Man survives fall into Loch Lomond
Posted on Wednesday, October 8, 2008
A 63-year-old Bella Vista man is alive today because he followed the most basic rule of water safety - he wore a personal flotation device, a. k. a. a life preserver.
It happened on Sept. 18, a sunny day, excellent fishing weather; but one misstep put Howard Benson in Loch Lomond, scrambling for his life.
He was going to move from one spot to another; after securing his poles, he started the engine. Realizing his trolling motor was still in the water, he shut off the main engine and gingerly moved to the front of the boat.
Benson pointed at the spot on the side of the boat where he placed his foot. It's curved and it was slippery - and over he went.
"I activated the cartridge in my life jacket. The CO 2 cartridge opens with a bang, almost knocked my teeth out," Benson said.
The bass boat he was fishing from was not equipped with a ladder, which is not that unusual, and he was unable to get back in.
"I was about 350-400 feet from the shore and there was only one other fisherman even somewhat close to me. I blew my whistle, but he couldn't hear it.
That other man, Benson would soon learn, was Irl Palmer.
"He thought I had jumped in to go swimming or scuba diving. He finally realized I was in trouble and came over."
Prior to Palmer's arrival, Benson had tried and tried to get back into his boat, but just couldn't do it. He knew the powertilt motor, which raises the propeller up out of the water for loading and unloading, could be used to lift a person, but because his craft is not equipped with power steering, it just swayed back and forth.
"I tried it on one side, it just tilted the other way and I fell off. Tried it on the other side, it just went the other way and off I went again."
Palmer remembers the day well.
"I saw him go over, but thought there were two people in the boat and they were getting ready to water ski.
"He was yelling, ' hey, hey, ' not help; I thought he was talking to someone in the boat or the dock (on the other side of Benson ).
"I saw a head bob up and then thought he was scuba diving; the water was really clear. He yelled, ' hey, hey'again and then I thought maybe he couldn't get back in his boat."
Palmer, who is 76, went over to Benson, knowing he couldn't lift him into his boat.
"So I towed him and his boat over to the nearest dock; he couldn't hardly get up the ladder. "Palmer added," but he come out all right."
Benson recalls vividly how it felt to be stranded for so long.
"The water was 74 degrees that day, according to my trolling motor thermometer. I was cold; you get kinda lethargic after a while. After I got out, all I could think about was to get home and get some dry clothes."
Benson credits his inflatable vest with a good outcome and wants any person
"I'd have been in trouble in about another hour, even wearing my vest. I'll never boat alone without a vest."
Benson realizes just how fortunate he was. Palmer said he hadn't seen another boat on the water that morning, but Benson recalls one farther down the lake. That person was gone from the parking lot as Benson returned to load his boat.
Both men belong to Bella Vista FlyTyers and the Bella Vista Bass Association.
Benson wasn't the only victim of the accident. He broke off the light pole on his boat when he went over, put gouges on the hull and ripped out a few electrical wires as he was trying to grab something to get back in. In all the boat sustained an estimated $ 85 worth of damage.
The day wasn't a total loss as he had caught a nice bass, and had it weighed at the marina.
"But you only get a plaque if it's over seven pounds," Benson lamented, with dedicated fisherman's regret. "Mine was 6. 68 pounds."
He doesn't have that fish today. He practices catch and release.
"If you keep'em, you have to clean'em."
Today he has nothing but praise for his rescuer.
"I am bruised from head to toe. I really appreciate (Palmer ); he's an angel.
Despite the near disaster that day, Benson remains fairly calm about it all.
"It wasn't funny at the time; I sure learned a lesson. But it's a pretty funny story now."
Benson is looking forward to the next bass tournament and hopes the new CO 2 cylinder he ordered arrives before then so he won't have to wear his other large, bulky vest.
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