I had wanted to get out on the 'Sound' to catch some Rockfish for quite some time, which I do at night. Consequently, since my buddy had never been on a canoe, I thought it might be wise to take him on a practice run before heading out for the real deal.

My buddy, Reggie, weighed about 250 pounds and didn't have the balance that I felt was necessary for navigating a canoe, but our practice run went very well, so I didn't trip on it much more. Although the Puget Sound was as calm as glass that afternoon, I did put us in the wakes of ships and ferries so that I could teach him the techniques of maneuvering the canoe over them, safely! Moreover, as I said, he did very well at handling that task, on that day.

Therefore, after I was satisfied with the practice run, we headed back to Everett. We spent the remainder of the day just making our jigs and getting our game plan mapped out. By nightfall, we were ready and eager to hit the water.

We fought the evening rush hour traffic through Seattle and made it to the West Seattle boat landing at Alki Beach right at dusk; it was perfect timing!

Dusk is the time when most fisherman are coming in from a day of being out there, so, needless to say, we were talking with the fisherman as they were coming in and as we were preparing to head out.

One of the fishermen was telling us about seeing a Killer Whale lounging just around the bend from us, which is usual during the winter months. I have never had a problem with fishing near Killer Whales.

There were no daytime fisherman left when we headed out that night, so, the all of the fishing holes were our to use.

Again, the Puget Sound was just as smooth as glass. Except for the wakes created by passing ships and ferries, there was not a ripple on the water. It was beautiful out on the Puget Sound that night, which is an unusual sight to see during the winter months. During these months, it is more apt to be extremely rough and dangerous for the largest of boats, but not that night!

Rockfish are a saltwater version of freshwater Bass. Like Bass, they tend to linger among underwater structures such as piers, rocks, and Kelp plants. Therefore, after fishing every square inch of the Puget Sound for many years, I have learned where these structures are and have caught my fair share of Rockfish. Our plan of that night was to locate some of those structures and fish until our hearts were content.

Although it was still rather early in the season, there was one stop that we were going to hit last because I have done extremely well there in the past, even during the off season. Therefore, we worked the usual secondary spots along our way to what I thought would be our hotspot.

The hotspot of which I am referring is under a large pier right next to Todd's Shipyard. One reason that there are usually fish there, is that the entire area is well lit at night, because the shipyard is a twenty-four hour workplace, and the lights attract the bait-fish that Rockfish are attracted to.

Well, as luck would have it, the baitfish, nor the Rockfish, seemed to be anywhere we went that night, including our hotspot. So, that being the case and the fact that all of our food and beer was gone, we decided to call it a night at 1:20 a.m. and began paddling out from under the pier.

From under the pier, everything looked fine. The water still seemed calm, with only an occasional wake from the passing ships and ferries rolling through. And, with the light glaring around us from Todd's Shipyard, we could only see blackness beyond the light, nothing more and certainly nothing that appeared out of the ordinary. However, once we had entered that blackness, it was a whole other story.

Ordinarily, the wind blows from every direction through the Seattle area, except from due south; very seldom does a direct southern wind hit Seattle. It hit from that direction that particular night though, and hard!

Where we were located that night, is under a pier that leads out from an island called Harbor Island. Like all islands, there are two channels flowing around it. Well, when we hit the channel that we had to cross, that southern wind was blowing directly into our broadside of the canoe and the waves that it produced, were going right over us. Immediately after seeing what was happening, I started to open my mouth and tell Reggie to kneel down in the canoe, but it was too late!

Right at the instant that I was going to have Reggie kneel down, he shifted his big ass and a large wave hit us. I said, "Shit!", and over we went.

The Puget Sound stays just a few degrees above freezing all year round, so, the water was extremely cold when we entered it. They say that an average person has 20 minutes before becoming hypothermic and an additional 20-30 minutes to live in that water. I knew that, so I had to come up with a survival plan, quickly!

As the canoe flipped, all of our gear went under, but I could see our paddles and floatation cushions drifting away from us, so I swam to the floatation cushions, grabbed them and let the paddles go. Meanwhile, Reggie was drifting along side of the canoe holding his brand new fishing pole and did not want to loose it. I told him to let the fishing pole go and worry about saving his life, instead of that pole, so he reluctantly threw it and swam to the capsized canoe.

I swam back to the canoe and Reggie, then gave him one of the floatation cushions that I had retrieved. After he had gotten the straps rapped around him in the way that I showed him, I told him to back away from the canoe so that I could right it, so I righted the canoe and climbed in. As it turned out, no matter how hard we tried, we couldn't get him back into the canoe, so I decided that it would be better for us to turn the canoe over again and ride it that way.

I quickly began explaining our situation to Reggie. I told him that we had 20 minutes before hypothermia sets in on us and that if we didn't, somehow, keep our chest cavity relatively warm, we will die within 30 more minutes of becoming hypothermic.

Luckily, we were wearing heavy gauged raincoats, so I felt that these coats would be beneficial in keeping our chest cavities warmer than if we did not have them on. I suggested that we button our raincoats as tight to our neck as possible, since we were wearing heavy jackets under the raincoats. Our chances of surviving the cold water would improve, if we do so. We both buttoned up as tightly as could possibly be done and just drifted for a few minutes without a word from either of us. I suppose that we were both just contemplating our situation and hoping for a miracle to occur, immediately! What a couple of dreamers, huh?

Twenty minutes after entering the water, hypothermia hit me and I yelled out at the top of my lungs, saying, "Fuck, Reggie, I'm hypothermic already!". A few moments later, Reggie said, "Shit, I'm hypothermic now too!". We both went silent again.

After a while, Reggie says, "Something is bumping my leg."

I asked him what it felt like and he told me that it was just bumping it and he was beginning to panic, thinking that a Killer Whale was under us.

Killer Whales have a tendency to play with their food before eating it. They seem to be taste-testing when doing so. They tend to bump it, then ram it with their snout or swat it with their tail and, then, sink there teeth in, swinging the food around before, finally, devouring it. I suppose it is a way for them to kill the food with least chance of injury to themselves!

Anyhow, it didn't sound or look to be a Killer Whale situation to me, so I thought about it for a second and said, "Reggie, think about the rope that is tied to the canoe. Could that be what's bumping your leg?"

Yep, that was it all right. Man, did we ever laugh about that one.

It seemed that once we began laughing and carrying on like fools out there, our situation didn't seem as bleak us anymore. We were joking around and laughing so much, that little else phased us.

There was a Russian cargo ship moored about in the middle of Eliot Bay, which was about a mile away from us, so we decided that we should attempt to reach it by kicking our legs. We kicked and we kicked, but with the strong winds, powerful outgoing current, and tons of water flowing over our heads every few seconds, we had little chance of ever making it out to that ship; very little, indeed! Therefore, we came up with another plan.

We were drifting out to sea at an alarming speed, so it was imperative that we stay within the bay, or who knows what would have become of us. Our situation was a desperate, for sure. So, even though we knew that we would never make it, we aimed for a big red colored neon "E" sign that was located about two miles from us on the Seattle shore. The big "E" sign was the sight of the Edgewater Inn. I figured that as long as we were kicking toward it, we would land somewhere within Eliot Bay by daybreak. Therefore, for the rest of our venture, that is what we did.

All the while that we were out there drifting around, we kept each other laughing about one thing or another and kept reassuring each other that we'll be just fine when it was all over. However, I have to admit that each time a boat or ship passed us by and we could not get their attention, things did not seem so reassuring. We did manage to keep our spirits high and laugh it off though, while hoping that the next vessel will see us and be our rescuers.

One highlight of our journey was a Seagull. It landed in the water next to us and stayed around for a while, as if to ask, "What the fuck are you idiots doing out here this time of night?" I told that Seagull to quit floating around and go get us help. Damn Seagull, did not do it! However, he did leave.

It was nearing 5:30 a.m. and I told Reggie, "Well, we just have to hang in here for about another hour and somebody is sure to see us, because it will be getting light out!"

We were joking around about how somebody will see us out here, then after we are rescued, a shit load of camera crews and news people will be there jamming us about our adventure as soon as we hit land. Some millionaire will hear of our story, make a movie or something, and we will be set for life. Another one of those stupid dreams!

The laughing quit when Reggie said, "There's a tugboat coming right toward us, and it's coming fast."

My back was facing the direction that the tugboat was approaching from, so I turned around to look and said, "Shit!"

I told Reggie that there was no doubt in my mind that the tugboat was on a collision course with us, so, again, I had to come up with a quick plan of action.

I could do little from my position. I was straddling on the side of the canoe that the tugboat was sure to hit and I was so exhausted that I could barely hold onto the canoe. Due to the exhausted state that I was in, I would be unable to pull myself over or around the canoe to avoid propellers of the tugboat, so I had only one logical option.

I explained those facts to Reggie. Then, told him that on my queue, he needs to push himself as far away from the canoe as possible to save himself. I, then, would have to wait for just the right time to push myself from the bow of the tugboat using my legs. That tugboat was coming at us extremely fast, so we did not have a long enough waiting period to come up with any other plan and then it hit.

I yelled out the queue for Reggie to push himself away, placed my feet as firmly as I could on the bow of the tugboat, then pushed myself with all of the power that my legs could conjure up.

My calculations were near perfect! My timing was dead on and I did have the power to push myself hard enough to clear the propellers of the tugboat, but I had forgotten that they dangle tires over the bow to use as bumpers. With all of that leg power, I ended up hitting my head on those bumpers and knocked myself out.

My unconscious state must have only lasted a moment, because I came to while still underwater. I could see the light from the tugboat and in the lighted area, I could see red, which I believed to be blood, my blood!

I thought that one of the propellers (tugboats have two diesel powered propellers on them) might have clipped one or both of my legs.

I knew from personal experience that when a major trauma strikes the human body, such as getting your toes cut off, which had happened to me while being careless with a lawnmower, it is virtually painless at first.

(After the doctors played with my foot for a minute, it sure did hurt.)

So, in knowing that, I thought the worst, but did not let it hinder my attempt to make it back to the surface.

Over my head, I could see the hull of the tugboat as well as its massive propellers churning the water all around me. After knowing that I was clear of the tugboat, I struggled to the surface and discovered that the red color was only my floatation cushion. It appeared to be blood to me, because I had lost my glasses. Everything was a blur. I was certainly relieved to learn that I still had all of my body parts.

After making it to the surface and looking around, the tugboat seemed to be leaving without me. The light was fading, but I could see my floatation cushion moving farther away from me as the propellers churned the water. I used what little strength remained by swimming to the cushion and grabbing onto the strap. I attempted to pull myself onto it several times, but just did not have the strength left to do so. The light faded into the blackness and I was totally alone and without any hope of surviving now.

I tried and I tried to pull myself from under the water, but there was absolutely no strength left in me, so I decided to just get it over with and hope that my body is found.

In the United States Army, I learned that position a person is in during the moment of death, is the likely position the person will be when recovered. In other words, if that person puts a grip onto something at the instant of death, that person will be still gripping that object when his body is found; thus, comes the term, 'death grip'. The 'death grip' theory was a theory that I was depending on proves true, because of my final decision to accept death.

Another thought that had crossed my mind during that final moment, was the scientific fact that when a person drowns in cold water, his recovery rate is higher than if found in warmer waters. Therefore, I figured that there would be, at the very least, a slight chance that I will survive the ordeal. That chance seemed rather slim, watching that tugboat fading into the dark, but it was a good dream to be having at that time.

When it came time for me to die, I put a death grip on the strap of the floatation cushion and decided to take a small breath of water first, so that I could see what it felt like. I took a small breath of water and was amazed that there was no pain at all. I can feel the coldness of the water entering my lungs, but there was no pain, so I took a huge breath and everything went black.

As it turned out, the crew of the tugboat did spot Reggie in the water. They pulled around next to him and wanted him to climb the latter to them, but since he had no strength left, a couple of the crew members had to hall him up.

Reggie said that he was conscious when they got him up there and thought that they had seen me as well, but they had not seen me and was pulling away. In a panic, he began yelling, "My buddy is still out there. You have got to go back and find him." I guess he had to repeat himself several times before they realized that they were leaving me behind, but they did get the message and turned around.

With their spotlights on, they found me still clinging onto the strap of my floatation cushion and one of the crewmember dove in after me, bringing me up feet first.

(I never could understand why they pulled me up that way, but that is cool. I do not really give a shit why they did it that way, just as long as he got me up).

Once they were able to get me aboard the tugboat, Reggie said that he heard them saying that there was no pulse, so they began giving me CPR. Reggie said that all the while that they were working on me, he was, literally, on his knees crying and saying, "Oh God, don't let my buddy die." After seeing me begin to throw up water, he knew that I would be fine, then he passed out and neither of us knows how we got to the hospital.

During my unconsciousness, it felt as though I were in a dream-state of mind. I was dreaming that there was a whole lot of people around me, frantically, attempting to bring my body temperature up, but somebody was fiddling around with my dick while all of that was going on. "No, this couldn't be right", I told myself, but what the hell, it felt good. It was kind of like having a wet dream and it seemed that just as I was ready to cum, ooooouch! Somebody hurt my dick.

It turns out that they were simply getting me prepared for a catheter and my penis had to be somewhat hard, before placing it. Man, that woke my ass up very quick and with a yelp that heard all over the hospital!

The first words that came out of my mouth when I regained consciousness were "What the fuck?" A doctor spoke up and asked me if I knew where I was and I answered, "Of course I know where I'm at, I'm in a fucking hospital." Then he asked if I knew which hospital I was in and I answered, "I would imagine this is Harberview!", with a loud sarcastic tone in my voice. The doctor who was asking all of the questions then assured the others that I was doing fine and was quite alert.

I could see and hear Reggie in a bed next to mine. He was continually asking them if I would be okay. I told him myself that I would be just fine and then I started laughing about how fat he looked. He told me that I looked about three times bigger, too!

The doctors said that we had taken in a lot of saltwater, which was the effect saltwater has on the body. They said that they were concerned about what condition that my lungs were in, since I had ingested saltwater.

They were concerned about my body temperature as well, which was down to 39 degrees. Therefore, they were frantically trying to bring my temperature back up. They were amazed to see that I was bringing it up on my own.

They told me that they had never had to work with people that had lasted for such a long period in those waters; neither of us should have survived. It made me feel good to know that I could endure such a trauma and that I stayed cool through the whole ordeal. It is good to be alive.

I assure you, it is a lot harder to write about this experience than it is speak of it. It seemed as though I would never finish this story. If there are any spelling or grammar errors, oh well, I am not going to trip on that now.

However, if there are any questions, just let me know by clicking on the Salmon again and it will put you in contact with me!

I hope you have enjoyed the story!