Have you read this story about an off-duty NYPD fireman that drowned while kayaking with his 5 year old son? A short quote:

The widow of an NYPD veteran killed in an August kayaking accident says her husband's final words to their 5-year-old son were "just blow that whistle and someone will find you."

Caden Luca was the last person to see his father, Patrick Luca, alive.

Only Caden was wearing a life jacket when father and son were thrown from their kayak into Smithtown Bay. As he struggled to hang on, Patrick handed his hat to Caden and told him what to do to survive.

"Caden always had on a safety whistle and emergency light, and he said to him, 'Just blow that whistle, and someone will find you,'" said Stephanie Luca. "Then he told him that daddy is going to go under the water and not come up. He was going to go to heaven."

Incredible! A fire/rescue professional out there with a five year old and not wearing a PFD! It boggles the mind. He was courageous to try to prepare his son for what was going to happen, and I hate to bag on a guy who's gone, but to make your kid watch you die right in front of him simply because you failed to take the most elementary precautions...it's staggering to me. Even with a PFD, a five year old out there alone...

What a sad, sad story all around.

Is anybody else confused as to the sequence of events of the drowning? How did a drowning man have the wherewithal to relay instructions and to say he's going to heaven, etc.? Was the water so cold that it caused his body to stiffen?

Yeah, as always with these news stories it seems like there's some stuff missing. The comments from his wife, though, did imply that he chose not to wear a vest- not that it was lost, etc. That's the part that blows me away.

I wonder if cold wasn't part of it...I wish we knew more. So sad for the family, especially the little boy who lost his daddy in front of his eyes.

Wow, that really is sad. He obviously made sure his son had a vest, so clearly he had some "safety mindedness" about him. Why not a vest for himself? Maybe he's a good swimmer and didn't realize how the cold water would sap his strength? I guess we'll never know.

HJ

That reminds me, was a bit back on here someone had a backpack sternum clip that continaed a whistle, anyone have that link.

We went out on a small boat last summer, the PFD's at the boat rental place were nasty so we didn't put them on. Went out afterward and bought the kids their own so if we did go again we have theirs, still need to buy ours though.

Tragic.

I see this often in boating where adults don't wear a PFD, kids are made to. It's the "do as I say, not as I do" crowd.

Reminds of the parents I see our riding a bicycle with their kids. Kids all have helmets, parent(s) do(does) not.

There are certainly situations where being an adult makes you less susceptible to some harm that might befall a child. However, when it comes to safety equipment to be worn on the water or when doing potentially dangerous activities, being an over-confident or macho so-called "adult" only proves you are irresponsible and stupid.

I don't have a link, but it's getting more and more common to see those whistles embedded in a sternum strap buckle. Only problem I see with them is that if you take your pack off and wander around the meadow with your camera or whatever, then there goes your whistle.

Maybe I'm a little over cautious, but I like wearing a whistle, a compass, a p-38 can opener, a little key chain type LED squeeze light, and an ID tag around my neck.

I actually find the compass and the little light useful around town. I pulled out of a parking garage the other day. The exit was on a totally different street than the one I entered from. I saw no recognizable landmark. I pulled out my compass. I immediately knew I was headed south and therefore needed to turn left. I drove a block or so, saw a street I recognized, and was on my way. Handy.

HJ

I like to keep a small LED light and a whistle on my pack and a backup on my person. My Maxpedition Kodiak is a great day pack and has a clip on the sling, a good place for both.

Whistles are so light that it's easy to carry more than one in different locations. I didn't realize how light whistles are until I picked up a set of ten plastic whistle I have that are connected on a key chain. I couldn't feel hardly any weight in my hand.

I'm thinking one for them to carry and the one on the pack, I remember seeing the link somewhere for the one that attaches and thought it was something I would get.