has this happened before?
Maybe those tubes should have some sort of barrier to entry. Or at least danger signs posted.
has this happened before?
Maybe those tubes should have some sort of barrier to entry. Or at least danger signs posted.
Why not Class VI ?
From the AWA classification system:
“These runs have almost never been attempted and often exemplify the extremes of difficulty, unpredictability and danger. The consequences of errors are very severe and rescue may be impossible. For teams of experts only, at favorable water levels, after close personal inspection and taking all precautions.”
Jim
Pratt Dam is about a mile from my house
I run this section of the Blackstone River all the time. The old Blackstone Canal (1828) runs parallel to the river for about 3 miles making a nice loop that doesn’t require a shuttle – a quickwater run down the river, and a flatwater paddle back up the canal. There is a nice take out on river right just above the dam that keeps you far away from the tubes. What a shame. Sympathies to the family – I can’t imagine anything worse.
I have never heard of anyone
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getting swept into the tubes unintentionally – they are actually quite easy to avoid. I have seen several people run the tubes intentionally, but I never would. I don't believe that there are any warning signs. From the story above, it doesn't sound like it would have made any difference in this case anyway.
not a 6
because these guys ran it before successfully, in a tandem, most likely recreational, canoe. People get killed in class2 due to the same reason. Thing I don’t like about the picture (never mind the insanity of going headlong into something that can’t be scouted)is the walls at the exit. You got an issue in the tube, when you get flushed out, you still got issues.
Hmmmmm?
“extremes of difficulty, unpredictability and danger…consequences of errors are very severe and rescue may be impossible…after close personal inspection and taking all precautions.”
Just because it can be run successfully does not mean it cannot be rated VI. I’m just speculatin’ as I have not deen it personally. And the AWA rating system is very conservative.
Jim
However you grade, it still…
…appears to be a pass/fail situation, and surely is not a class I wish to take!
That one photo linked to the downstream discharge wall seems to indicate some strong eddy-force coming back upon the stone masonry wall betwixt the tubes. Wonder what that water does when it turns under back downriver? I’d guess there’s some scary junk pinned into a now jagged foundation there, and I’ve got this damn healthy fear of that one stray number five rebar waiting to kabob my last uttered - gurgled, really - “Oh sheesh!” on this earth.
Took a curiosity tour of Blackstone …
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..... on http://dev.live.com/virtualearth/sdk/ ...
also the entire length can be veiwed in "BirdsEye" veiw if desired .
Blackstone enters R.I. just about in the middle of R.I.'s , E.-W. northern boarder , then does a little S back into Mass. and then re-enters R.I. ...
then takes a meandering track S.E. towards R.I.'s eastern boarder eventually opening into a bay area called Seeconk ...
I was looking to see if I could find any other tube type dams anywhere on it . Seems this one just east of Lincoln is the only of that type on it .
Although there are many others , lots of dams , most all are med. to large spillway types . Some with chutes to the race water below , and one regular type power generation dam .
Looks like plenty of other places along the Blackstone's run through R.I. that one could make bad decisions on as well if they had a mind to .
It is curious why this is the only tube type considering all the other spillway type dams there ??
I think this type design is just an accident waiting to happen , calling all taker types to go for it !!
Also I was curiously attempting to determine how much water pressure might be applied to a pinned paddler at or in those tubes , under say an avg. flow given the tubes dia. and CFS ... my guess is 384 lbs./sq.ft. , but I haven't precise data to work with here , only the picture ...
ed:, ... mater of fact , looks like "all" of R.I. has the "Birdseye" veiw coverage , that's pretty good for you locals up there .
I’m not sure of the dam history
but I’ve speculated that these tubes were once actually flow control structures that could be opened and closed. There is a lengthy curved spillway on river-right. I think at one time the spillway was the primary route of all flow. Flow will occasionally exceed the capacity of the five pipes, and the spillway comes back into play there. When that happens, all one sees from above is miniature whirlpools that create horrid sucking sounds as the water is whipped through the pipes.
-Chuck
I personally know a father-son team
that did get sucked into these unintentionally. Fortunately they had good enough control of their boat that they were able to line up with one of the tubes and shoot through, and doubly fortunate that there was nothing in the tube to snag them. They swam in the froth at the outlet and picked up the pieces downstream where the river returns to its normal flatwater/quickwater character. It scared the crap out of them.
This is not the type of dam that is conducive to a float barrier. There is no “pool” above the dam, and a barrier could very well become its own hazard if it starts to gather driftwood or other debris. As Erik pointed out, there is an easy, obvious take out above, but I would say that it is not necessarily obvious to paddlers unfamiliar with the river. A sign should be placed, but it would have to be secured and sturdy enough to sustain the frequent flood flows that would inundate it.
-Chuck
i personally
would rate it class II+ to III. No maneuvering required, point and shoot, scout it from the bridge, flat water below. Yes, it can collect debris at the entrance to the tubes, but it seems like you can look at it from above on the pedestrian bridge? I have personally run just one rapid I would call a class VI rapid, and I’ll let you compare them.
http://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/Photo_detail_photoid_33908_
"horrid sucking sounds"
Oh. Like that time at the county fair I walked up behind Mick Jagger, Steven Tyler, and Sandra Bernhard enjoy’n together their peppermint-stick-in-a-lemon purchases.
Talk about yer Hell-Will-Do-Ya Collagen Chorus!
Still, to the unexpectant paddler, there’s nothing that gives that momentary pause of paddle before those multi-strokes of purpose like that sound of tons of water taking sudden and raucous plunge. Add in an event horizon or other black hole to vision, and the pulse out-paces the paddle!
Rivers, bays, seas. They bring us peace. As long as we give them back our attention and respect. And, like that Fury of hell-hath-no-fury, know when to give them room.
TW
A little history
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I believe that there are eight dams on the Blackstone River in RI. These dams were originally built to provide power to textile mills that grew up along the river in the 19th century. (Samuel Slater built the first successful textile mill in the US on the Blackstone River in Pawtucket in 1793.) This particular dam was apparently part of an old rail road trestle serving one of the mills. Lots of history in the area.
For over a hundred years, textile mills dumped industrial waste into the Blackstone making it one of the most polluted rivers in the country. Over the last twenty years, there has been a lot of work to clean up the river and improve access. A bike path now runs along much of the river and there are put-ins/take-outs above and below most of the dams allowing for easy portages. The river is now a very popular place for paddling – mostly flatwater paddling in the deadwater behind the dams.
While easy to avoid, the dams do present a unique problem for paddlers – especially in high water. Some are well marked, others are not. Hopefully this tragic accident will encourage dam owners to install better warning signs at all the dams. You’ve already seen pictures of the Pratt dam – here are a couple of others:
Manville Dam – I’ve seen truck tires being recirculated in the hydraulic that develops at the bottom of this dam in high water
http://outdoors.webshots.com/photo/2316738320075003331qzgQNa
Albion Dam
http://outdoors.webshots.com/photo/2501253160075003331RrAimd
As said above, pretty river if you give it the respect it deserves.
Your lovely wife
must have nerves of steel.
that one
happened pre-marriage. she trusts my judgement, and I am not about to risk losing that trust. it’s not just about me anymore, so now i choose to portage that one.
That makes good sense
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I was thinking about that possibility too after looking at the air photos, since the adjacent dike illustrates that there's a lot more damming height available here than what is being utilized. Your confirmation of the existence of a major spillway off to the side almost certainly means that they used to close-off those tubes to raise the pool behind the dam. It's also quite likely that each tube once contained a turbine for tapping the river's power, and that there was mechanical flow control for each tube. Sorry that this is way off the original topic, but old-time industrial stuff like this fascinates me.
Any loose or untidy line, especially
one trailing in the water is known to sailors as a “Spanish (or any nationality your navy wishes to disparage) pennant”. It is universally regarded as a symptom of poor seamanship.
… unless you’re a paddler
… dragging a line and NOT wearing a PFD
Having, myself, survived
art school, I feel qualified to state publicly that there are no secure painters.