Leckrone couple see capsized boat, spring into action
Joel Brewton | Herald-Standard
John and Debbie Spak of Leckrone rescued three men from the choppy waters of Lake Erie after the men’s boat capsized on Aug. 24.
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John and Debbie Spak of Leckrone jumped into action when they found three men stranded three miles from shore on Lake Erie on Aug. 24.
John Spak and his wife, Debbie, recently took their boat out on Lake Erie for a fishing trip when their laid-back day under the summer sun in Conneaut, Ohio, turned into a serious rescue.
On Aug. 24, John Spak of Leckrone noticed something “odd” on the waters just north of his position.
“Something didn’t look right. That’s what went through my head,” he said.
After taking a closer look through binoculars, John Spak could see someone raise their arms for help.
“I waved to assure them I could see them,” he said. “Then we began to maneuver our boat towards them.”
Meanwhile, Debbie Spak used the marine radio to call for help.
As they approached, John Spak realized a boat had capsized, leaving three men stranded in the water about three miles from shore.
“I hurried up and called the fuel dock to tell them there were three people stuck out here and we needed the ambulance and rescue,” he said.
Although the men were wearing life jackets, Spak said they were exhausted from hanging on to the capsized boat for 21 hours in 74-degree water.
“They couldn’t move their arms, and they were starting to turn purple,” he said.
Once he got close, Spak said he immediately started trying to get the men aboard his vessel.
“My wife was on the radio giving the dock the exact coordinates while I tried to pull the first guy into the boat,” Spak said. “We were only 6 feet away from them when I tried to get them to push off and swim. They tried to move, but they couldn’t.”
John Spak said he maneuvered his boat closer to the men and helped the first man aboard, followed by the next two.
When it was all said and done, he got all three victims onto his warm boat, and his wife was quick to give them fresh water.
“They were very relieved,” John Spak said. “I’m glad they were all OK.”
The couple transported the three men to shore, where a rescue team was waiting. Then, John Spak said, he went back to the scene of the wreckage to make it easier for the Coast Guard to find.
“I knew where the boat was, but you really couldn’t see it,” he said. “If a boat came along and hit it, we’d have another incident to deal with. So, I headed back to the boat, tied an orange life jacket to it and stayed there until the Coast Guard arrived.”
According to police reports, the boat may have capsized as the result of the men either not tightening the drain plug or forgetting to put the drain plug in causing the boat to take on water.
When the men changed direction to head back to shore, it’s possible that all of the water shifted to one side and flipped the boat.
John Spak added that the waves were “unusually choppy” that day, noting that there were waves of 3 to 4 feet.
He and his wife received some recognition upon returning to shore.
“There were people giving us the thumbs up and ‘way to go’s,'” he said.
The men were transported to University Hospitals in Conneaut and treated for mild hypothermia, according to published reports.
But that wasn’t John Spak’s first rescue on the lake. About three years ago, he rescued another man.
“Since then, I’m always watching,” he said.
Coincidentally, there were three rescues on Lake Erie that weekend, according to other reports.
On Aug. 24, first-responders rescued a 4-year-old boy and a 24-year-old man from the water at Euclid Beach Park. The man died, according to ABC News.
The other incident occurred on the night of Aug. 25 when three people were pulled from Lake Erie at East 72nd Street and North Marginal Road. One of them also died, according to ABC News.
John Spak brought those incidents to attention by recognizing the importance of boating safety.
“People need to stay alert, practice safety rules and always wear a life jacket,” he said.