Mike McClure walked into Sarasota Bay for a little fishing on a beautiful day last April. This afternoon, the water was shallow enough at low tide that McClure could easily walk 100 yards offshore and cast   his line in any direction. Near sunset, still without a fish, he decided to turn back. Rather than turn to his earlier course, he chose a more direct path toward shore, thinking the bay wouldn't get deeper along the way. Instead, he was trapped. He tried to walk in different directions, but shallower water eluded   him. Finally, he decided his safest choice was to head straight for land. "Within about five steps, the water was coming in through the top of the waders  ," says McClure. He felt the deadweight  of the flooding waders pulling him down and knew that if he didn't get out of them, he would drown. But he failed to kick his way out of the waders. Instead, they pulled him completely below the surface. Back onshore, Eliza Cameron, 19, Loren Niurka Mora, 20, and Caitlin Petro, 20, had been watching McClure fish as they rested on the grass after a long week of classes. They saw McClure go under and then heard him cry, "Help!" The three friends kicked off their shoes and ran into the bay. They were all good swimmers, but all hid a fear that he might pull them down too because they'd have to dive to save him. When they reached him, he'd managed to kick himself out of the waders, but his eyes had partly rolled back. Cameron and Mora each hooked   an arm under his shoulders, while Petro supported his back and held his hand. Then the three friends tried their best to tug   him towards shore. Finally, they all returned to the shore safely. What directly trapped Mike McClure in the bay?
His wrong decision. The coming high tide. His waders' being flooded. The depth of water.