Missing boater in Round Valley

[buzzbaiter]

There are six men whose bodies have never been recovered in the waters of the reservoir. Authorities scoured the lake with a submarine in 2006 but were not able to locate any of their remains.

Thats kind of creepy.

[jimmythegreek]

I wear a self inflatable when fishing alone in water below 55 degrees, all the time, fishing or running. When fishing with a partner(s) I dont, I hope they will save me lol. I can swim well, the real problem is while running especially in a fast boat, u can hit wood or wake+wind and flip, knocking you out or handicapping you, then u drown. U should always wear a self inflatable or lifejacket w the larnyard clipped to u while under motor power, they will at least float u face up and u can breathe even if unconcious.

[YotaTruck91]

Just a damn shame all around. We moved to Hunterdon six years ago and immediately started exploring the Valley on the water and in the hills surrounding it. One thing that irks me is the reputation it has as a "killer" as if some mysterious sea monster or whirlpool is swallowing people alive:

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/201...mystery_s.html

The Valley is not a "Bermuda Triangle," it's a large lake with a long fetch length which allows large waves to develop when the wind picks up. If you don't watch the weather carefully, and worse yet, aren't wearing a PFD, you could quickly find yourself in trouble, just as you could on any large body of water. The stories that the newspaper writes about the Valley talk about "mysterious weather" and storms that "pop out of nowhere" as if they only happen over the reservoir itself and not the entire county/central part of the state.

Not to belittle the tragedy or cause any disrespect to the loved ones of those lost, but the Valley never killed anyone, a lack of preparation and a disregard for basic boating safety did. I enjoy kayaking and canoeing myself, but I feel that some kayakers/canoers feel that boating safety is only for powered craft and paddling a canoe or kayak is like riding a bike or hiking through the woods. People piloting unpowered craft should ALWAYS be wearing a PFD and should quite frankly, need to be more aware of the weather. When a thunderstorm is moving in, powerboaters can haul butt to the launch/shore if need be a lot faster than a kayaker or canoer can.

[phil]

Originally Posted by YotaTruck91

Just a damn shame all around. We moved to Hunterdon six years ago and immediately started exploring the Valley on the water and in the hills surrounding it. One thing that irks me is the reputation it has as a "killer" as if some mysterious sea monster or whirlpool is swallowing people alive:

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/201...mystery_s.html

The Valley is not a "Bermuda Triangle," it's a large lake with a long fetch length which allows large waves to develop when the wind picks up. If you don't watch the weather carefully, and worse yet, aren't wearing a PFD, you could quickly find yourself in trouble, just as you could on any large body of water. The stories that the newspaper writes about the Valley talk about "mysterious weather" and storms that "pop out of nowhere" as if they only happen over the reservoir itself and not the entire county/central part of the state.

Not to belittle the tragedy or cause any disrespect to the loved ones of those lost, but the Valley never killed anyone, a lack of preparation and a disregard for basic boating safety did. I enjoy kayaking and canoeing myself, but I feel that some kayakers/canoers feel that boating safety is only for powered craft and paddling a canoe or kayak is like riding a bike or hiking through the woods. People piloting unpowered craft should ALWAYS be wearing a PFD and should quite frankly, need to be more aware of the weather. When a thunderstorm is moving in, powerboaters can haul butt to the launch/shore if need be a lot faster than a kayaker or canoer can.

No one here is going to disrespect the deceased and its sad no matter what. But you gotta wonder a 24 year old dies 150 yds from shore?? Unless he had a serious medical emergency I cant fathom how anyone dies that close to shore. Its a long cast. If you cant swim and go out on a kayak with NO PFD, thats just stupid

[NJTransplant]

Sad no matter what the circumstances were .he was just out to enjoy what we all do .....being on the water .

[YotaTruck91]

Originally Posted by phil

No one here is going to disrespect the deceased and its sad no matter what. But you gotta wonder a 24 year old dies 150 yds from shore?? Unless he had a serious medical emergency I cant fathom how anyone dies that close to shore. Its a long cast. If you cant swim and go out on a kayak with NO PFD, thats just stupid

I am betting that by the time someone spotted him he had been struggling to get back into the boat for a while. It's pretty sparse there on a Wednesday afternoon. If he had a PFD on he could have lasted hours in the water and been pulled out, cold and tired, but alive.

[acabtp]

Originally Posted by phil

No one here is going to disrespect the deceased and its sad no matter what. But you gotta wonder a 24 year old dies 150 yds from shore?? Unless he had a serious medical emergency I cant fathom how anyone dies that close to shore. Its a long cast. If you cant swim and go out on a kayak with NO PFD, thats just stupid

no offense to anyone else from new brunswick, but it isn't the most rural/swimming hole/hang out at the crick type of town... he probably just didn't know how to swim and panicked. with the warm surface water temps, if he had known how to tread water, he could have waited indefinitely for help to arrive. sad.

[muskynut]

Everyone should wear their PFDs at all times.....even if they know how to swim. The way they are made these days it's like wearing nothing. A shame Capt. Dave

[hudsonfisherman]

I am sorry for his friends and family. I live very close to RV, swim my dog there a couple times a week and also Scuba dive it regularly. We often enter the water right at the Kayak launch area and follow the bottom out to 50-80 ft or so. I think the park commission could do a better job of warning Kayakers and canoers about the dangers of open water and enforcing the PFD requirement. We see people all the time with overloaded canoes and kayaks departing and heading for the campgrounds on the other side of the lake with probably no real open water experience in boating or swimming without a thought for self rescue or eventual rescue by others. One sunday morning we were diving when the wind picked up and the State Police and a bunch of private boaters rescued an entire bachelor party in kayaks and canoes trying to return from the campground, several of them had overturned shortly after they left shore but rather than go back they still tryed to forge ahead against the wind to the far shore. Another thing I think that people don't realize is that the bottom drops off very quickly all around the lake except for a very few spots. Just to the right of the kayak launch it drops to 20 ft within 30ft of the shore. It was excavated and graded to hold maximum amount of water. Once you shove off from shore it's not like a lot of lakes where it's shallow or gradual for a while, it drops off fast and deep. Its a shame because if you know how to float, tread water, or wearing a PFD just go the way the wind is pushing you and you will eventually end up on shore, maybe not the shore you set out to but any port in a storm.

[Fishinfire]

This is why my kids and I ALWAYS wear our PFD (which are equipped with whistles and dive knives as well). I even went the extra step and we put our PFD's on and floated around in our pool. Better to have an idea of how they will react in a controlled environment before anything happens. Also, I see alot of people that wear waders in their kayak. To me that is a bad idea. If you do fall in, they can fill with water and you will sink like a bucket of water.

As far as the comment about who knows how long he was in the water, this was a witnessed fall from the kayak and help was called almost immediately.

Stay safe, stay afloat! Wear your PFD!!!