A lazy daysday's rowing on Lake Palmer turned into a life or deathlife-or-death rescue yesterday, when a womanswoman's boat capsized, and she was washed over the weir at the lakeslake's eastern end.

The drama unfolded at 2:30 pm during a normally
tranquil public session, when the woman, as yet unnamed, was attempting to free herself from a sandbar.

"I heard a shout and a splash," said Marie Hall, 28, who was kayaking with her husband and two children. I could see the woman in the water without a life jacket, and I didn't even have time to react before the current pulled her down the weir..."

Moya Stevenson, a paramedic who treated the rescued woman for shock, was unequivocal in her response to the lucky escape. "The message is clear: alwaysAlways wear a life jacket when you're out on the water."