CdB Forum
CdB Whitewater Paddling Club Discussions => Paddling => Topic started by: Paul Potvin on June 19, 2011, 02:23:10 AM
-
First swim in 13 years (first ever running a river).
Where:
Middle channel,
Level @ 6 and a quarter,
Rapid: Garvins, Staircase line,
I Decided halfway down not to not catch an eddy and windowshaded after being pushed against a ledge.
Result: Lungs full of water, bruised jaw, a severely dislocated/bruised thumb, a badly sprained right knee, two bruised ribs, a bruised right shoulder and a bruised upper back, bruised neck and multiple contusions on my hands, arms and ankles
Lessons Learned: Don?t write long feeling sorry for yourself type messages when under the influence of medication?.. You?ll just have to edit them later, feeling quite stupid ?.Shit Happens, Friends are forever, Paddling knuckle gloves are my next purchase, First Aid kits are worth their weight many times over, Helmets with face shields, even more! Follow your line no matter what and don't let yourself be distracted by what anyone tells you, well intentioned ;D, in mid-descent (100% my fault). Deciding not to go into the eddy really changed my run as I had planned it and I should of have changed the angle and the where I re-entered the current, I did not think! I also did not think of what to do if I flipped. Never flipped in shallow water before, never got hit by anything so hard, so fast, so many times, so I was unprepared...should?ve gotten out as soon as I lost my paddle and flipped, not try to ride it out. Stupid...
Thanks for all those who helped out: Christian and Bill, Wendy, Tomas Kelly, Tibor, Ray, Heather, Sandra and of course John and Alfred, (sorry if I forgot anyone).
Cheers,
Paul ;)
-
In those 2 holes at the bottom of staircase? Ouch... Glad youre ok!
-
Those 2 holes are notorious for serving up beatings... CJ and his buddy swam there several weeks back. Bruises and headaches all around for sure!
Hope you're feeling better soon enough Paul... Seems like every time you heal up something else happens!
Richard
-
Yeah... Poor Paul... I had just convinced him to run it. After Bill and I ran it, it was obvious that the small run required some experience creeking and we should have told him to skip it...
What it looked like to me, just feet below, ready: put Paul in a kayak, put him upside down and launch him down a concrete staircase. Then add a foot deep of water and you'll get the picture. Paul has a lot of experience paddling and it paid off in a way: even on complete auto-pilot (his brain was re-booting), he exited the boat and kept a hold of it and his paddle, even though he wasn't quite responding to what Bill and I were telling him... Bad swims do happen occasionally, Let's hope he gets better soon, and comes back with his new 'knowledge' and new confidence!
-
No need to beat yourself up over it, Paul, not after the river spanking you received.
I think a thread should be started about the stupidest things we've done as paddlers, about the closest calls and bad decisions we've made. It would make for a darn good read and would be informative as well.
Renny
PS ? Sorry I couldn't make it to the Newcomer's Day. My ride had an attack of diverticulitis and was unable to drive me to the event.
-
Thank you all for your kind words. I actually feel much better today except for aa sore jaw, a very sore thumb and knee, way better than I thought I wouyld be at last night. Thanks Sandra for the call today!
I include two pics for your enjoyment. A video is available I was told from Luke. He said he got twhole thing in High Def, so bring it on! I would actualy like to see exactly what happenned. I don't remember much, except for flashes and hits. Christian hit it right on the nail when he said "his brain was re-booting". When I came to the surface I knew Christian and Bill where yelling stuff at me, I heard sounds but they were complete giberrish sounding for about 10 seconds....
Thanks and cheers,
Paul ;D
-
http://youtu.be/lRwUolO75rE
As promised Paul, here is the video in full glorious HD (1080P if you so choose on YouTube). keepvid.com allows you to download the video in full HD to your drive if you want to keep it. Just paste the link in the keepvid website.
-
WOW :o, gonna have BIG nightmares tonight....
Thanks,
Paul ;)
PS Good sound effects, I was making the same sounds underwater. ::)..
-
Hey Paul, the pictures you posted were corrupted and do not show up...
-
Okay, I think I fixed the pics.
I hope you enjoyed watching the video as much as I enjoyed acting in it! Good thing the action scene was done in one shot. I hate retakes!
Paul:)
-
Holy Crap!!!
I had not seen your run. You are one tough cookie Paul. I'm sure your not feeling 100%, but we're all glad your injuries are not major. Take care bud. Talk to you soon.
Kelly
-
Ouch! Good luck on the recoveries!
Next spring we can return to there, and get all the same excitement but without the rocks perhaps:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XjT3rFL-ok
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TD-EcjGPvi8&NR=1
-
Yikes those were also NOT very nice runs to watch! I hope the paddlers are okay, especially the lady in the second vid. The guy in the first one might have a headache too! WOW...!
BTW Check out my new Creeking gloves!!!
Paul
-
:o
Nice!
Wanna try em out on the main channel next weekend! Level was at +4 as of Monday! :)
-
Damn Paul, glad you're feeling a bit better!
Take care,
Roger
-
Thanks guys & gals for all the good whishes. I'm actually a lot better now!
I'll see about paddling this weekend, don't want another bout of blood poisoning
like two months ago... I still have open sores so....
Paul