ORIGINAL: ejc34710
If you know how to swim, its a warm day out (as well as the water), and there are hardly any to no currents, where does the risk lie???
at least 5 fellow RC Boaters died in the US while retrieving RC boats while swimming in 2010. (I have documented it). They did not fall from boats. They were not taken by sharks. Two of them (a father and teen aged son) even had a fishing rod on hand to retrieve the boat (Can you even begin to imagine the loss of a father and son for something as stupid as an RC Boat). They simply underestimated distance, temperature, or their own capabilities. You start swimming after your boat and the wind carries it a little further, and then a little further - then what.
Take a quick look through the news stories -
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_9569185/tm.htm and consider the odds. How many boats do you think were recovered by swimming last year - how many paid the ultimate price. I think the risks are VERY high. I think the risks are too high. I have yet to see an RC Boat worth dieing for - how about you?
I have not read of anyone dieing while using a Kayak, dinghy, life vest, and only one while using an inflatable boat (that was struck by another RC boat - another case of ignoring safety). I am not saying that these methods are 100% safe - but I am suggesting that EVERYONE think twice before swimming for a boat. Have a backup plan in place just in case your first means does let you down. Personally I carry self inflating life vest and two of three of the following - a fishing rod, a zodiac inflatable, a 2 man inflatable. Guys I boat with will have a canoe, a jon boat, a kayak, a dinghy, and/or an inflatable.
If you turn up at a lake without a plan for recovery then odds are high that when your boat dies in the pond - you may too. (I like that line so much I think it will be my new signature
)