Brian Sawer, a founding member of the Virginia Beach Wave Junkies, and a buddy went for a jet ski ride in Suffolk, VA. The men were underway and headed to the Merrimac Bridge Tunnel by 6:30pm. Both skis became plagued with several issues, including mechanical failures. The guys made the decision to physically pull their skis to a landing provided by a restaurant.
After swimming and fighting the current in the channel for six hours, the two men reached the restaurant where they tied down their skis. They left the water and walked to a convenience store. They reached the store at 1:30 am.
A kind soul let them use his cell phone to call for assistance. Little did they know, family members alerted the Coast Guard in regards to the missing men just after midnight. The USCG sent a helicopter and a boat on a search and rescue mission and located the jet skis.
Family members received calls from the men at 2:30 a.m. Sawyer said he regretted causing his family to worry. When interviewed by WAVY.com, Sawyer said, “We never panicked and we joked around with each other. We never felt we were in any danger.”
Fortunately, the guys were wearing life jackets when their skis malfunctioned. Sawyer has ridden jet skis since he was 8 years old and never goes out unprepared and that means also taking a friend. He will carry an additional item onboard: a cell phone. The men were checked out by medics and released. Sawyer suffered a rash from the chafing of his shorts on both legs. That’s nothing a little Gold Bond can’t fix.
I’ve been stuck in the same location. SVHO timing chain failure. I didn’t have to swim but it was the middle of winter
Glad you didn’t have to swim in the middle of winter.
We would have been miserable if it were winter. The water was warm though. Only surf rides for us in the winter lol
Brian, a situation like yours in the winter certainly would have been miserable! I’m with you, bodyboarding for me in the winter.