Boat Recovery – Two fisherman out in Lake Altoona, WI ran into trouble and found themselves swimming for their lives. The waves picked up and flooded their boat. They struggled to get life jackets out and on by the time the boat filled with water and sank. A DNR warden, while on routine patrol of the county park, had noticed the lone boat on the lake. He looked away, but then noticed that the boat was no longer there. He called it in to the local fire rescue team. They rescued the two fishermen. Because they were lucky enough to get to their life jackets, they are alive today. The owner contacted a local guy to retrieve his boat, but he could not find it after two days searching the lake. The owner then contacted me. We went out and found it in 45 minutes. It was upside down in 12 feet of water. I had recruited some new help for this project: my cousin Greg, who lives the area, as well as Duane, from La Crosse. Together we were successful in rigging and flipping the boat over to be towed to shore. We then loaded it up on the owner’s trailer. The boat owner mentioned how tough it was to dig out and put on the life jackets in the heat of the moment. This was a good outcome. Please wear your life jackets when you are on the water! We never have had to look for someone that had their life jacket on.
