News Photo by Reagan Voetberg Alpena County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Sarah Schafer opens the door of the sheriff office’s boat on Tuesday.

ALPENA — During the Michigan Brown Trout Festival, the community comes together in more than one way — particularly when it comes to safety on the water.

Typically, the Alpena County Sheriff’s Office takes out their boat for emergencies. However, Sheriff Erik Smith said that during the festival, the boat would only get in the way.

Anglers out on the water tend to take care of their own, he said. They are self-reliant and experienced. Of course, the sheriff’s boat is always available if things get bad, but anglers don’t need to be monitored at all times.

Emergencies that the Sheriff’s Office has assisted with in the past include boats taking on water and sinking, boats losing power, people having medical emergencies like heart attacks out on the water, and a boat catching fire.

Fishing Tournament Director Brad MacNeill said that anglers look out for each other when they can. In the rules for the tournament, anglers are not allowed to have contact with other boats. However, as director, MacNeill can use discretion in cases where someone is in danger.

“If they’re helping somebody that’s in danger, of course, I want someone to come and get them and pull them or whatever they have to do,” he said.

MacNeill said he helped out during a past Brown Trout tournament when a boat flipped upside down about 23 miles out.

The women in that boat were in the water and one of them was stuck underneath the boat, he said. Their bilge pump was obstructed and wasn’t pumping out water, causing the boat to become stern heavy and flip.

“Everyone came to her help,” he said.

He said he remembered that the Coast Guard towed the boat all the way back to the coast before it could be flipped over.

“But oh yeah, all the fishermen came to their help,” MacNeill said, adding that it was “the most dangerous thing I’ve ever seen.”

MacNeill said when he was really young he went out on a boat with a guy and they ran out of gas. They had to sit there and anchor until the Coast Guard Auxiliary came and pulled them in.

“But there is a service, but you’re going to pay for it. Usually the fishermen will just, you know, help you out for nothing most of the time,” he said. “It can be dangerous if you’re going to fish 31 miles out. Your phone don’t work and your radio don’t work. But usually this time of year there’s more than one boat out there every day.”

MacNeill has heard of other experiences where anglers have run out of gas or had bad batteries.

To avoid dangerous situations from the get-go, it is important for anglers to make sure they have all their safety equipment and have it checked over regularly. Having whistles, air horns, and/or flares is also important, he said.

Reagan Voetberg can be reached at 989-358-5683 or rvoetberg@TheAlpenaNews.com.