Here's a photo of where Martin swam - from the top - head first, up side down. The water looks alot deeper than it actually is. The photo makes it look gentler than it is... I'd guess the slide is about 15 feet drop over a 20-25 foot gradient.
The hole at the bottom is a little rocky. I was w/ a group last fall where just about everyone hit a rock w/ their stern somewhere in/under the foam, and many had to recover w/ a roll/brace..
Bernie, I agree that whatever armour you wear should not cause any restriction. Thats why I am interested in the netting shirt style armour and not the all hard plastic MX style protectors.
I will definitely try it out before I buy to see if it restricts my movements.
Mike, yes, that is exactly the one. Actually I did not swim the drop, I was still in the boat with my upper body laying on the side sliding down into the rock ledge at the bottom . It is, at 20 cms, way to shallow to actually go upside down .
This picture below shows me just after going over and already well on my way into the ledge that forms the bottom hole OUCH ! http://www.whitewaterunlimited.org/images/m-ydwtbh.jpg
It will be a while until I try to run that one again, if ever!
And definitely only at higher water, when those rocks are deeper down!
martin
Everyone must believe in something. I believe I'll go canoeing - Henry David Thoreau
The biggest rapid on my home river is really like 4 different rapids, depending on the water level. The two levels that make me the most nervous are a medium high level (big sticky holes, small tricky eddies) and bone low. That lowest level never bothered me in my open boat, it was only after bouncing most of the way down it upside down in a C-1 getting the tar beat out of my shoulders and banging the skin off of my knuckles while low bracing off of rocks. That and the boat abuse factor goes up. Now when it is low, I just pass on it - as a wise man once said "some times the wear and tear on the chicken ain't worth the egg".
Hang in there! A boating friend of ours busted his shoulder blade in a bike versus car incident and was fully recovered and back on the river a full month before the doctors said he would be.
Dont know if i told you this or not... Ryan Moore said they checked that drop out at low flow, and in the hole he said that there was a drain pipe sticking out in the froth... I don't know if it's still there.. they said they tried to break it off, but the homeowner at the bridge came along and told them to move along... they weren't able to finish.. It would definitely be intreaguing to see in summer.
. It is, at 20 cms, way to shallow to actually go upside down 
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