Be Prepared

[mrkstvns]

Good thing scouting teaches emergency preparedness!  A troop camping in the Allagash Wilderness area of Maine found out why when they suddenly found themselves needing to rescue two men whose canoes had capsized on the lake.  Thanks to the scouts, both men are safe...and so is their  dog, even though he nearly drowned the two men in an effort to save his own furry skin...

Here's the story:
https://kstp.com/national/boy-scouts-rescue-brothers-canoes-capsized-maine/5378861/ 

My takeaway:  What we teach the boys matters.

Edited June 6, 2019 by mrkstvns

[DuctTape]

One thing I try to instill in my scouts is that "Be Prepared" is much much more than knowledge, skills and gear. It is the mindset of doing your duty to others, etc... It goes hand in hand with "do a good turn daily". It is the willingness to act, to do the right thing regardless. Knowledge, skills and gear are helpful, although not necessary. It is the honor and duty of a scout to be prepared to do the right thing.

[RememberSchiff]

Update: There was a dog named Cooper rescued too.

The Fioris weren’t wearing their life vests, but they managed to grab them and put them on. Cooper was wearing a life vest.  

More details at source:

https://www.unionleader.com/news/local/kingston-scouts-on-maine-camping-trip-called-heroes-for-rescuing/article_ee25c535-1fce-5f59-b37b-4a35dcfe55ab.html

[HelpfulTracks]

I’ve never seen a dog that could not swim, at least a short distance and time. Even those with a lot of fur that traps water tend to keep their heads above water.

Great job by the Scouts though. Never know when your training and skills will come into play. Thus, be prepared.

[RememberSchiff]

A week later, another river the Androscoggin and another rescue by scouts.

Scouts training on the Androscoggin River had just learned how to empty and flip a swamped canoe when 10 distressed men and a dog emerged from the rapids 100 yards from the scout’s sandbar. The men had capsized up the river in the 55 degree water.

“The lesson we learned was fresh in our brain, so we focused on the thing we had to do, to get them to shore,” 12-year-old Adam Praschma of Hingham said. “We knew we had to get them as quick out of the water as possible.”

The National Weather Service issued an alert earlier in the day about the dangerously cold water, the Scouts said, so they knew they had to act fast. They took to the water and rowed their canoes to the men.

“Everyone was in a big hurry because we realized it was freezing,” 13-year-old Henry duBose of Hingham said. “Walking out putting your feet in it you could realize how cold it was.”

The troop righted the men’s canoes, helped some get back in, but brought them all to shore, including the dog. Some were visibly cold, the boys said.

“If they had been in the water a little more they would have gotten hypothermia,” Praschma said. “We told them to breathe slowly so they can calm down.”

duBose said at first he and some of the boys thought it was staged because of the lesson they had just minutes before.

“We realized oh no... it wasn’t staged,” he said. “Wow it was such a crazy coincidence.”

The men were camping nearby and the boys said they continuously said “thank you” for the remainder of the trip.

Praschma said he does not feel like a hero, but it is nice to know that he helped someone.

“It feels really good,” duBose said. “If we weren’t there they would have probably drifted another half mile to a mile down stream.”

No word  whether the men or dog were wearing vests.  

source:

https://hingham.wickedlocal.com/news/20190613/hingham-scouts-come-to-rescue-of-10-men-whose-canoes-capsized-on-new-hampshire-river

Edited June 14, 2019 by RememberSchiff

[HelpfulTracks]

Scouts rock!

[mrkstvns]

Who would ever imagine that a group of paddlers would need rescuing at exactly the time and place where a scout troop was learning about river rescue....

Coincidence?  I suspect the hand of God was involved here...

 

[qwazse]

53 minutes ago, mrkstvns said:

... Coincidence?  I suspect the hand of God was involved here...

Then God's pretty handy. If we provide Him the scouts, He'll put them where they need to be.

[mrkstvns]

The Governor of Maine will be recognizing the scouts involved in this rescue during a ceremony tomorrow morning.  
https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2019/06/19/maine-governor-recognize-mass-boy-scouts-who-saved-two-canoers/w7ueUD5i1IWtPNxo0HTveK/story.html