Two separate incidents on my home river the Blackstone - fortunately both turned out OK.
fox25boston.com/news/firefighters-rescue-2-from-blackstone-river-/517921383
Can’t figure out how the first couple ended up under that tree - the river is wide, and the strainer is on the inside of the curve. First responders got some practice, but I’m not sure keeping your phone dry enough to call 911 is a good safety strategy. In this case it worked.
@eckilson said:
" Can’t figure out how the first couple ended up under that tree - the river is wide, and the strainer is on the inside of the curve."
Miscalculation…Underestimation…Lack of concentration…Inattentive, distracted-relaxation, perhaps? The list is…endless.
Not to mention, maybe just plain ol’ bad eyesight :o
I’m proud to say I was part of the solution here in NC last week. A buddy wanted to kayak down the Catawba after many days of heavy rain. I said, “Let’s go paddle a big lake instead.”
Here’s an uncut version of the video without the news anchor’s useless commentary:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPKCJ9cGL5g
Was there something dangerous downstream that prevented them from just swimming into the eddy behind the tree? I realize videos don’t show everything, but with only that to go on I’m baffled as to why they needed a rescue. I mean, the firefighter pretty much walked over to them after being tied off. Wow… Final thought? Your tax dollars at work.
Oh, and at least these guys had dry suits… 
Wouldn’t hurt to give 'em helmets too, eh?
fear I bet
Fear … and inexperience in conditions. The first time you have an OBE can be pretty disconcerting especially in quick current.
On a positive note I see that both of the evacuees were wearing PFDs.
@Sparky961 said:
Was there something dangerous downstream that prevented them from just swimming into the eddy behind the tree? I realize videos don’t show everything, but with only that to go on I’m baffled as to why they needed a rescue. I mean, the firefighter pretty much walked over to them after being tied off. Wow… Final thought? Your tax dollars at work.
I wondered the same thing - it doesn’t look like there is anything downstream. They could have let go and swam to shore. Looking at the video, it looks like the fireman wraps the rope around the lady and clips it with a carabiner - no quick release buckle. Hard to tell, but that is what is looks like.
Water temperature? Watching the videos, it looks like the woman was standing in the water, holding on to the tree. She appears to have walked back with the assistance of the firefighter. Maybe she was too cold to try to make it to shore on her own?
@eckilson said:
I wondered the same thing - it doesn’t look like there is anything downstream. They could have let go and swam to shore. Looking at the video, it looks like the fireman wraps the rope around the lady and clips it with a carabiner - no quick release buckle. Hard to tell, but that is what is looks like.
Listening to the audio throughout, I did not get the impression they were well trained or experienced with the equipment and methods they were using. I did think that whoever was the unseen “voice” calling out reminders and instructions had a good handle on the situation as a whole. I had the feeling that if something were to have gone wrong, that person would have been calmly but firmly giving intelligent orders to get things back under control.
This is actually a pretty popular paddling site. Most people put in at the Blackstone Gorge and paddle up to the Millville Lock, built in 1828 by the Blackstone Canal. Even by the very conservative standards of the Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor this is a “beginner” trip.
https://www.nps.gov/blrv/planyourvisit/upload/Blackstone-Gorge-to-Millville-Lock-8x11.pdf
I’ve paddled it many times. There is a short rapid in Millville that I run, but most people turn around before they get there. Here is a video of the trip from a couple of years ago - it was a cloudy/hazy morning, so some of the clips are a little blurry.
A beginner could definitely get into trouble running the Millville Rapids, but it looks like this strainer was on the flatwater section further downstream - I’ll have to go check it out sometime.
Nice informative video tour, Eck!
Nasty looking strainer!
@wildernesswebb said:
Nasty looking strainer!
Yes it is, but easily avoided, and it seems like they could have gotten themselves out of trouble pretty easily as well. If not for the fire department, the boats probably would have remained underwater until the levels dropped.
Yup - couple of nasty ones there - with some good current flowing through them. Don’t want to get swept into those.
@Sparky961 said:
Here’s an uncut version of the video without the news anchor’s useless commentary:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPKCJ9cGL5g
Was there something dangerous downstream that prevented them from just swimming into the eddy behind the tree? I realize videos don’t show everything, but with only that to go on I’m baffled as to why they needed a rescue. I mean, the firefighter pretty much walked over to them after being tied off. Wow… Final thought? Your tax dollars at work.
Oh, and at least these guys had dry suits…
No accounting here for the paddlers’ abilities/disabilities, or their level of experience. I’d guess - total noobs. Put a non-swimer in moving water, and one can be very reluctant to let go. At least there wasn’t any significant danger for the rescuers (assuming proper preparation).
OTOH - little is said about the two goofs in the second incident who didn’t even bother with PFD’s. I know it isn’t wise to judge people on first appearances, but man…
Obesity and outdoor adventures don’t mix. Get in shape before you put your own life and the life of others at risk.
We just had two young women kayakers flush over a major dam on the Ohio in a tragic accident this weekend here in Pittsburgh. One body recovered, one still missing. No word on their experience level, but you can see by the width of the river and the type of “blind” spillway that it is not a place to approach for the unprepared. Had they understood the route they would have been far to the lock side.
It’s raining heavily today so I would expect more misadventures as people continue to mis-judge the objective dangers and the force of the flow in the various streams and rivers of our region’s steeply cut terrain.
Very sad.
Good lesson in map study and knowing ones limitations.
