The bodies of the two drowned boys were found by divers on Tuesday, July 20. Christian Belin, age 11, and 17-year-old Derrick Porter had disappeared beneath the waters of Lake Norman in the middle of the afternoon on Sunday, July 18.
It was an accident that shows that, given the right convergence of circumstances, tragedy can strike in mere moments – and that danger can lurk even in a familiar environment.
Christian’s uncle, Christopher Belin, had taken a group out on his 33-foot Sea Ray boat – definitely a good-sized watercraft. Christian’s visits with his uncle in Charlotte were becoming an annual summer tradition. As his father recalled, trying to understand how this could happen, Christian had been on the boat multiple times. “Last summer we were all out there together having a great time,” Eric Belin said. “I don’t know.”
On Sunday at about 3 p.m., at least three boys on the boat jumped in for a swim. Police said they don’t think they were wearing life jackets. Christian knew how to swim, his father said, and had even taken private lessons. But he soon started to struggle. He tried to climb back aboard, but wasn’t able. And, perhaps tired from trying to get back on the boat, he slipped under.
Christopher Belin dived in. But as a report from the Charlotte Observer said, he was searching in a “choppy, murky lake.” Derrick swam around, too, looking for his young friend. “He went to try to save my son,” said Eric Belin said of the young family friend. A pontoon boat soon came near and Christopher and another boy were pulled from the water. But everyone had lost sight of Derrick.
Is there a way to salvage any benefit from this awful accident? If this tragedy can move people to reinforce their awareness of sports safety, perhaps the loss of these two boys won’t be in vain.
Water sports – and most sports in general – entail an element of risk. Everyone should make safety the absolute first order of business – never an afterthought.
In boating, these are some vitally important things to remember.
Your first line of defense is the life jacket. As an earlier blog post by Pierce Egerton of Egerton & Associates noted, wearing a life jacket is analogous to wearing a seat belt in a car – they each save lives. In one incident in Polk County this year, two men jumped into a lake to save a 5-year-old. Neither man was wearing a life jacket, and both drowned. But the child, who was wearing a life jacket, survived.
Be aware of your surroundings. Climbing on board your boat may be easy when it’s tied up at the dock or near the shore. But a boat bobbing up and down on a choppy lake can be nearly impossible to get onto. It’s a good idea not to go in the water at all if it’s rough.
Remember that kids aren’t as strong as adults. They may lack the upper body strength to pull themselves up into a boat. They likely have less experience in the water, but even if they are good swimmers they can fatigue more quickly.
Finally, be constantly vigilant. If children are in the water, an adult should have an eye on them at all times. Even adults who are swimming should be in regular communication with someone aboard. Falling overboard, being injured by a submerged object or the boat itself, or being overwhelmed by rough water are never something anyone plans to do. Learn to expect the unexpected.
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