Reply #2: Always wear a life jacket, even when close to shore or on small bodies of water.

[Octafish]

People may laugh when they see me wearing a life jacket on a small lake as I kayak. It has more than once saved my sweaty hide on the big water, when the wind and waves were up and the undertow was strong.

Way back when, I covered the drowning of three young men who were celebrating their high school graduation. Their canoes overturned and they sank like stones -- none were strong swimmers. A fourth survived, but he said they were in weeds and started to panic, making things worse. None wore a life jacket.

The kids were enjoying the water at a friend's house. They'd be about 36 years of age today.