Kayaker who shuns lifejacket, ends up needing lifejacket

Sometimes getting caught can be a good thing.

A kayaker on the Manistee River in the northwestern Lower Peninsula recently was stopped by officers who were checking canoes and kayaks for safety equipment. The Department of Natural Resources says a man was adamant that he didn't need a life jacket or any other flotation device.

Just moments later, he flipped his kayak and landed in 51-degree water. Conservation officers Steve Converse and Sam Koscinski pulled him into their patrol boat and took him to shore.   

And after they warmed him up, they wrote the kayaker a ticket for no personal flotation device.

Here are some kayak safety tips from the Chicago Area Sea Kayakers Association.