My name is James Millikan, and last Saturday, while out retrieving our pots, my leaky old crabbing dinghy capsized, leaving myself and my two friends Matthew Sandoval and Tyler Clancy, clinging to dear life, in the waters in front Mission Beach. After about a half-hour of waiting in the icy Sound, neighbor Andy Greenshields motored out, and snagged out the skinniest of the three, Tyler Clancy, and took him ashore. Moments later a pair of nearby fishermen hauled Matt and me into their boat and brought us to the Tulalip Marina where we were warmed and released.
Since the accident, many people have praised us for our “bravery” and “perseverance,” but the real heroes where the quick thinking men and women of the Mission Beach community. I would especially like to thank Cindy, Betty, Andy, Mark, Bruce, Tony, the Tulalip Fisheries, Tulalip Aid, the EMTs, the Providence Everett Medical Center staff – and everyone else who aided in our speedy rescue.
Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to point out the value of life jackets. Particularly in the case of my buddy Tyler, who first was getting weighted down by a crab pot line wrapped around his leg, and then towards the end was struggling to hold on to the boat with his numb arms – that life jacket really was a life saver.
Tulalip
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