Secondly, whenever something significant happens, part of my processing of the event is to share it with others. This allows it to serve as a lesson or warning, and also helps me get my head around the issues. Near misses are important lessons to us all, let others not make the same mistakes. I'm going to provide a description of what happened, wihtout glossing things over, and then discuss some of my lessons and thoughts. I'd appreciate other feedback if you have any.
So, last week I headde up to the Ottawa with two of my best friends who moved to CA last year. They'd never been to the Ottawa when they lived out here, so this was a chance for us to get back together and paddle again and a chance for them to experience one of the great rivers. We met up Thursday morning and spent the day playboating to recover from a lack of sleep after travelling. Friday we ran the Main channel and had an awesome time. I managed to ride Babyface in my OC1 and also got airbourne going over the first wave in Norman's Hair. Saturday the plan was to get some playboating in early before the river got crowded and then head out so we weren't driving until all hours of the night.
Two of my friends decided to play at Babyface while myself and another, Mike, decided to play at the Garburetor. For those who haven't been there, this is a truly excellent playspot and this was my first time on it in a C-boat. I caught it on the fly on my way down the rapid and had my first ride. Bouncy as all hades and it was all I could do to maintain some semblance of control and surf off the side of the wave. Grabbed the eddy and headed back for another go. This time I missed my ferry and ended up peeling out (offside peel out on the strongest eedy line I have ever dealt with). Try again...made the ferry and caught the wave. Got the bouncing under control and started to move around a bit. Threw in a spin and right at the end caught my stern edge and flipped and washed off the wave.
I went to roll up and immediately things didn't feel right. I felt some water and a bit of movement in my skirt and realised my skirt had blown. I got upright, but flipped again. Missed a roll or two and then got upright again. Unfortunately by now my boat was full of water and was acting more like a submarine - I had loaned my floatation to my friends as I hadn't considered it at all likely that I'd swmi out of my C1 (out of the OC1 yes, but not out of the C1). When I came upright, my boat (er...submarine) was so far under water that the wate level was over the base of my pfd, around the bottom of my rib cage. A wave hit me and I flipped again. I knew I couldn't hope to control the boat and keep it upright with it full of water, so I decided to bail. I went to release my lap belt (aka suicide strap) and found the buckle, but I couldn't find the release button. I tried again to orient my fingers, but still no luck. I noticed that I hadn't snugged the strap down tight and I had a bit of leeway to move my legs. I managed to slip my left leg out of the straps, get my head up and grab a breath, then I slpped my right leg out - it was harder, but I managed to do it.
OK, ditch the boat and swim like crazy to get to the right spot to swim over the drop right below the Garb. I saw my boat washed through the narrow slot to the left of where I wanted to be...I saw it pin and realised that I didn't have time to make it to themain channel and swim the clean line. I really don't know what happened next. I don't know if I instinctively turned and swam at the boat as with a strainer or if I was still trying to swim for the main channel, but I went down the wrong channel and ended up swimming over the top of my pinned boat. I made it, briefly stopped in the hole behind the boat and drop and then washed clear. I still had my paddle in my hand and managed to swim with it to the eddy at the bottom of the drop, across the bottom of the main jet of current.
Mike made it down to me just before I reached the shore. He had seen the boat pin and had initially thought I was still in it, until he caught sight of me below the drop. He helped me get my paddle to shore as I swam the last few meters. Then we had to deal with my boat.
My initial thought was to swim across the jet of current to the rock separating the main channel to the small channel my boat was pinned in, having Mike set safety below in his boat. I rapidly discarded this when I looked at the current and a bit of reason returned. I similarly discarded the thought of a boat-assisted swim. The current there is way too strong. Instead I went back and got my OC1 from the top of the rapid and came down in that, intending to catch the eddy and get out onto the rock beside the boat. I had a clean line, but missed the eddy. I tried again, but after two full days of paddling and the stress of the swim I just didn't have the strength and control to make the ferry from either direction to gain the eddy. I didn't want to just borrow Mike's kayak as that would leave no one to set safety. There were some other kayakers there, but they were all busy playing at the Garb. One had commented as he put in to give a holler if we needed assistance, but instead I went and asked the leader of a Huge Experiences group that was just putting on. I sent Mike to get our car (parked at the top of the road) and David (from Huge) and I made it out to the rock in kayaks - he directly and me after a ferry-carry-ferry sequence.
Quick note: at this point I was more concerned about the pelican case containing my camera that was in the boat than about the boat itself....I have other boats, but had only just got this camera.
David made one of the most impressive solo-wades (paddle-assisted) that I have seen, wading across the 3-4 feet of powerful whitewater separating the pinned boat from the island. He managed to clip a throwbag onto the boat, made it back to the island and then we pulled. With both of us pulling hard, we initially got no movement, then the line came slack. David had accidentally clipped the throwbag instead of the rope to the boat (NB: he was making the clip by feel through the water spraying over the boat). He waded out agian and this time got into the eddy behind the boat. He handed me the paddle and clipped the rope to the boat. He then proceeded to grab the boat in both hands and wrestle it out of the pin. It took him several tries but then he got it to move and then he got it free. He dove clear as the boat came free and then grabbed the line as I pendulumed him and the boat back to the island.
The boat was mangled, but the camera case was still in the boat, and even better, it was completely dry inside. Mike had made it back and we threw him a line to pendulum the boat back to shore. When he signaled he was ready I kicked the boat out into the current. He hadn't done this before and the force of the current took him by surprise, even though he was braced. He managed to regain his balance and hold the boat, but did take some skin off his hands in the process.
David went off to join his group and I paddled back over to the shore. I took some photos of the boat (I can give these to you to post if you want Adam) and the site, then we packed up and headed off....neither of us felt like playing anymore after that.
So....what went wrong and what were the lessons I have learned from this:
1. Never use that suicide belt again.
2. Always test release a suicide belt <b>at a safe location IN STRONG CURRENT</b> before you use it for real. I had tested this belt and managed to release it in a gentle section of current at a local site. It took me a few seconds to find the buckle and release it, but I had no trouble. That was about 4 months ago. If you can't release the belt <b>IMMEDIATELY</b> in a calm state of mind at a safe, but swiftly flowing, location, then you may not be able to release it when it counts. I will probably use a suicide belt again, but I will be far more careful in choosing my release mechanism. With this one I just could not feel the release button with water-logged hands in a stressed state of mind.
3. Always use floatation in your boat. Had I had floatation in my boat, it would not have filled with water and become a complete submarine. I probably could have kept it upright and safely run the next channel. In the future I will use bow and stern floatation in my C1s. I was confident I would not need to pull my skirt and bail, so I lent my floatation to my friend without really thinking about it...I hadn't anticipated my skirt pulling itself for me.
4. When using a rope with an object (swimmer or boat) in current, use a body belay and ensure you have extremely solid bracing before taking the load. Ideally have someone to back you up and hold onto you. Never wrap the rope around your arm (it looked to me from the Island that Mike might have done that when penduluming the boat).
5. I held onto my paddle when I swam. This is always my first instinct since they're a bitch of a thing to lose. However, if I had ditched my paddle and swum long crazy, I might have been able to make the swim across to the main channel and avoided swimming over the pinned boat. If I am ever in a similar situation again, I will definitely ditch the paddle and swim. I'm a strong swimmer, but have a lot of trouble swimming with my paddle. It actually occurred to me to drop it, while I was swimming, but I decided against it. Bad idea.
6. I wasn't carrying my rope or pin kit. I was on the Ottawa and didn't think it too much of a likelihood up there on the big water. I always carry these when river running....but not normally when just purely playboating. Also, I rarely carry a pin kit on the Ottawa even though I always carry it in NY: Pins can happen everywhere not just on boney, creeky rivers. My rescue gear was in my car....always carry your rescue gear. Have it accessible, even if it's not in your boat while you're playboating (you can always just leave it on shore). In this case it wouldn't have made much difference since my gear would have been in the pinned boat.
7. I use a kayak skirt on my C1 (kayak conversion). As such, there is a lot of stress on the skirt at the back of the boat. This is where it blew. If I had an actualy C1 skirt, with the tunnel set further forward, this may not have happened. I'm not going to rush out and buy a C1 skirt, but it's something to think about.
What went/did-we-do right:
1. When we needed help, we asked for it. Anyone leading a course should have rescue training. They may not be able to take time away from their course to help, but then again they may be able to...they may even be able to turn it into a learning opportunity for their class.
2. I have taken rescue courses in the past...in fact I had a refresher just a week ago at staff training for the group I teach with. As such, I knew what to do and was able to evaluate safe options to free the pinned boat. I still would have preferred to have another person setting safety in a boat below the scene, but what we had worked. If you haven't taken a rescue course (formal or informal) take one! And don't forget to practise.
3. I discarded unsafe rescue options rather than jupming right in. Always think first...then act...especially when under stress. Once all the people are accounted for, there is time to collect ourselves and plan the recovery before jumping in there.
4. I had my camera firmly clipped into my boat so that when I swam, it stayed with my boat.
There may be other lessons and such to be learned from this. If you have thoughts, please share them so we can all learn from this mistake. I keep having the what-ifs running through my mind. If I hadn't been able to get out of my boat, if I hadn't kept my head and managed to slide out of my straps (I am very grateful that I hadn't fully snugged them down!) then I would most likely have been seriously injured or possibly killed. Makes one stop and think, doesn't it.
I was unhurt beyond a slight graze/bruise on one shin , I recovered my camera undamaged and I think I might even be able to get the boat back into shape with the aid of a heat gun. I'm counting my self very lucky. I don't like to need luck on the river.
Thanks for reading through this. I hope you never have to go through the same.
Matt
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? Hmmm, if that was the case, we may have to put this issue before the CBoat Bored (sic) 
. Oh, well. They must be good for something 
Guess I'll now get to go and find out how to use a plastic welder.... live and learn. Might as well try as the boat is otherwise going to be perfectly serviceable and it's not exactly got any resale value now 
I still have some panelbeating to do on the aluminium straps I used to anchor the saddle, but that shouldn't be too hard to do and I was just about to replace the hip hugger anyway - the old one is totalled.
