LITMIR.BIZ

      Safety

      A section on safety has been included because of the great interest in whitewater paddling and rafting among the uninitiated. The fact is that there are potential hazards involved in the sport, which in many instances is the very reason that many are attracted to it. However, with normal precautions and good judgment in determining one’s level of skill, it can be a safe sport under normal conditions.

      A few tips to follow to insure that the paddler’s trip is an enjoyable, and above all a safe, one are listed. If each and every one of these rules is followed on the river, you won’t become the proverbial “accident looking for a place to happen.”

       1. Never boat alone. Three boats are generally considered a minimum on anything but small low-water streams.

       2. Always carry a life jacket. Wear it unless you are a capable swimmer, and even then have it on when in difficult water.

       3. Know your ability and don’t attempt water beyond this ability. In considering whether or not to run a particular rapid ask:

       a. Is it much greater in difficulty than anything I’ve attempted before?

       b. If I try it and don’t make it will I place others in a difficult or dangerous situation as they try to rescue me or my boat?

      If the answer to either one is yes, don’t try it. Experienced paddlers will never accuse you of being “chicken” when you back off, but they will respect your good judgment.

       4. Be adequately equipped. Have an extra paddle in the canoe, if not an extra one for each paddler. Have bow and stern lines 8–15 feet long tied securely to the ends of the craft.

      Never tie the ends of these lines in the boat. At the same time, be sure that no lines are positioned so that they might entangle the canoeist’s feet. The author observed a canoe swamp in Nantahala Falls, which in itself was certainly neither unusual nor very dangerous. But the paddler came in for what was a terrifying moment when he came up wearing his bailer line around his neck—with the other end still tied to the boat. He simply had far too much line tied to his bailer.

      A good standard first aid kit should be carried in a waterproof container. A throw line at least ⅜-inch thick, 60–70 feet long, and preferably polypropylene can become a necessity on all waterways except the smallest, most shallow streams.

       5. If traveling with a group, or club, know the plans of the group and the organization of the trip, and follow the decisions of the leader. Most clubs have standard established trip rules that determine the trip leader’s responsibilities as well as those of each paddler. One rule generally followed on the river is that each canoe is responsible for keeping the canoe following in sight. This same rule should apply when a caravan or cars are traveling to or from the put-in or takeout.

       6. Scout unfamiliar rapids before running them. Even those that are familiar can change considerably at different water levels.

       7. Stay off flooded streams. The great increase in drownings from paddling and rafting accidents has resulted almost entirely from mishaps on swollen rivers.

       8. Do not attempt to run dams or abrupt ledges. Quite often a hydraulic jump is formed in which the surface water flows back upstream, causing a rolling action. This rolling action tends to hold a boat or a person in, tumbling them around and around. The only escape is to swim out to the end or dive toward the bottom into the downriver current.

       9. If you spill, get to the upstream end of the boat, and if possible, stay with it. Don’t risk being pinned against a rock. If others spill, rescue the boaters and then go after the boat and equipment.

       10. If you get broadside on a rock or other obstacle, lean toward the obstacle, downstream from the direction of the current. It is the unnatural reaction but the correct thing to do in order to prevent the upstream gunwale from dipping into the current and swamping the boat.

       In running smaller low-water streams, the possibility of personal danger is usually not as great as in large-volume rivers, but there are many things to watch for that might prove dangerous if not approached with caution. Some of the most common things that the paddler needs to beware of are logs and trees blocking the passage, barbed-wire fences that can prove difficult to see, and low-water bridges that may be just high enough to lure the unwary paddler into attempting a run under them. If in doubt when approaching the latter, pull to shore well above it and check out the clearance. The American Whitewater Affiliation has a safety code that is quite inclusive, and the aspiring boater should become familiar with it.

      A man’s life should be constantly fresh as this river. It should be the same channel, but a new water instant. Most men have no inclination, no rapids, no cascades, but marshes and alligators, and miasma instead.

      —Thoreau

      A Week on the Concord and Merrimac Rivers