By: Bud Alexis
The icy dark waters quickly closed in around me and I found myself struggling to get back to the surface. I couldn’t believe this was happening to me. Finally I came to the surface floundering, trying to get a sense of direction. I was very close to a small island, but to my fear I could not get on shore because of the thick brush. Stranded a mile from my launch and no one knew my location. Things were looking pretty grim.
The winter of 1983 was perhaps one of the coldest on record for this part of the country. We had thirteen days of below freezing weather which caused everything to ice over, lakes, the Red River, etc.
One of the popular things to do in late winter is to yoyo fish for Crappie. A yoyo is a device which is hung from a low hanging branch over water and is self reeling when the trigger is tripped and reels the fish to the top of the water.
As soon as the waters had thawed, I made plans to try my luck. With all my gear in the boat I launched and boated in about a mile. I began the task of setting the yoyo’s, and working my way back to the launch. I finished my task and by this time it had become night. With my headlight on my head I decided to go back to the beginning and check the lines one time before I left them for the night. I would check them again in the morning.
Using my headlight, I began checking the lines, not aware of a big Cypress tree looming ahead of me. I was too busy looking to the side at the yoyo’s. When I turned my head to the front, I was headed straight into the tree. I swerved the motor quickly to the left, and to my shock I was thrown from the boat. The icy dark waters quickly closed in around me and I found myself struggling to get back to the surface. I couldn’t believe this was happening to me.
Finally I came to the surface floundering, trying to get a sense of direction. I was very close to a small island, but to my fear I could not get on shore because of the thick brush. I moved to my left along the brush until I found an opening to get on to the island which was only one foot wide at this point. Fortunately, I had not lost the headlight and it was still working.
Standing there soaking wet and freezing cold, I could hear the motor of the boat as it faded off into the distance. This was quite a situation because no one knew where I was. I began to ponder all the survival skills I had learned. I knew that I had to get warm to prevent hypothermia. An old Indian trick using a bow and drill to start a fire came to mind. I used my boot lace for string with flexible sticks for the bow.
As I pondered my dilemma, suddenly I became aware of the sound of a boat motor and realized the boat was circling back. My heart pounded in my chest as the sound grew louder. The boat came into view but it was passing about 10 yards from me. Without hesitation, I plunged into the water and began swimming toward the boat. I made to the boat and grabbed on to the boat. As I reached inside the boat, I realized it was full of water. I knew if I climbed aboard, it would sink.
So, now I had a new problem. The boat was carrying me out toward the middle of the lake. I knew I had to stop the engine and managed to do so. To get the boat to a larger part of the island, I had to swim, pulling it along. It seemed like an eternity before I reached a desirable place on the island. In the process of getting the boat on to the island, the motor was submerged in the water rendering it useless. Empting the water out of the boat, and not being able to use the motor and still a mile to go before the launch, I faced another problem–everything I had in the boat was gone. So I began paddling with my hands. By this time my body began to convulse with cold. I spotted my Styrofoam ice chest lid, retrieved it and began using it as a paddle. I paddled around until I found the boat paddle and made my way back to the launch. I received help from a near-by house. Life’s situations sometimes look hopeless. But the Bible says God is a very present help in time of need. If you will put your trust in him, life will go a whole lot better.
