Ever swim without flipping? I have. Share your stories

[boatbuster]

The time I ran the Lower Rocky Broad I got spun by a hole and went down Redneck backwards. My stern his an underwater boulder, ejecting me over the stern airbag and into eddy under a cave, where the boat landed next to me, upright and virtually dry.

Three weeks ago I was running Boxcar Falls on the North Fork of the French Broad in my Superfly. It went better than my first run, ie. I almost made it instead of getting back-ended into the falls like the first time. I got very far right, but as I dropped the bottom of the falls the boat melted down under me. I was afraid of getting behind the curtain so I lept over the front deck. My friend said the boat never flipped.

[patterbear]

I had a bowperson eject on me while OC-2ing...We were paddling the Schroon river at very high water. Hit the 4ft. ledge/hole. Coming out the stern went down, the bow went up and out came my paddling partner. I finished the rapid upright and close to dry. To this day she claims she did it on purpose because she had no confidence in my paddling ability and was simply anticipating the inevitable...probably true.

[billcanoes]

I got ejected from the Zephyr at Wilson Creek once at 10' - I hit the dry rock on top, and got loose finally going over backwards far left-bacwards right I've been debating adding a lapbelt but glad in that case not to have had it

[Eric]

Several years ago I was paddling on the Arkansas River in Colorado. Somewhere on the Numbers section, around #4, there is a great ender spot. The group stopped for lunch and i decided to practice enders in my Atom. I had done quite a few enders already, when Bernie, the C1er from Dayton with the shop, suggested that I do some pirouettes. On my first attempt, the boat went vertical, and as I went into the pirouette twist I fell out of the boat into the water. (the velcroed thigh straps must have come undone) The boat landed right side up a few feet away from me. Bernie and the others eating lunch on the bank were belly laughing hard and weren't able to come to my aid. Stunned after my dunking, I swam with a paddle in one hand, pushing the boat to shore. I had hastily self rescued as there was a good size boulder filled rapid just downstream (#5?).

For whatever reason I never again attempted a pirouette.

Eric

[ChrisKelly]

I flipped rolled up full and got stuck on a rock. I emptied the boat but there was no good spot to reenter. I got as high as I could on the rock, jumped into the boat and out the other side.. Boat did not flip. In face it ran rhe remainder of the rapid just fine without me. I walked down the road cursing to find my nearly empty boat rocking gently in the eddy at the take out.

The worst part was that I was with a bunch of smart butt kayakers who had lots to say about how the boater was sooooo much smarter than me. Chris Kelly

[Jim]

I have had it happen twice.

The funny time was when I took a neighbor for a tandem run in my Howler (OC). At one rapid we spun into an eddy so fast that he was tossed sideways. He grabbed the gunnels and pulled us over. I rolled right up, and by the time his head popped up I was upright, laughing and asking him how he fell right out of an upright boat.

The stupid one was on the Donnaconna section of the Jacques Cartier river (near Quebec) on Memorial Day weekend around 1990 or 91. This was my first trip with the “big dogs”, some of the best paddlers in the Connecticut area. I was pleased to have been invited and relieved kept up so far. This was the last day of the trip. We were going to run this easy stretch of river, get off early and cruise back to Connecticut.

I eddied out ahead of the group and climbed on shore to get a snack out of my drybag. When the group came through there was a swimmer. Since there were many squirt boaters, I decided to jump in my OC and help out. Well, we got the swimmer in fine a ways down around the corner, and I was really n help. Then I realized that I left my dry bag back up shore.

Well, I was not too smart in those days (some would add that I am not much smarter now) and my keys and wallet were in the drybag (the last time those ever went on a river with me!). So were the keys of another driver. The solution was to hike back up. However, the trail disappeared. I went up and ended in a cliff I could not get around. Then I went down to the river level. I was climbing hand over hand on a little ledge, and within sight (about 100 yards) from my dry bag the ledge just ended. I was too close to give up, so I kept going with finger and toe holds. Well, eventually a chunk of rock came off in my hand and back I fell into the river.

The good news was that I had my life jacket on. The dumb news was that I was in splash gear (no dry suit), the river was up and there was still ice on the banks. I got hypothermic and really wiped out.

The only way to get the keys was to finish the run and send boaters back down. The trip home was delayed because of me, but the 2 paddlers who ran the river (an OCer and a C-1er) finished with big smiles on their faces because they got a second run through that pretty stretch of river.

Fortunately those paddlers invited me on other trips and I learned to leave the keys hidden near my car!

[ezwater]

No, but once I flipped without rollling or swimming......

It was on my first Chattooga III run, back about '76. Trying for the S-turn run at Dick's Creek Ledge, I missed the first eddy with my then feeble cross brace, and flipped.

"Oh, sh*t," I said, as I tried to get into setup position to roll. "I'm going to run the second slot upside down !!"

But suddenly I was upright in the bright sunshine, the camera crew over on the right bank laughing and pounding their heads incredulously.

Instead of washing down the second slot, the boat and I had washed outward to the final step ledge. The boat went over the ledge, and my body followed, landing upright. There is still a video somewhere..... will have to get and post it.

[NZMatt]

Those are some great tales. My only one I can think of right now is at Rte 3 Wave on the Black in NY. I had been paddling one of my boats (Bliss STick Blitz Special C1 I think) and during a break decided to hope into my wifes Phantom for a play. Now, my wife doesn't use thigh straps and there were none in the boat. I was surfing the wave and having a pretty good time until I was trying to use a powerful stern draw...it ended up that my stroke was stronger than my attachment to the boat (great knee blocks, but still...). I was literally pulled straight out of the boat . I'm told it was very amusing for my wife and friend sitting on shore watching....

I'll still paddle my wife's boat without straps to get it through something she won't run (easier than portaging) but I don't think I've tried to surf it since.

NZMatt