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Lost on the Yak,
PFD saves the day!
Mark West
Alive and tying flies in Tukwila, Washington
“How much is your life worth?” That is the question Travis Mayes
asked his fishing buddy Mark West. Good question. And, since Mr.
West bought the PFD that would save his life, obviously it was
a good answer.
This all happened back in 1991 when Mark West and Travis Mayes
decided to go flying fishing in Idaho’s Yakima River (aka The
Yak). Before hitting the water the pair stopped at a local fishing
shop for supplies including life vests. Mr. West wanted to know
if he should spend the extra money to buy a new inflatable PFD
... that is when his friend asked him to put a value on his life.
“It was Sunday, Travis and I arrived at the launch point ready
to fly-fish the Canyon section of the Yak,” explained Mark West.
“Setting out early that morning in a four-man inflatable raft,
we were having no problems. After an hour or so we decided to
anchor the raft in a deep, slow moving section directly over a
good fishing hole.”
The two men were fishing so intently they didn’t feel it as their
anchor begin to slip, and the boat began to drift slowly into
faster water.
“It went unnoticed until the anchor grabbed and the raft started
to list,” continued Mr. West. “I grabbed for the anchor line,
but it was too late. We were taking on water, and the raft was
almost vertical.”
Mark West moved quickly to counter-balance the listing of the
inflatable. Nothing was going to save the raft. As the men shifted
their weight, the other side of the boat came right out of the
water. The raft tipped and the two men were thrown into the water.
“I managed to grab my fly rod and fishing vest as I was tossed
into the river. Travis had managed to cling to the raft and ride
it out,” recalled Mr. West. “I didn’t know how to swim, and as
I rapidly sank I realized I was in grave danger of drowning. Suddenly,
I remembered I was wearing the brand-new inflatable emergency
vest I purchased the previous day.”
“I easily located the rip cord and gave it a yank,” he continued.
“To my relief it worked, bringing me, my fishing vest and my fly
pole to the surface.”
Mark West figures he was underwater for almost 30 seconds. When
he popped to the surface, his fishing buddy had no trouble spotting
him in his bright orange PFD.
“He swam to me and pulled me over to the now empty raft,” remembered Mr. West. “As the months and years pass, I can only wonder how many times this life saving device will save the lives of fellow fishermen. Since that day I always put my life jacket on before going near water.”
