C-Forum

philcanoe wrote:

markzak wrote:more pics here, if the other dangers that people want to identify are pictured anywhere: https://picasaweb.google.com/1086195204 ... ectIV72209
Please share.

from above....

philcanoe - what gauge reading is your pic at? an estimate will do

As I recall, the water was about 6'-8' higher up the big rock in my incident there

The level of the pictures was around 1 foot. Low summertime level.

There is Decap rock at Bull Sluice. It is in the bottom of the first drop. The other Decap rock is in Jawbone. It is above Hydroelectric rock. The Jawbone Decap is the one Rick Bernard drowned under in 1979. He was in the eddy on river right immediately above it when he peeled out low and the stern of his boat got caught under the rock and the boat folded. This event is described in the River Rescue book by Les Bechdel. After that the eddy above Jawbone Decap became known as the Death Eddy. This eddy is caught by good boaters today, but they know the consequences of peeling out too low.

Phil's picture is of Corkscrew, not Jawbone. Wrong rapid.

The Decap Rock at Jawbone can snag wood and it is believed that Rick Bernard's stern was caught on wood stuffed under the rock.

The hole under Hydro is large enough for a paddler or a boat to go through, but not both. The hole fills with wood until a flood washes it out. At low water paddlers will clean it out too. I have seen people come out of their boat above Hydro and get roped over to the left bank while there boat goes through Hydro. Kayak paddles get hung up in there more often than canoe paddles. I had a swim at Jawbone once and was mighty glad my friends got a rope to me before I reached Hydro.

Milt's Paddlesnake video shows the dangers of Hydro, Decap (both of them) and Left Crack very well.

I agree, that pic is of Corkscrew rapid (the second of the five falls). If you swim there, you are headed straight towards Crack in the Rock which has claimed many lives at a variety of levels (several at lower flows when swimmers were more relaxed). We used to joke that Crack in the Rock isn't a rapid, but a river wide obstruction.
In Jawbone rapid, the top rock on the right is Decapitation Rock and it is the rock that claimed the NOC safety boater years ago. The big rock in the middle of the river just below Decap is Hydroelectric rock and it has a tunnel that goes through it which splits in two directions. Right is marginally better, but both right and left sides of the tunnel are bad. Just below Jawbone is Sock 'em Dog Rapid and the big flat rock in the middle is another dangerous undercut known as Allison's rock in memorioum.
Bottom line, there are many dangerous places in this quarter mile section. It is easy to walk down, scout, and set safety above these hazards. Be aware that I have seen numerous ropes dangling in these rapids and even pulled out a few grappling hooks. It is not a good place to be swimming.
I love this river. Be careful, but have fun and enjoy it!

I want to thank everyone who has and will contribute to this thread I started.

Not everyone is aware of the various very real hazards this and other rivers present.

A good discussion of these hazards raises awarness and just might result in preventing a future tragedy like the one discussed here.

If just one death is prevented it has been well worth the time here.

I am betting those and the families of those we have lost paddling would agree.

I would also like to thank the people who go out and clear wood etc from these type places.

That is truly life saving work.

From what I understand, that was done after this death and most likely resulted in saving my life.

After my event at Jawbone, I went on to start and organize(just in time) the effort to save the Ocoee for paddling.
I Founded the Ocoee River Council, wrote the charter, guided the effort that took TVA to federal court and was heavily involved(in the background) in getting the Act of Congress passed to force TVA to release water for paddling.
No matter what they say now, the "true powers that be" at TVA did NOT want any paddling on the Ocoee and fought it hard.
I know, I was there. I had to grin when I saw them try to take credit for bringing the Olympics there:)

The credit goes to all your past brother and sister paddlers (St Louis, Atlanta, Birmingham, Nashville, Chattanooga, California, many more), even some paddlers inside TVA, even many K1'ers who made that happen.

Funny how in many ways [in this case by doing the right things(just because it is the right thing to do-like clearing wood) and not knowing the far reaching future effects] we are all connected in ways we dont even know.

Thanks to all.
Bill Miller

If anyone wants to know, I will post my skill level and exactly how I got in trouble at Jawbone and what it was like under the rock.