Sad news from Sodus, Flotation device required as of 11/1/11

[shameless]

Search for Missing Fisherman

By: Sheba Clarke

Search for Missing Fisherman

Search crews with the U.S. and Canadian coast guards are assisting Wayne County authorities with a search for a 66-year-old Sodus Point man who went fishing with a friend around 10 a.m. Monday.

According to the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office, around 10:30 a.m. Monday the boat the two men were riding in capsized. Both men clung onto the side of the boat until one of the men had some sort of heart attack. Authorities said he did have a previous heart condition.

The other man was able to cling onto boat for more than four hours until a nearby fisherman spotted him, pulled him out of the water, and called for help.

Police said that man, who is from Williamson, is recovering from hypothermia.

“Windy day, the winds are quite strong, with a small vessel, aluminum, in this case, a 16-foot aluminum boat can get tossed around pretty easy and overturned rather easy depending upon what’s happening on board,†said Bob Hetze with the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office. “Our information at the time was that neither one of them had floatation devices on. It’s the law that float devices are worn November 1st.â€

Hetze says the searching will continue until dark and if necessary, will begin again Tuesday morning.

[chowder]

Very sad tale! It's amazing to watch the large risks taken by people every day this time of year for sure. On Sunday we were perch fishing on Port Bay and watched a little light weight flat bottom almost capsize cuz it had 3 big dudes in it w/ about 3" of freeboard. Nobody in the boat had a PFD and about every 20 minutes you could see somebody baling out the boat! -Andy