Tragic Father/Son Outing

http://www.king5.com/news/Boy-found-dead-in-Lake-Limerick-father-missing-143103065.html

Not to beat a dead horse unnecessarially, but:

Father and the son did not have on life jackets, although there were two of them found in the canoe.

The best safety equipment in the world won't save your butt if you don't actually use it.

Guy took his 2.5 year old son out on a canoe as part of a birthday gift to his wife (giving her a break from kiddo).  Now she's a widow and childless. 

This hits home as I want to be able to start taking my kids out in my yak.  It's another reminder not to ever cut any corners on safety when heading out on the water - alone or otherwise.

 That is just horrible.

Very sad!

My deepest condolences go out to the family.

-Mark-

A real tragic event, life vests in the area, did he requirer a seat belt in the car while going to the lake.

We don't go on the water without wearing lifevests, a 2 year old doesn't have the choice, Dad did! Sorry this has happened, everyone learn a lessen, safety first, life 2nd.

Breaks my heart. This family will be in our prayers.

Arghh...So sad to hear these things.  After one year, I have a lot of confidence in what a kayak can and can't do on the water.  I have a 10 year old daughter and 7 year old son that I want to get on the water this year.  Both love to fish and both love the outdoors.  I have been really thinking about this hard on whether or not this is a good move or not. 

I have been taking them to the swimming pool weekly and their fear of the water has diminished significantly.  Of course they will be wearing life jackets and they will also have drysuits.  I'm thinking about picking up one extra Hobie kayak at some point and rigging a detachable mount so I can get my mini-x along side my outback. 

Normal common sense tells me that to try it in a lake first.  But my observations tell me that a lake in Alaska has a lot less people and traffic than a place like Whittier or Seward.  I may hang in that area.

This would be worthy of another thread if it hasn't been discussed already:  Taking kids out..pro cons and safety.

There was a similar event in western Wyoming where I lived.  A father and uncle took out 3 little ones in a canoe in the river.  The river was the highest it had been in recorded history and none of them
Had lifejackets on.  1 or 2 survived

  My deepest sympathy goes out to this young family.

I hate "if only"---nobody has a ticket to the past, so sorry for the mom and the rest of this little family.   ALWAYS wear a pfd on the water!!! No exceptions!

And immersion gear if the water temp is below 55 or 60.

This is tremendously sad. I can't imagine the pain the widow is going through. I could imagine that that the father may have had no idea of the danger. If a person with no experience goes into a store buys a canoe and takes it out it is easy to see how a naive person would not comprehend the danger. It is just sad that the lesson cost him and his son their lives.

Also, we do not know. The 2.5 year old could have taken off his life jacket as the dad screamed at him to leave it on. When his son went in he could have taken his off to dive for his son. Whatever the circumstances it is really sad.

I remember in high school when I saved up my pennies and bought my first boat, I would be so annoyed when WDFW rangers would check me for PFDs. Now, I'm thankful that we have the laws in place that we do. What a tragic circumstance for this family.

Our hearts and prayers go out to the Olsen family.  They are great dear friends of ours.