Once a week at camp we would have something called a Lost Bather Drill. The two main camps each had a waterfront. Camp Buckskin's swim area was immediately adjacent to the boating area, and was a pretty small pond. Camp Waubeeka had one lake that was used for both swimming and boating, but the swimming area was roped off from the rest of the lake.
Every scout took a swim test when he arrived at camp and was assigned a "buddy tag". The buddy tag had the scout's name on it and a color coding to indicate the level of proficiency. It was a small circle of cardboard. Any time a scout went swimming or boating, he hung his tag on the buddy board. The buddy board was just a piece of wood with a series of hooks on it. The idea was that once the scout had finished his aquatic activities, he would take his buddy tag off the board. If there were tags left over after all scouts had left either someone had forgotten their tag or they had drowned. We always presumed the worst.
Every week there was a mock lost bather drill. The siren would sound and all the staff would hightail it to the waterfront. We would form a line and jump in the water. Noone was given a mask or any other equipment. The water was murky. Nevertheless, given the command, we would dive down about 10 feet, attempt to see without a mask in dirty water, take a couple of strokes forward and resurface. Everyone would then take a couple of strokes backwards and give it another go. Usually after 15 minutes we would find the mock body, typically a buoy weighted down with a brick; because that is what a body most resembles. These drills were always in the swim area, essentially a rectangle 100 feet long by 75 feet wide or so. Then there was the other one...
One Saturday, after all the scouts had left for the week, we heard the siren. This was strange because we never did drills on Saturday. There were a few scouts who were staying over the weekend because they were spending another week at camp, but it was mostly deserted. We quickly realized that the siren was coming from Waubeeka and so we all drove incredibly recklessly to get down there.
Ostensibly, this was not a drill. There was a buddy tag on the ground and a life jacket in the water. The most likely explanation was that both had become dislodged during the storm the night before and the high winds. Nevertheless, we were the boy scouts and we were not going to take logic for an answer. Additionally, this search was not going to be limited to a swim area, we had to search the whole lake. And, ostensibly it was real. Keep in mind, that the last time there had been any authorized boating or swimming was more than 12 hours ago. We were either going to find a body or a mermaid. Regardless of the fact that it would take only another 30 minutes max to determine if there truly was a body in the lake, and we were going on 12+ hours anyway, the decision was made to launch the most uncontrolled rescue ever.
Everyone ended up doing their own thing. The only guidance given was "search the lake". This would be similar to a General ordering his troops to "Win the War", with no additional guidance at all. I remember grabbing a canoe with some other guy and paddling to random spots and jumping in to have a look. Unlike the swimming area, this area was considerably deeper in parts. Also, unlike the drills, this was complete chaos. I am amazed no one drowned during this "rescue". To the untrained eye, it looked like just a random bunch of people jumping out of small boats and splashing around. To the trained eye, it was exactly the same. I think we ran out of canoes and row boats at one point so there were a couple searchers using a sailboat. The element of a regatta really added to the fun!
In addition to the general buffonery of the entire endeavor, two of the staff members had decided that the best way to rescue someone is to make yourself as streamlined as possible, i.e. sans pantaloons. So it was also a bit of naked swim. Through pure chance, the two naked dudes ended up in the same canoe. Unfortunately that never made the official picture of the boy scouts, two naked men in a canoe having a frolic.
At some point, logic prevailed and the supposedly missing scout was located. Just as you might have expected, he had left camp that morning and was very surprised to find so many people eager to know about his whereabout. Perhaps not as surprised as he would have been to see two naked men in a canoe looking for him though.
Memories differ. I have no idea if mine are correct or if we are even talking about the same event.
ReplyDeleteAt the Rock House (a since burned down condemned building at Summit Base) several staff were hanging out in various states of recovery from the night before. We had our radio off because there was no need for them on the weekend though this was against regulation. J (another story there) drove up and informed us that there was a lost bather at Waubeeka.
We hightailed it down there in various states of undress (this was how we hung on the weekends) fully feeling the effects of the rolled Drum cigs we had been smoking. I think I recall the naked canoe though I'm not sure; however I do recall that this was in the pre-Load days and my size 32 baggy cargo shorts actually fell off after they got wet. Well lives were at stake so we threw modesty out the window (or we just thought it was funny to throw nudity about at a time when nobody would tell us otherwise).
There was a floating life jacket but it was then discovered that a CIT had left it on the banks after a skit at the nearby campfire ring on the shore then night before. At least that's my memory.