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Safety Devices.

2K views 3 replies 3 participants last post by  teflon_jones 
#1 ·
I heard some terrible news from my brother the other night. His 2 friends were canoeing down a strech of river in VT and his friend fell out of the canoe. They looked for him but the search/rescue party didn't find him until the next day. They were not wearing PFDs of any sort. It's pretty shocking and very sad as the kid that died was about to graduate from college with my little bro and his friend he was canoeing with this week. I hate bearing bad news but I couldn't imagine this happening to a friend or family member. I can't imagine how it is for the victims family. Anyways I hope we all take into consideration safety procedures and PFDs when we are on the water. I know I will definitely be recertifying my inflatable preserver before I head for the river or surf.

Tight lines and happy catching

Adrian
 
#2 ·
Afriend of mine that lives in VT reported that story to me yesterday, I believe he said it was the Winooski river. Last October a Kayaker was lost here in NH during the October storms, I believe they have yet to find his body.
I don't care how good a paddler you are, if you are out in storm swollen rivers you are asking for trouble PFD or not. Flood waters are extreamly powerful & unpredictable. Pity your brothers friends had to find out the hard way
 
#4 ·
That really stinks!

I would never even think about going on a river in a canoe or kayak right now. I probably wouldn't even go on a larger river in a power boat. That's just asking to hit a submerged log the rain has washed down (never mind all the raw sewage, blech!). There's so many additional dangers to paddling that a PFD wouldn't necessarily save you from anyway. You could get caught on an underwater obstruction and dragged under by the current, even wearing a PFD. You could get slammed into a bridge support or the underside of a bridge. The water level in many places is right up to the bottom of bridges so there's no room to squeeze underneath. You can't swim your way out of danger either.
 
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