Operator and passenger were traveling south in Grand Lake.  They were in a 14' vessel with a 25 HP Tiller handle outboard.  The seas state on this day was 1'-3' waves.  Operator stated that it started to get rough, and the vessel was taking on some water.  They came down to an idle speed, and attempted to turn around.  When they made the turn, a wave hit the vessel, and began to flood the vessel.  The operator stated that he took off his PFD, and jumped into the water to keep the vessel from sinking.  He stated that the passenger did the same.  The operator then reached over and gave the motor some gas, and began steering it towards shallow water while hanging onto the side.  Operator stated that the passenger was swimming behind him towards the bank.  The operator drove the vessel into the shallows where the outboard was dragging bottom.  He then attempted to bail out the vessel.  The operator stated that he had pulled the plug on the vessel while he was running to drain some of the water out of  it.  Operator stated that he then got back into the vessel to return to get the passenger.  Operator stated that he forgot to put the plug in, so his vessel began taking on water.  The vessel then became flooded with water, and the operator got out of the vessel.  At this point, he could not see the passenger of the vessel.  He called a friend, who was close by, and they began looking for the passenger.  They were not able to locate the passenger.  The operator then called another vessel to come assist, and that vessel contacted LDWF.  Operator stated that both he and the passenger were wearing PFD's and that he was wearing his ignition safety switch while operating the vessel.  SFST was performed on the operator, and found no signs of intoxication.  The size of the vessel the subjects were in was inadequate for the conditions on the lake during their outing, causing the vessel to take on water and become flooded.  
Klondike                      