On May 26, 2024, my crew and I participated in the annual Mary Walker Marina Snapper Showdown on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. We were on a 28-foot fishing boat, and everything seemed fine at first. Unfortunately just 17 miles from Petit Bois Island, disaster struck—the boat sank. Very fast. There wasn’t even enough time to put on life jackets. We were left in cold, choppy water with no boat and no way to signal for help.

Luckily, Connor remembered that his girlfriend had packed an ACR ResQlink 400 Personal Locator Beacon (PLB) for him at the last minute. He had it in his bag, but with the boat sinking so fast, it was the only thing we could access. Connor activated it just before entering the water, and that beacon became our lifeline. The sinking boat made the flares inaccessible, leaving the PLB as the only thing that saved us.

We spent five long hours in the water, freezing, cramping, and starting to lose hope. But when we saw the Coast Guard approaching, we knew we would make it. Looking back, we realize we had all the right safety gear—life jackets, flares, and the PLB—but we hadn’t stored everything properly. We couldn’t easily reach the flares, and that could’ve cost us.

We’ve all learned a big lesson from this experience: no matter how experienced you are, things can go wrong fast. We thought we were prepared, but negligence nearly defeated us.

If there’s one thing, I want fellow boaters to take away from our story, it’s this: Safety isn’t optional. Make sure everyone on board knows where the emergency gear is, how to use it, and that it’s easily accessible. We were lucky, but it could’ve been much worse. Don’t wait until it’s too late—be prepared.