the boat away from being parallel with the rope. Tom said that the trap would not come loose from the bottom. We speculated that the trap must be hung up on something. Tom pulled very hard on the rope as it began to run back out toward the trap.

The float was pulled up to the pulley whereupon the float jammed. Tom tried to free the float from the pulley. He yelled to me that he was having trouble. I looked back and saw the float stuck in the pulley. I also saw something that made me concerned, the davit was pulling the boat over. The boat was listing so much that the gunwale was almost down to the water level. I powered up the engine to try to move the boat toward the trap to take the pressure off the davit.

As the boat tilted over closer to capsizing, Tom was leaning out over the water struggling valiantly to free the rope from the pulley. I had my back to Tom when I heard a loud CRACK sound. I looked back just in time to see Tom disappear into the water. The davit pole had broken and the boat righted itself. This tossed Tom into the water. At the time I looked back at him, the top half of Tom's body was already in the water. His legs were in the air as he slipped quietly into the bay. If there were any points for a clean entry, Tom would have a high score. He hardly made a ripple going in.

I watched for Tom to come up. A long time seemed to pass without Tom coming to the surface of the water. I was beginning to get concerned when I heard a klunking sound on the bottom of the boat. I realized that the current must have taken Tom under the boat, so I quickly moved to the opposite side of the boat grabbing two life jackets on my way.

I had no idea as to where Tom would come up and I was really beginning to worry when I didn't see him yet. It seemed like a very long time, but it must have been only a couple minutes since Tom went under. I was beginning to doubt that Tom had gone completely under the boat. I was about to move back to the side where he fell in when he suddenly popped up with his head and shoulders visible above the water.

Unfortunately, Tom surfaced too far away from the boat for me to get a hold of him. He was even too far away for me to throw a life jacket to him. I was going to have to drive the boat over to him. He was being pulled farther from the boat by the current. What I didn't realize at the time was that davit did not break completely. As a result, the boat was anchored in place by the stuck crab trap. When Tom went over the side, I had put the boat control in neutral. So, fortunately the engine was still running when I saw Tom surface out ahead of the boat. I was thinking that all I had to do was to quickly get the engine in gear and drive over to Tom where I could get a hold of him.

There was a short delay as I tried to find the point on the control where the engine went into gear. I didn't want to move too fast for fear of running over Tom, but I needed to move fast enough to get to him in time to grab him. When I tried to accelerate, the boat didn't move. I pressed the control lever forward a little more. Suddenly I heard a cracking sound. That is when I realized the davit hadn't broke completely the first time. The boat began advancing toward Tom.

I cruised up next to Tom, took the engine out of gear and grabbed the two life jackets with my right hand. I looked over to see Tom reaching up toward the boat. When I first saw Tom come to the surface out in front of the boat, his head, shoulders and both arms were visible above the water. With Tom next to the boat only his face was above water with his head tilted back. Only his right arm was reaching up toward the boat. I was struck by the fact that Tom appeared as if he would not be able to float much longer.

Tom’s outreached arm looked as if his hand would make it to the side of the boat. I didn't want to take any chances, so I reached down and grabbed Tom’s wrist as his hand grabbed hold of the side of the boat. Then Tom’s left hand was able to get a grip on the side of the boat. I took hold of his left wrist to try to keep Tom from sliding back into the water. Tom was breathing hard with the sound of water gurgling with each breath. Tom was almost exhausted to the point that I don’t think there would have been another chance to get to him if I hadn’t reached him on the first attempt.

It seemed strange, but while I was holding onto Tom I noticed his hat floating away. I was wishing I could retrieve the hat for him. I held on to Tom for about 10 minutes while he caught his breath. I was concerned about hypothermia setting in so I told Tom he should try to get into the boat. I knew I would not be able to get Tom into the boat alone. I suggested that it might be easier if he moved back to the transom where it is closer to the water.

When Tom reached the back of the boat he still was unable to pull himself over the transom. I suggested that he might be able to step on the lower unit of the engine to use his leg to push him into the boat. With a bit of a struggle Tom was able to get up on the transom. However, because the transom area is wide, Tom was not able to get all the way into the boat.

With Tom laying on the transom he was at least safe from going back into the water. After laying there for a few minutes, Tom asked me to pull on his arm to get him into the boat. I pulled on his left arm, but it was too painful, so I tried his right arm without success. Then Tom told me to grab his pants and pull to help him get off the transom. I was reluctant to do so as I figured this technique would also be very painful. I told Tom that if I did as he suggested, he would get the biggest wedgie of his life. Tom replied, "Just do it!"

I grabbed the waistband at the back of Tom’s pants and pulled as hard as I could while Tom made porpoise type movements. Together, we were successful at getting Tom into the boat where he laid on the deck to rest for about 15 minutes. I was very relieved to have Tom safe in the boat again. When Tom finally was able to get up he suddenly discovered that he had lost his glasses when he went into the bay. Tom then examined what was left of the broken davit.

We decided to try to retrieve our traps and return to camp so Tom could change into some dry clothes. We found that four of our six traps were stuck solid to the bottom of the bay. It was decided to leave the traps and come back for them later. Tom drove back to camp stopping by to see the others in our party on our way into port.

The women were not back in camp when we arrived. Tom changed into dry clothing and brought his wet clothes out to hang them across the backs of lawn chairs to dry. He then returned to his motorhome to take a hot shower to ward off the effects of his time in the cold waters of the bay.

I think this picture speaks for itself

At this time, I went over to the office to talk to Charlene. I told her of what had happened to us. I was then told about what caused our traps to be stuck to the bottom of the bay. The phenomenon is something called "A sanded-in trap." It usually takes several days for it to happen under normal circumstances. It took only two hours in our case because of the fast currents we were experiencing. The currents were caused by a large tidal change.

I was told that the rapid flowing currents in the bay kicked up a lot of sand. As a result the bottom of the bay experienced an underwater sand storm. The sand that collides with parts of the trap fall down around the trap until it is totally buried or "sanded-in." To get a sanded-in trap out of the sand requires a special technique. Tom showed up at the office in time to hear the explanation of what we had experienced.

Tom and I had never heard of this kind of situation, so were doomed when we tried to just pull the trap straight up. To get the trap off the bottom, the boat must be driven in a circle around the trap while maintaining a steady pull on the rope. This is supposed to rock the trap up out of the sand. This is how our four buried traps were finally retrieved.

NOTE: Tom and I eventually had a chance to talk, some time later, about the event and compare notes. Tom said that there was a lot going on that he was not aware of while he was struggling to get to the surface of the water and stay afloat. He said he was upset that I didn’t seem to come after him quickly enough. After hearing about how the davit did not break completely at first allowing the crab trap to hold the boat in place, he then understood why it took so long. It also helped him to understand my situation when he had a problem with the new boat controls sometime after he went for a swim.

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