I'm glad John Baker is back! Amazing!!

[austin5string]

John, sorry, but your celebrity needs to be passed on here in its own thread

Hey gang - let's all welcome John back safely to the boards - check out his experience on a board of another kind!!

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/10/28/earlyshow/main5435555.shtml

[Midnight Rose]

John, sorry, but your celebrity needs to be passed on here in its own thread

Hey gang - let's all welcome John back safely to the boards - check out his experience on a board of another kind!!

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/10/28/earlyshow/main5435555.shtml

ooh, John is a stud!

[NotFadeAway]

Wow.  Glad you're okay John and welcome back to HPT.

[TwoToGo-Grave]

Wow, it's great that you're alright, John.

[Nanook]

Amazing story John.  Glad you're OK.

[Dr. Neau]

Wow.  That's wild.

On the lighter side...there needs to be a mid-summer TV movie in there somewhere...maybe a prequel to Armadeggon?

[johnbaker3]

Dear Friends:

It is great to still be alive; it was quite an adventure, and I don't recommend it to the faint of heart.

Survival is a lot like poker: have a good game plan and NEVER, EVER quit while you still have some chips.

It doesn't hurt to stay in shape either because my ability to fight off hypothermia and distance came at a price. I lost 9 pounds of body mass in the 10 hours that I paddled pretty steadily. When I made the rig, I had about 1 hour of gas left in the tank. They didn't mention it in the video, but that rig is 14 miles off the beach...

If it comes up in conversation, feel free to say "The toughest guy I ever met was a 61 yr old surfer from Texas".

The interviewers never gave me the chance, but here is what I would have said if they asked this question: " How safe is surfing, really ?"

Answer: There is a famous poker player from Texas named Doyle Brunson. In his lifetime he has seen 2 players die at the table. The first one had a massive heart attack after a big suckout on the river which was followed by a big mocking from the winner.....the second was when a guy got an acute case of lead poisoning to the back of his head.

In my lifetime, I have known of 2 surfers who drowned; one on the North shore of Hawaii in big surf, the other at Mavericks in northern California.

IMHO, surfing is at least as safe as playing poker with Doyle Brunson !


John Baker  


PS: Attached is the poster my brother Carl made for me; hey, where were all you fishermen when I needed you !!

[murrman]

Glad you're back, John. I saw the piece as I was leaving for work. You and your wife handled yourselves quite well.

9 pounds, huh? Think of it this way, that's more you can eat come Thanksgiving.

[kimert]

Wow! That is quit a story, glad to hear that everything worked out great in the end!

[fatbadger2]

Wow I'm amazed at your story john and glad your ok. its a crazy story and I have much respect for you and how you survived it. Good luck in life and poker.

The fat badger.

[luckystraights]

wow, cool dude ITT 

[Jambine]

Amazing !

[R-Ho]

Way to go John Baker!

[Wedge Rock]

Wow, JB, glad to still have you on the board (pun intended).  Amazing survivalist story.

Thanks to Austin for posting.

[sunderB]

Wow,

Glad to see it worked out John.

[johnbaker3]

Dear Friends:

It is now December and all my wounds (physical and mental) have healed.

I think more than ever about how short life is and that I am lucky enough to have a second chance. Even bad beats on Poker Stars don't seem to phase me any more......NOT !!

Thanks for all your support and kind words; enjoy your holidays and make the most of each and every day.

John B  

[johnbaker3]

Hey Guys:

Lots of people have asked me "how good is the surf in Texas, anyway"?

Attached is a pic taken at South Padre Island during Hurricane Ike.....unfortunately, I was boarding up my house as these 20+ footers were rolling in....

Looks like the wildlife was having as much fun as the humans....

Be safe,

John B    

[kimert]

Nice shot! That picture put a smile on my face 

[austin5string]

Good stuff, John.. Thanks for sharing, and again, so thankful that everything worked out!

~John

[johnbaker3]

Austin:

Like I told Harry Smith: "My pleasure, I'm very lucky to be here !"

Be safe,

John B  

[johnbaker3]

Dear Friends:

It's been awhile since I visited this thread. In fact, it's been long enough that I want to add something to the story that I haven't told very many people.

About 9:30 PM that night, well after dark (and the temperature was dropping), I was getting more than a little concerned that I wasn't going to make it to safety without a little help. I had been paddling hard for 6 hours and didn't have much to show for all that work.

I closed my eyes and asked that if anyone could show me the right direction, then I would take care of everything else. Nothing happened for at least five minutes. Then, something really amazing occurred.

In the night sky, a small meteor crossed the sky; it only covered about 5 degrees from right to left, then burned up within a few seconds. The next wave crested and there in the distance was rig 376-A. It was directly below where the meteor stopped in its path. The guys on the rig told me that they were the only manned rig for at least another 10 miles !

Just 4 hours later, I climbed up the rig to safety. I suspect that there are lots of guardian angels that could have pulled that little event off.

But, I want very much to think that it was my Dad. Thanks Pop, I owe you one.

Be safe,

John B

http://forums.homepokertourney.com/index.php/topic,12811.0.html

[Wedge Rock]

Wow...  that is an amazing addition to the story.

[Midnight Rose]

I'm glad I came back to this thread.  Completely and irrevocably awesomer, John.

[johnbaker3]

Dear Friends:

The dangers of being out in the Gulf of Mexico have not gotten any better since my adventure in 2009.

Now, 2 men from Conroe Texas (10 miles N of my hometown) spent 30 hours in the waters off of Port Aransas after their fishing boat sank. One of them did not make it out alive.
 
Attached is a link to the full article.
 
Be safe out there and plan your activities accordingly. We need all the poker players we can get.

John B

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/27/texas-boating-accident_n_1383959.html

[Wedge Rock]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/27/texas-boating-accident_n_1383959.html

I saw this story on the news over the weekend...

Must have been painful to cut your best friend loose (though it sounded like he had already been overtaken by hypothermia).

Be safe out there and plan your activities accordingly.

Great advice, John.