Thanks for the responses. The unanimous agreement that one should not go in to save someone, particularly a drunk panicked guy, makes me feel better about my conclusion.
A clarification...At no point did I consider jumping in during the event. I didn't hesitate to grab his hand or arm, but I was not thinking about jumping in. This only came up when I was rehashing it in my mind and and thinking about what I would have done had he let go and went under. I'll jump in for my family, knowingly risking my own life, but not for strangers. If I were to give up my life to save my wife or my child, I'm at peace with that. I'm not at peace doing that for a stranger, mainly for what that would do to my family.
I say I wouldn't have any drunks guests on or near my boat but it occurs to me that a person could easily slip getting on or off the boat, hit their head and be out cold or severely dazed. I shouldn't limit my thinking and planning to just drunks.
Our slip is just the 6th one from shore. If you can't get back on the dock or a boat it's just an easy 50 foot swim or dog-paddle to shore, so I hadn't been to concerned about a means for getting out of the water. I'll have to rethink that.
Discussion about Lifeslings and ladders is good when talking about able-bodied folks, but there was NO way we were going to get any sling around him. I have one in my boat next to my ladder, but never even considered using it. It just wouldn't work. Perhaps had I put on my own life jacket (THAT would have been a good idea, even if not planning on going in) perhaps I could have gotten the sling around him, but I would be doing that, and setting up any rigging by myself.
The only way a ladder would have worked would be if it were a fixed rung type (not a fabric emergency ladder) that went low enough for a person to easily step on, and it would have HAD to be right there on the finger dock. Had an emergency ladder been even one finger dock over, it would have been worthless to this man. Boat sticks? Yeah, we had one out, but what could would that do? He grabs on to it, and then what? He already had a grip on the dock, and then the ladder. Grabbing a boat hook would not have given us any advantage, nor would we be able to pull him out with one.
I tell Kim to call 911, but the drunk says, "NO! don't call, I don't want to go to detox again!".
Absoloutely classic. LMAF
I really think that was the motivation he needed to actually make it up the ladder. When I heard him say that, I used it. Get your ass up here or else! Until then there seemed be resignation in his eyes like he really wasn't trying very hard to get up.
Another thing I realized in my post mortem is that we stow all our flotation devices and life jackets when we get back to the slip, other than the Lifesling which stays on the rail. It would be a good idea to always have something out and easily available from the time we get there, until the time we go home. In addition to calling 911 when I realized he was drunk, I should have put on a life jacket myself, in case I got pulled in or fell in during the rescue.
Your moral compass is pointed in the right direction. I would have called 911. Alcohol poisoning is a risk too. The guy needs professional help when even his daughter doesn't care. He could have been behind the wheel of a car.
