Homestead mailing list

[<eureka AT hctc.net>]

On Sun, 19 Oct 2008 00:05:59 -0400
 EarthNSky <erthnsky AT bellsouth.net> wrote:
> Wish you lived closer.  We've been trying to take a 
> ropes course for the 
> canoe

I mostly taught river reading and (rolling) self and buddy 
rescues for kayakers.

Once, when I was truly young and stupid, before I learned 
to paddle, I was sucked off a tube without a life jacket 
into a hydraulic and rescued by a drunk accountant. I know 
what it feels like to be tumbled like clothes in a washing 
machine. It seemed like I was in there forever. It was so 
aerated I couldn't tell up from down until I would get 
smashed on the rocky bottom. I thought I was going to 
drown.

More recently, about five years ago, when I should have 
known better, I put on the Nantahalla River in NC late in 
the day with a friend thinking I could boat scout the 27 
Class II-III rapids of which I new nothing about. This is 
where the U.S. Olmpic team practices. This trip taught me 
a big lesson about knowing the weather. About a third of 
the way into the trip the temperature changed and a dense 
fog settled on us. I had never experienced such a thing. 
We might as well have been blind folded! The canyon was 
too steep to exit and you could hear the rapids coming. I 
am suprised we lived through it.

There's actually a good book that teaches river reading 
and rescues by William "Not Bill" Neely, called "Kayak" 
and it's actually in a comic book format. It's good for a 
laugh, but it teaches some great stuff.

How did you break your arm on the river trip? I have not 
heard this story.

Yes, I have the USGS website on my desktop at all times, 
along with the weather.

--Sage