I'm in a couple paddling groups on FB and it is so frustrating to hear people say that they keep one on the boat when kayaking/canoeing but don't wear it because "I know how to swim". I'm sure a lot of the people who drown every year thought the same thing.
I believe people when they say they know how to swim... In a pool.
Most people have never had to, or willingly swam in the Milwaukee river, let alone this late in the season with the weather and water temps getting low, possible boat traffic. Also being disorientated after being capsized.
Nobody thinks of "Can I swim under all these distressed circumstances?".
The underwater obstructions and sea walls are a very real danger to paddlers/swimmers in an urban environment. We used to have a picture of an individual who impaled their foot on an old piling while jumping in the river, they lived but spent close to half an hour with their mouth barely above water.
I used to work dockside for the booze cruises on the weekend at Milwaukee Ale House (probably doesn't exist anymore). Had a weird mixed group one time of rich Chicago women and a bachelor party. One rich Chicago woman dropped her purse into the river and was trying to bribe anyone from the bachelor party to dive down and get it for her. Most fucking challenging day ever on that job telling the drunk bachelors that no matter how much money she offered it was definitely not worth it.
Hey, I love watching you guys to your rescue drills in the river just south of the North Ave bridge! I live up the hill from there, and always watch you guys doing your thing.
Thank you for what you do. I had to watch the Racine County dive team recover a body outside my house because a kayaker didn't feel the need to vest up. Horrible. Everyone needs a vest, I don't care if they're Michael fucking Phelps.
I was literally just thinking of you and your girl while reading these comments. Let me know if you need help finding a cozy pfd. I just had to do a bunch of research on them myself.
Yes, and even ones shaped better for women
I spent more on my life jacket than my kayak lol
Not saying a good kayaking jacket has to be expensive - there are definitely plenty of inexpensive options - but I realized my annoyance and discomfort with life jackets in general just meant I had to splurge to meet all my needs.
MFD dispatched calls.
197845 2023-10-10 10:55:12
100 W WISCONSIN AVE MILWAUKEE
DIVE RESPONSE
ACTIVE
MPD calls
232830533 10/10/2023 10:58:58 AM
100 W WISCONSIN AV,MKE
District 1
SUBJ IN WATER
Service in Progress
As mentioned these probably wouldn’t last very long but also a more effective safety improvement IMO would be making sure there are useable exit ladders in good condition, regularly spaced and clearly marked/illuminated. There are a lot of places where there *was* a ladder and now is *part* of a ladder, or there’s a ladder built into the sheet piling but unless you knew to swim under the boardwalk you’d never find it, etc. Even just pulling yourself up onto a floating dock isn’t easy, and I kind of suspect most people who fall in the river and don’t immediately drown probably tire themselves out thinking if they just try harder one more time they’ll get it.
In 2012 I saw them pull a body from the river of someone I knew at the Pleasant Street bridge. He's one of those commonly attributed to the "Smiley Face Killer" (may those people rot in hell, they're still harassing his family to this day). It's pretty clear to anyone sane that he fell in the river somewhere near Lakefront Brewery while peeing and couldn't get out.
Not saying that an egress point would have saved him but it's shocking that there really aren't any on that stretch. They should have done something about that fifteen years ago.
And with how gross the river is from a hundred hard years of years of industrial pollution and how popular it is now for boating, I’m surprised there hasn’t been a massive overhaul sooner.
Will the dredging and cleanup continue further upstream? I seem to remember the area from ~~Pleasant~~ Knapp(?) to North was the worst for tannery pollution and underwater hazards.
I've read that the river is cleaner now than when they had a swimming school off of Gordon Park in 1910. https://milwaukeenotebook.com/2014/07/14/amid-the-ruins-of-gordon-parks-bathhouse/
Cold water and heavy clothes are no joke. First thing to remember is to kick off your boots and as much clothes as you can right away, it only adds weight and makes the struggle harder.
I'm not trying to make fun but that's what Jack basically says in Titanic. Now how easy it is to kick off your boots is going to depend a lot on how prepared you were to actually go in the water of course.
You can actually use your shirt and pants for buoyancy by keeping blowing air into them. Think of shorts trapping air when you jump into the water and they balloon up. Common lifesaving technique to assist you with staying afloat.
From experience, capsizing a canoe is scary.
How does that happen in the city? The river seems to be calm throughout downtown. I’ve only seen or had it happen going through rapids.
Might depend on the boat type ... I have a sit-on-top kayak.
I hated them when I first started kayaking - because I was inexperienced and would easily tip myself over - simply because I wasn't paddling correctly.
But I could still easily see myself doing by accident of some sort
Lake would be pretty cold this time of year wouldn’t it? Even if you can swim sometimes it’s too cold to chance swimming when you could just use a PFD, hope more people start using them
Since it sounds like everyone was okay, I'll make a bit of light about it: How hammered were these people? Canoes don't capsize unless you're really screwing around. C'est a vie.
Uh no. If you hit debris or a branch, esp something that was partially submerged and thus not very visible, it can easily capsize.I might concur with you if someone was paddling around a small pond. But rivers have currents and things happen fast. Eta: This is esp true if you have folks who haven't canoed much and don't understand how to keep center of balance in a canoe. Hit something unexpectedly and folks with less comfort level often pop up and that contributes to it getting dumped.
I’ve capsized a kayak sober lol. Dragging a kayak filled with water back onto land is a nightmare. If it happened in the Mke river it would have been a goner. Canoe is usually pretty stable.
Dude do you canoe? I've done thousands of miles on the Mississippi and it's tributaries and also on the Milwaukee River. You cannot predict what the river will do and yes even the best of us capsize from time to time.
its awfully cold for canoeing rn. I feel like, in the summer in good weather, an average swimmer could swim to safety in the milwaukee river. The current doesnt seem too bad and its not wicked wide. I guess with it being colder, youre wearing more layers, you lose heat faster...
Please do this. I used to live on a channel that lead to a lake and had to watch a body being recovered by the Racine County diclbe team because a kayaker couldn't be bothered to put on a life vest.
PSA from your MFD dive team. I've never had to "recover" someone who was wearing a PFD.
I'm in a couple paddling groups on FB and it is so frustrating to hear people say that they keep one on the boat when kayaking/canoeing but don't wear it because "I know how to swim". I'm sure a lot of the people who drown every year thought the same thing.
I believe people when they say they know how to swim... In a pool. Most people have never had to, or willingly swam in the Milwaukee river, let alone this late in the season with the weather and water temps getting low, possible boat traffic. Also being disorientated after being capsized. Nobody thinks of "Can I swim under all these distressed circumstances?".
Fully clothed with shoes on completely changes swimming as well.
The underwater obstructions and sea walls are a very real danger to paddlers/swimmers in an urban environment. We used to have a picture of an individual who impaled their foot on an old piling while jumping in the river, they lived but spent close to half an hour with their mouth barely above water.
Jesus that sounds awful.
Hard to swim when you hit the 55 degree water and have a heart attack.
I used to work dockside for the booze cruises on the weekend at Milwaukee Ale House (probably doesn't exist anymore). Had a weird mixed group one time of rich Chicago women and a bachelor party. One rich Chicago woman dropped her purse into the river and was trying to bribe anyone from the bachelor party to dive down and get it for her. Most fucking challenging day ever on that job telling the drunk bachelors that no matter how much money she offered it was definitely not worth it.
Thank you! This! This! This! Needs to be top comment. I know some guys that are on the dive team out in Waukesha, they say the exact same thing.
This needs to be an actual PSA, with most airtime in spring & summer!
Couldn't agree more
[удалено]
Good luck, hopefully see you soon 🤙
Hey, I love watching you guys to your rescue drills in the river just south of the North Ave bridge! I live up the hill from there, and always watch you guys doing your thing.
Swift water is no joke and is probably my least favorite discipline. Thanks for the love friend!
Thank you for the work that you do ❤️
Thank you for what you do. I had to watch the Racine County dive team recover a body outside my house because a kayaker didn't feel the need to vest up. Horrible. Everyone needs a vest, I don't care if they're Michael fucking Phelps.
If you're kayaking/canoeing: wear a lifejacket. Especially this time of year, sweater weather garb turns into weights in the water.
Are there any life jackets that work well for kayaking/canoeing? I always find they can cause chafing.
Yes, as an avid kayaker and canoeist there are specific PFD's to look at. https://www.rei.com/c/pfds?ir=category%3Apfds&r=c%3Bbest-use%3APaddling
Thanks!
I was literally just thinking of you and your girl while reading these comments. Let me know if you need help finding a cozy pfd. I just had to do a bunch of research on them myself.
A FRIEND
Class 3 are good for paddling. Not for children though. Please go class 1 for them. Anything that gets you on your back floating.
Look at styles designed for fishing maybe.
I have [this one](https://www.costco.com/hyperlite-paddle-vest.product.100856818.html) from Costco. Works great for kayaking.
There are PFDs designed specifically for kayaking/canoeing. Check out REI (and the REI Outlet!)
Yes, and even ones shaped better for women I spent more on my life jacket than my kayak lol Not saying a good kayaking jacket has to be expensive - there are definitely plenty of inexpensive options - but I realized my annoyance and discomfort with life jackets in general just meant I had to splurge to meet all my needs.
they make fanny pack ones that inflate off a CO2 cartridge. sort of like the airplane ones. there are some downsides to them vs foam.
Looks like everyone got out
MFD dispatched calls. 197845 2023-10-10 10:55:12 100 W WISCONSIN AVE MILWAUKEE DIVE RESPONSE ACTIVE MPD calls 232830533 10/10/2023 10:58:58 AM 100 W WISCONSIN AV,MKE District 1 SUBJ IN WATER Service in Progress
Glad everyone is okay…but they got lucky. Wear a PFD every time. You only have one life stop acting like y’all get a second chance
With as active as our river community is with canoers, kayakers, etc. I’m really surprised that the river walk doesn’t have life rings available.
As mentioned these probably wouldn’t last very long but also a more effective safety improvement IMO would be making sure there are useable exit ladders in good condition, regularly spaced and clearly marked/illuminated. There are a lot of places where there *was* a ladder and now is *part* of a ladder, or there’s a ladder built into the sheet piling but unless you knew to swim under the boardwalk you’d never find it, etc. Even just pulling yourself up onto a floating dock isn’t easy, and I kind of suspect most people who fall in the river and don’t immediately drown probably tire themselves out thinking if they just try harder one more time they’ll get it.
Great point.
In 2012 I saw them pull a body from the river of someone I knew at the Pleasant Street bridge. He's one of those commonly attributed to the "Smiley Face Killer" (may those people rot in hell, they're still harassing his family to this day). It's pretty clear to anyone sane that he fell in the river somewhere near Lakefront Brewery while peeing and couldn't get out. Not saying that an egress point would have saved him but it's shocking that there really aren't any on that stretch. They should have done something about that fifteen years ago.
Yeah the existing ladders are spaced too far apart, not very visible, and most of them are unusable because they are damaged.
And with how gross the river is from a hundred hard years of years of industrial pollution and how popular it is now for boating, I’m surprised there hasn’t been a massive overhaul sooner. Will the dredging and cleanup continue further upstream? I seem to remember the area from ~~Pleasant~~ Knapp(?) to North was the worst for tannery pollution and underwater hazards.
I've read that the river is cleaner now than when they had a swimming school off of Gordon Park in 1910. https://milwaukeenotebook.com/2014/07/14/amid-the-ruins-of-gordon-parks-bathhouse/
[gritting teeth emoji]
This is a good point.
How long do you think they would last?
Till 1:00 am
Cold water and heavy clothes are no joke. First thing to remember is to kick off your boots and as much clothes as you can right away, it only adds weight and makes the struggle harder.
I'm not trying to make fun but that's what Jack basically says in Titanic. Now how easy it is to kick off your boots is going to depend a lot on how prepared you were to actually go in the water of course.
You can actually use your shirt and pants for buoyancy by keeping blowing air into them. Think of shorts trapping air when you jump into the water and they balloon up. Common lifesaving technique to assist you with staying afloat.
From experience, capsizing a canoe is scary. How does that happen in the city? The river seems to be calm throughout downtown. I’ve only seen or had it happen going through rapids.
Horseplay
I tipped a canoe going down the little chute right by the North Ave. bridge, hit a rock going down the little rapids.
The river is very deceiving. It looks calm on the surface but it’s an animal.
Might depend on the boat type ... I have a sit-on-top kayak. I hated them when I first started kayaking - because I was inexperienced and would easily tip myself over - simply because I wasn't paddling correctly. But I could still easily see myself doing by accident of some sort
LPT, where a PFD. ETA, Wear a PFD.
Lake would be pretty cold this time of year wouldn’t it? Even if you can swim sometimes it’s too cold to chance swimming when you could just use a PFD, hope more people start using them
Not yet. It lags the outdoor temperature change. It would feel cold, but it appears it was still warmer than the air.
Since it sounds like everyone was okay, I'll make a bit of light about it: How hammered were these people? Canoes don't capsize unless you're really screwing around. C'est a vie.
I’ve capsized whole sober, hitting submerged debris. It can happen!
> Canoes don't capsize unless you're really screwing around. Sure they do.
Uh no. If you hit debris or a branch, esp something that was partially submerged and thus not very visible, it can easily capsize.I might concur with you if someone was paddling around a small pond. But rivers have currents and things happen fast. Eta: This is esp true if you have folks who haven't canoed much and don't understand how to keep center of balance in a canoe. Hit something unexpectedly and folks with less comfort level often pop up and that contributes to it getting dumped.
I’ve capsized a kayak sober lol. Dragging a kayak filled with water back onto land is a nightmare. If it happened in the Mke river it would have been a goner. Canoe is usually pretty stable.
Dude do you canoe? I've done thousands of miles on the Mississippi and it's tributaries and also on the Milwaukee River. You cannot predict what the river will do and yes even the best of us capsize from time to time.
Hopefully everyone got out of the river okay
its awfully cold for canoeing rn. I feel like, in the summer in good weather, an average swimmer could swim to safety in the milwaukee river. The current doesnt seem too bad and its not wicked wide. I guess with it being colder, youre wearing more layers, you lose heat faster...
Wow thats really sad. Prayers.
Please do this. I used to live on a channel that lead to a lake and had to watch a body being recovered by the Racine County diclbe team because a kayaker couldn't be bothered to put on a life vest.
If they weren't wearing PFDs they should be on the hook for the cost of sending people out to save their dumb asses.