Going in to get MOB

[NedX]

While subscribing thoroughly to all the ideas about prevention (pfds, tethers, clips, mob drills) I'd like to go back to the swimming part.

The most common boating accident I've seen happens when someone goes in the water and realizes too far from safety that they aren't as strong a swimmer as they thought/used to be/were when they were a kid.

If jumping in and swimming to shore is even a last-minute contingency, then I'd make sure that anyone who might decide to do that trains to swim across a lake.

Also, I like the idea of lifesaving classes. For my certification, the final test was a 200-pound guy you're supposed to save who simulates a panicking drowning person and tries to drown you. If you can handle that, the reasoning was, you can handle a six-year-old.

ABOUT ME: I raised two kids on boats. We used to practice MOB drills with flotation devices. One day, mom fell in. Everyone screamed and panicked, but one kid kept his eyes on her and the other tossed in a ring. We jibed, came up wind, and got her on board fine. But they hated sailing after that.