WaterColor – Western Lake Rescue

April 25, 2009
By Murray Balkcom

As my morning was coming to a close, kayaking on Western Lake, in the distance I noticed a canoe overturned with two people in the water, clinging on to the ends of the canoe. Already heading to the scene, to offer assistance in the WaterColor wooden motorboat was WaterColor BoatHouse employee, Jarrod Zerangue. He had a small crew on board and had been touring them around Western Lake when he saw the couple in distress. Jarrod motored up beside the overturned canoe, and saw that the couple were wearing their life jackets, and were okay. Jarrod’s boat was quickly blown away from the stranded canoe. Jarrod turned the controls of the wooden motorboat over to capable hands, then proceeded to jump overboard, still in uniform, to offer assistance to the stranded couple. Jarrod had not seen this happen before, nor had I, and I had no idea what Jarrod was going to do, other than help them swim it to the shoreline and wait to be picked up. I’m sure the couple in the water was glad to see him swim over to their canoe to offer assistance.

When I approached the canoe, the new captain of the WaterColor motorboat, had also pulled up beside the still overturned canoe. I paddled my kayak between the canoe and the motorboat, and we all assisted the couple, using my kayak as a platform to climb aboard the motorboat. Jarrod, still in the water holding onto the canoe filled with...