Coolers Can Save Boaters’ Lives

There has been a rash of boat sinkings and rescues where a non-purpose-built piece of equipment has played a key role in people’s survival: coolers.

A search of the internet found numerous cases of boaters being rescued by the only floating object available — their styrofoam-insulated cooler.

Last October, a captain survived a night in a hurricane west of Longboat Key in Florida. The US Coast Guard announced, “He survived because of a life jacket, his emergency position indicating radio beacon (EPIRB), and a cooler.” Another story described how eight people were rescued after their 28-ft boat sank 40 miles west of Florida in the Gulf of Mexico. They managed a mayday call before the boat went down and the USCG found them all alive, clinging to a cooler. Another four people were rescued by clinging to two coolers after the boat sank. (They’d posted their goodbye message to family on TikTok.) A separate Florida rescue involved four fishermen who clung to a cooler for 3–4 hours after their 16-ft fishing boat capsized. Two men were rescued while clinging to a cooler in Boston Harbor after their boat sank.

This has spawned a rush of product development in wearable and throwable life-saving coolers. The smaller versions are just large enough to hold a six-pack and ice, while larger versions will hold up to a case plus a couple of good-sized cod. Both have side pockets for Slim Jims or beef jerky.

While researching the history of rescues by cooler we was discovered that the design of the original, unsinkable 13-ft Boston Whaler was inspired by a New England cod fisherman. It was in Gloucester, MA, that a fishing boat went down in a storm with the sole occupant surviving by strapping a small outboard to one end of the large cod icebox and motoring to safety. The ice box prototype was a successful development and one of the reasons the Boston Whaler ditched the pointed bow in favor of a rectangular hull shape.

While many products are still being field tested, it’s a reminder you should never leave the dock without a full cooler. If someone shouts, “Throw the cooler,” it’s an indication they may need rescue, or perhaps another drink while in the drink.