When you're on a boat, wear a lifejacket.

 If you are on a boat, you really should wear a life jacket regardless of your swimming ability.  It sets a good example for people who may not be good swimmers.  Besides, if for some crazy reason you end up drowning, it saves a bunch of people searching for your body.  

This past weekend, the young men in our ward had a campout, and there were 3 young men that wanted to swim across Ruth Lake in the Uintahs.  I didn't think that much about it, but the other leaders said no unless I swam along with them.  I wasn't wearing a swimsuit, just shorts.  I figured I would just go and swim in my shorts.  It's a good thing I did.  Two of the three boys started to hyperventilate about 1/2 way across the 100-yard length and I had to talk both of them into calming down and just floating on their back to catch their breath.  If I hadn't gone, it would have been big trouble.  Once across I told them to get out and walk around the shoreline instead of attempting to swim across.  

I had my rescue tube with me on the previous day's swim at Butterfly Lake. But today I didn't expect to swim, so I left it at camp.  If I would have had the tube it would have been a much safer experience.

The water temp I estimate was just under 70 degrees. 

Thinking back I should have had them go one at a time.  I had to juggle two struggling swimmers and thankfully it was such a short distance and I was able to talk them into calming down just enough to keep them out of a panic which I could see was starting to set in.  They were able to float on their back and keep swimming elementary backstroke as I reminded them to "Keep your head back, relax your neck, stomach up, and don't panic." 

I think the main issue was the elevation.  Ruth Lake sits at 10,300 feet which is very high, especially for boys that aren't great swimmers.  It was a pretty dumb idea actually, but thankfully it turned out without an incident.