Personal Stories
Swim Like A Fish Foundation
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Drowning Prevention
| Swim Like A Fish Foundation 6250 Tuttle Place, Suite 4 Anchorage, Alaska 99507 907-563-3473 swimlikeafishfoundation@alaska.net Copyright 2007 Swim Like A Fish Foundation |
When I was about 7 years old I noticed a pond behind town that had ducklings
swimming in it. I had the not-so-great idea to get my older brother's kayak and see
how many I can catch to keep as pets. I don't remember how I got the kayak over
there to that pond but I do remember paddling and cornering the ducklings and thinking
how easy it was going to be. Well, all of a sudden the ducklings scooted passed me on
both sides. I quickly reached out to try to grab one and the next thing I know I tipped
over and was in the water. I tried to hold on to the side of the kayak but it was upside
down and my hands were slipping off the sides. I didn't know how to swim and it
wasn't long before I was under the water. I remember looking up while sinking deeper
and deeper and thinking how beautiful the sunlight was as it cascaded thought the clear
water. I also remember thinking, "Man, this is how I'm going to die?"
Then all of a sudden I felt a tug on my shirt. A friend of mine who knew how to swim
must have seen me fall in and quickly went in, grabbed me, and took me to shore. As
we sat there gasping for air I remember thinking, "Man, am I going to get a spanking!"
If my friend didn't know how to swim, I wouldn't be here today.
Not long after this incident, my father took my brother and I to the ocean and threw us
in. He taught us how to dog-paddle. That very week we joined the other town's kids
at the local swimming hole and learned how to do the front stroke, the breast stroke,
float, and even dive. As it turns out, this was valuable for an experience much later in
my adult life.
Several years ago a co-worker and I were working for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service. We were setting duck traps in some big lakes. Our boat began to drift away
because we forgot to set the anchor out. I thought, "Hey, I'm young and tough and I
know how to swim. I'll just go after it and drive the boat back."
As usual, things don't happen according to plan. So I swam after the boat but the wind
kept pushing it further and further from shore. I was close to it a couple times but after
a while I noticed it was just floating too fast for me to catch up with it. I turned around
to swim back and to my amazement I was quite a ways out! The combination of the
cold water and perhaps the thought of not making it back made me pretty weak. I
tried to swim for it anyway, but I didn't make it far.
As I was treading water, I finally got the nerve to tell my co-worker that he might have
to come out and rescue me. He just nervously walked up and down the beach so I
knew that I was on my own. "I have to do this my self if I want to live," I remember
thinking. So, I tried again, this time to the shore beside me. It looked a little closer. I
couldn't do the forward stroke at this time, so I started to dog-paddle, but I was losing
energy quickly in that cold water. Soon I noticed my legs weren't kicking behind
me....they were almost under me and my mouth was getting closer to the water. It was
then that I got really scared. Fortunately I felt some pond weeds under my feet. I
know pond weeds here were about 6 feet tall, so that gave me the hope and extra
boost of energy that I needed to make it to shore. I'm alive today for two reasons:
because someone who knew how to swim saved me, and because I learned how to
swim.
By Lance Kramer
Inupiat Eskimo, Kotzebue, AK
swimming in it. I had the not-so-great idea to get my older brother's kayak and see
how many I can catch to keep as pets. I don't remember how I got the kayak over
there to that pond but I do remember paddling and cornering the ducklings and thinking
how easy it was going to be. Well, all of a sudden the ducklings scooted passed me on
both sides. I quickly reached out to try to grab one and the next thing I know I tipped
over and was in the water. I tried to hold on to the side of the kayak but it was upside
down and my hands were slipping off the sides. I didn't know how to swim and it
wasn't long before I was under the water. I remember looking up while sinking deeper
and deeper and thinking how beautiful the sunlight was as it cascaded thought the clear
water. I also remember thinking, "Man, this is how I'm going to die?"
Then all of a sudden I felt a tug on my shirt. A friend of mine who knew how to swim
must have seen me fall in and quickly went in, grabbed me, and took me to shore. As
we sat there gasping for air I remember thinking, "Man, am I going to get a spanking!"
If my friend didn't know how to swim, I wouldn't be here today.
Not long after this incident, my father took my brother and I to the ocean and threw us
in. He taught us how to dog-paddle. That very week we joined the other town's kids
at the local swimming hole and learned how to do the front stroke, the breast stroke,
float, and even dive. As it turns out, this was valuable for an experience much later in
my adult life.
Several years ago a co-worker and I were working for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service. We were setting duck traps in some big lakes. Our boat began to drift away
because we forgot to set the anchor out. I thought, "Hey, I'm young and tough and I
know how to swim. I'll just go after it and drive the boat back."
As usual, things don't happen according to plan. So I swam after the boat but the wind
kept pushing it further and further from shore. I was close to it a couple times but after
a while I noticed it was just floating too fast for me to catch up with it. I turned around
to swim back and to my amazement I was quite a ways out! The combination of the
cold water and perhaps the thought of not making it back made me pretty weak. I
tried to swim for it anyway, but I didn't make it far.
As I was treading water, I finally got the nerve to tell my co-worker that he might have
to come out and rescue me. He just nervously walked up and down the beach so I
knew that I was on my own. "I have to do this my self if I want to live," I remember
thinking. So, I tried again, this time to the shore beside me. It looked a little closer. I
couldn't do the forward stroke at this time, so I started to dog-paddle, but I was losing
energy quickly in that cold water. Soon I noticed my legs weren't kicking behind
me....they were almost under me and my mouth was getting closer to the water. It was
then that I got really scared. Fortunately I felt some pond weeds under my feet. I
know pond weeds here were about 6 feet tall, so that gave me the hope and extra
boost of energy that I needed to make it to shore. I'm alive today for two reasons:
because someone who knew how to swim saved me, and because I learned how to
swim.
By Lance Kramer
Inupiat Eskimo, Kotzebue, AK