‘Right spot at the right time.’ Two rescued by kayaker after boat capsizes on Lake Murray
White caps could be seen on the choppy waters from the Lake Murray dam on Saturday, Allen Hutto said. The waves broke on five towers that rise out of the lake a couple hundred feet from the dam.
Near the towers the waves and wind rocked a boat with two fisherman aboard.
In the next few minutes, the boat would be capsized, the two fisherman clinging to Hutto’s kayak.
“I’m just glad it was some good news,” Hutto said. “It could have been some bad news.”
‘Right spot ... right time’ barely
Hutto has been kayaking for almost four decades. He has a “tremendous” amount of training on the water, he said.
Saturday, all his years of training were put to the test. But Hutto almost didn’t make it out onto the water at the right moment.
Hutto spoke with The State Saturday after posting on social media about the rescue.
Hutto said he appreciates a choppy day on the lake in his kayak. So when a lake wind advisory was put out by meteorologists, he prepared to set sail in the morning.
As he readied to depart, he noticed a nail in his tire. He had to get it plugged before he could head to the lake.
That delay proved crucial for the two fishermen.
“It was rough out there,” he said.
At about 11 a.m., paddling in the water, between the dam and the iconic cement, brick and graffiti towers that rise from the lake, Hutto noticed a center console boat being buffeted by the elements.
The wind and tumultuous water twisted the boat until its side was to the waves. The boat capsized as Hutto was about a hundred feet away.
He saw the two men bobbing and flailing in the water. One didn’t have a life vest and seemed to be struggling, Hutto said.
He “hauled” it to the fishermen, he said, digging his paddles into the water. When he got to the men, he told them to grab onto the bow of his kayak. They flopped their arms over the front of his kayak and held tight.
Hutto waved over another nearby pontoon boat.
Hutto and other boaters helped the two fishermen into the pontoon boat before taking them to a nearby landing.
He “wouldn’t have been in the right spot at the right time if not for that nail,” he said.
Kayaker and home building advocate
Hutto is a prominent Midlands community member.
He’s the CEO of the Building Industry Association of South Carolina, which advocates for the home building industry in the Midlands.
He has kayaked for 35 years. Specifically, he’s been open water or sea kayaking, meaning he paddles on large bodies of water rather than rivers.
The experience on Saturday reminded him of the importance of water safety and wearing life vests.
South Carolina law requires boaters to have life vest available on the boat, but they don’t have to be wearing them.
After getting to land, the guys he and the other boaters rescued “were cold but they were OK,” Hutto said.
This story was originally published March 19, 2022 at 2:04 PM.