BOGUE CHITTO AUGUST 8, 1999
The Bogue Chitto River between Walker bridge and Dillon bridge is a favorite stretch for day trips. There are two mild rapids conducive for playing, lively moving water between stump and log fields, great swimming places. Reasonably experienced paddlers can negotiate this stretch with confidence.
The Tom Dumas led trip on August 8, 1999 was an exception. Several seasoned, experienced paddlers experienced unusual difficulty.
Ruby Akerson, the queen of double bladed canoe paddlers, has a little Crazy Creek canoe chair that ties to the canoe seat and provides a back rest. Ruby removed the seat for lunch and sat comfortably in the seat on a log to eat. Afterwards she neglected to tie the chair to the canoe seat. I was just behind her and I saw her veering to miss a tuber when she hit a log and the Crazy Creek chair slid off the canoe seat, Ruby with it. There she was lying on her back in the bottom of the canoe with her legs sticking straight up into the air. She took on a little water but avoided turning over.
Later as I was busy guiding my canoe through fallen logs I caught a glimpse of Hans Brandl, the very capable kayaker, bailing out his kayak. I mentioned that to someone and they said: “Oh yes, he turned over.”
Shortly after that I spotted a girl lying on her stomach across her inner tube. There was nothing but a three inch triangle covering her bottom. So absorbed and mesmerized was I by this unexpected bit of scenic wonder that the downstream side of my canoe slid up onto a stump that was about two inches under water. The upstream gunwale was about a tenth of an inch from going under. I lurched to the downstream side but the canoe wouldn’t right since it was firmly on the stump. Then a tuber came along and helped me get off. THANKS!! A near capsize barely avoided.
A little further down river I noticed Darren Domas, another capable paddler, draining water from his kayak.
Several weeks later on another trip I mentioned to Hans: “ Hans” I said “ the other day on the Bogue Chitto I thought I saw you bailing out your kayak”. “Yes, I dumped.” “You dumped! What happened?” “Well there was this woman in a bikini and it was revealing more than it was concealing---”. Enough said.
I haven’t had the chance to ask Darren why he turned over, but I think I know the answer.
Lesson learned from that trip: TUBERS CAN BE HAZARDOUS TO CANOEISTS AND KAYAKERS.
Hulin Robert