Charles C. Mummert, 18, schoolboy, saved Robert E. Cole, 32, lawyer, and attempted to save Lawrence R. Woodside, 38, salesman, from drowning, Gibsons Landing, New York, July 23, 1933. Cole and Woodside were in a sailboat on Lake Keuka at a point a third of a mile from shore when a sudden severe storm caused the boat to sink. The men began to swim toward shore. The wind had a velocity of 70 m.p.h., heavy rain and hail fell, and choppy waves were six feet high. Mummert, who was in his motorboat close to shore, steered toward the point where he had seen the sailboat just before the storm. He could see no more than 15 feet in front of him, but Cole saw Mummert as he got near and called. Mummert then steered in a circle close to Cole and, letting his boat drift briefly, grasped Cole and pulled him into his boat. The motor then began to function poorly, but Mummert steered in two large circles in an effort to locate Woodside. Unable to locate Woodside, Mummert headed toward shore. Although visibility had increased and the storm had lessened somewhat, waves washed over the deck of Mummert’s boat, and Mummert was knocked over on his back by a wave. He got to his feet quickly and steered to shore. Woodside was drowned. 33245-2746
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