OK Kessmann, here it is. Lower James, Sun 5/4

CLAMS! · Post by **CLAMS!** » Mon May 07, 2007 6:36 pm

6.8 feet and pretty warm water thankfully.

It was pretty warm so a good day for roll practice, squirting and flopping about.

Marshall and I paddled out to squirt rock, river left of corner. After a few rounds there I realized how tired I was because I had boated pretty hard the day before, and I'm old. I flipped on my last round, missed a roll and washed a little further down than usual. Made my second roll and instead of attaining back up to the eddy and ferrying to run Corner I decided to just drift down and drop through on of the slots below Squirt Rock as I had done many times before.

Below Squirt rock, there is a large boulder to river right. To the left of this there are two slots. The one immediately to the left of the boulder is the smallest and the one I decided to take. When I got to the slot I noticed a barely submerged rock directly in the center. I angled my boat to try and squeeze by but pitoned pretty hard. Instinctively I raised my knees and lifted the front of the boat to get over the piton rock. Unfortunately it worked, my stern caught and I pinned vertically, facing the sky, with my head just above water.

It was a solid pin. I could see Marshall below me and Andy standing on the bank and knew neither would be able to get to me. To anyone up stream I was not visible. I waved and threw my paddle toward Marshall. I thought about it for about 30 seconds and calmly pulled my skirt and loosened the ratchets.

I knew it would be difficult to get out considering my position but I decided to do it anyway. I pushed on the combing and was out to my knees. At this point the current caught my back and shoulders (cause they're so big ya know) and pushed me sideways, pushing my head under water and bending my knees sideways so I couldn't get out of the boat.

I must have been only about 4 to 6 inches under because I could still see light and rocks. I furiously did crunches (for lack of a better description) and only twice managed to break the surface and get a very short breath. After mentally cursing whatever supreme being there may be for being such a poke at a time in my life that most resembles being moderately happy, I decided I would dislocate my knee if necessary to get out of my now not so beloved Pyranha S6. Thankfully due years of yoga and truck stop jobs my knees were flexible enough to bend sideways without snapping off. After pushing like expectant mother trying to birth a full grown human I managed to extricate myself from the boat and some how stand (thus not a swim). Good thing too because I'm not scheduled to get my DNR tattoo until Thursday so no one would have known and I would have ended up a giant, bloated, sea cucumber with Grey cilia.

It took three of us to get the boat out. My knee is swollen and bruised. My elbow is not functioning quite right and I feel like I've been beaten with a bat, but I managed not to become another drop in the ocean of souls.

Thanks to everyone that helped. Especially Andy who assured me that had I drowned he would have driven my body to the Green Narrows and dumped it to spare me the embarrassment of drowning in a 12 inch pour over on the James.

Paddle on Brother!!!

guy66 · Post by **guy66** » Mon May 07, 2007 7:36 pm

Thanks to the powers that be for not taking the Monster just yet!!

Wallace · Post by **Wallace** » Mon May 07, 2007 11:32 pm

I'm glad you didn't drown, Monster. I wish I had been there. I would have volunteered to drive you to the Appomattox, or the South Anna. I figure its the very least I could do, considering all the times you've drug me out of the river. What were you doing in town, anyway? I thought you were going to Cheat Fest/Paddleboy Party. I hope your knees and elbows get better quickly, and you stay at least moderately happy. See you as soon as the British follow their Queen back home.

PS: Did Marshall save your paddle, or throw it away?

Paddleboy · Post by **Paddleboy** » Tue May 08, 2007 6:37 am

Wallace4boats wrote:What were you doing in town, anyway? I thought you were going to Cheat Fest/Paddleboy Party.

Ya, you should have been on the Upper Yough with us, the James is way too dangerous.

Glad you are all right, come down to the take out tonight and I will buy you a beer.

jules · Post by **jules** » Tue May 08, 2007 6:56 am

It's a good thing you're still here. Who would Hammie bite?

jules · Post by **jules** » Fri May 11, 2007 11:28 am

Maybe he can tell us where it is. Yeah, I know the quality is sub-par. It was a squirrelly eddy.

<embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://video.google.com/googleplayer.sw ... 2730&hl=en" id="VideoPlayback" align="middle" quality="best" bgcolor="#ffffff" scale="noScale" salign="TL" FlashVars="playerMode=embedded"></embed>
link

CLAMS! · Post by **CLAMS!** » Fri May 11, 2007 2:00 pm

Somewhere back there. I think.

Paddleboy · Post by **Paddleboy** » Fri May 11, 2007 2:38 pm

Tommy, did you get your tattoo yet, I think there is a place downtown that does them while you wait.

fatdoug · Post by **fatdoug** » Fri May 11, 2007 2:44 pm

Paddleboy wrote:Tommy, did you get your tattoo yet, I think there is a place downtown that does them while you wait.

I ordered my tattoo and then went shopping while they worked on it. They were nice enough to call my cell when they finished it so I could pick it up.

tim · Post by **tim** » Sun May 20, 2007 9:21 pm

DNR? Is that bad?

tim · Post by **tim** » Sun May 20, 2007 9:28 pm

Oh, I just clued in, got it. Still warming up from Friday on NRG.

fatdoug · Post by **fatdoug** » Mon May 21, 2007 8:03 am

tim wrote:Oh, I just clued in, got it. Still warming up from Friday on NRG.

how was the swimming up there?

tim · Post by **tim** » Mon May 21, 2007 9:58 am

Dunno, but it was nice and warm when I was upside down out of the wind

Rob Ault · Post by **Rob Ault** » Fri May 25, 2007 11:30 pm

Years ago, 1997 maybe?, I saw Mike Martin get stern-pinned in about the same area and at a similar level. It was almost directly under the arrow in Monster's picture.

Mike too sunk deep, with his head barely out of the water.

Steve Ensign was the first to get there, and from his boat, he gave Mike's bow a hard shove, and that freed Mike.

We were all surprised because the area looked hazard free.

I'm glad both pins ended happily!

Rob

Coastals

OK Kessmann, here it is. Lower James, Sun 5/4

OK Kessmann, here it is. Lower James, Sun 5/4

Saw a similar pin in this area