I took a bad swim, similar to Mike’s, in the Adirondacks a few years ago.
The similarities:
1. The river was at flood stage. Because of this, there were not really any eddys, the current was right up to, and often into, the trees along the banks, and there were a ton of pourovers.
2. There was not alot my paddling group could do to help. The pourovers were powerful enough that a swimmer holding on to a boat could easily result in 2 swimmers, which would have been very bad. They tried as best they could to assist me, but the river was just too strong, and coming at us too fast.
3. The only way I got out was to do it myself. At first I was hesitant to get close to the shore, because the high water resulted in alot of strainers near the shore. Eventually I realized that I was getting weak and would need to do something. I did get to shore and grabbed a bush, which planed me under water. I refused to let go and pulled myself up hand over hand until I was out of the river.

I don’t think a throw bag would have helped much. By the time anyone found a place where they could get out and set themselves up, I would have been too far downriver and very weak.

In retrospect, what we could have done differently (and better) would have been to scout the river better before we put on. We knew it was high, but didn’t realize that it was so high that there were no eddys for the first 2 miles (or more) of the run. Given the strength of the paddlers in our group, we never should have paddled that day. I now have a better respect for rivers at flood stage.

I do have a comment about PFDs here. I noticed Mike (and at least one other paddler) was wearing the Astral 300 Rescue vest. I started creeking about 7 years ago (raft guiding for decades prior) and bought a Stohlquist Extract. When the 300R came out I switched over. It was more comfortable and I liked the bells and whistles. Then I took a swim on the Ohanepecosh in WA. Although I didn’t have to swim too far, and it was class II/III for the most part, several people (especially me) noticed that my head was under water a lot. Later I checked out how I float in the 300R versus the Extract: The Extract floats me significantly higher in the water, even though they are rated pretty close in floation. I’ve since switched back to a new Extract as the old one was a bit worn. I’ve heard that the new Astral Green Vest floats much better than the 300R but I’m happy with my decision.

It is my opinion that most current kayaking vests don’t have enough floatation in case of a swim, especially in a big water situation. I am aware of the argument that too much flotation can create the potential for getting re-circulated in a sticky pourover, but I personally would rather have my head above water for the majority of the swim and risk the recirculation. I believe another two pounds would not make that much difference in a pourouver but could make a world of difference over a 4 minute swim such as Mike’s.

One other point about the 300R and some other new vests: It is increasingly popular to put a pocket on the front of the vest in which to store a throw bag (rescue rope). While I like the idea of a throw bag being handy at all times, it is my opinion that this is not the best place to keep it. Living in the NW, I try to be extremely concious of trees in the water. I have been taught that the best defense for keeping from getting swept under a strainer is to swim towards it and to try and launch yourself over the log (last ditch and only if it’s inevitable that you are going to hit it of course – avoidance is always the preferred solution). Any extra bulk in/on the front of the PFD will hinder this manouver.

Thanks again for the sobering and informative post.

At lest one of those people boating next to the swimmer should have gone down stream as quickly as possible to the next decent eddy. Decent meaning large enough to pendulum him into that eddy or one directly below safely.

I believe two boaters on a swimmer is quite enough, the others should have headed down stream. It may not have had any effect on the length of Mikes swim, but then again had Mike not had the strength to swim to that eddy the rope might have saved him.

Secondly, Had Mike ended up unconsious someone would have needed to either clip him in and paddle him to shore, or live bait him in. The later would have only been possible had the other two fellas headed down stream to better eddies.

I know each situation is different, but i still generally feel that in situations such as that you need send people down stream to insure that you will be able to get the person out of the water at some point.

Once again, someone may have tried to head down stream fair enough to set up but i couldn’t tell. No, disrespect to the heroic rescuers.

It is good to know that this one had a happy ending. . .

This post was mentioned on Twitter by riverlifestyle: Head cam video of a near flush drowning http://bit.ly/1G6cPO Scary but I think you can really learn from this. #whitewater #kayaking…