Fraser Canyon Run january 28

[Jetboater]

Were Gonna be heading up the canyon again in The end of January, if anyone is interested please let me know. we will be pulling out before Hope and giving demos of controlling a river boat in shallow water, proper tie up procedures and how to safely remove a boat from a gravel bar. anyone with a riverboat is invited, bring some warm clothes a pile of fire wood and a camera.
please let me know if you can join us in advance so I can add you onto the list, just so we dont leave anyone behind at the start. We will be leaving from Island 22 at 8 AM. Last years run brought out 28 boats, so maybe this years will be better.

[mark]

Hey blacktail, how far past hope do you guys go? do you hit some big water, or is it just the calm stuff. What im asking is, is it an all day fun run into the wild stuff, or just a boat cruise and learning day for rookies?

[Jetboater]

there will be a few rookies showing up but once we get to yale you can go up into saddle rock and sailor bar rapids. which are pretty cool.

[abbyfireguy]

Bring your woolies as its cold this time of year up there...Glad my boat has a good heater......
Looking forward to getting back on the water after redoing the impellor in the jet...
What happened to running the Lilloett River???

[abbyfireguy]

The weather is supposed to be nice this weekend....Also, the number of boats should be over 30,maybe closer to 40 or 50.....
Lots of fun to be had,,some good pictures also should be had...
There are a few stretches of rapids and fast water that can be run by the brave..
I encourage anyone interested who lives in the Lower Mainland to call T-n-T Marine in Abbotsford for more info...
(604) 857-5387

[mark]

Talked to some buds today, looks like ill be there, look forward to it! Ill wear my HBC hat!

[abbyfireguy]

I'll be in the green Weldcraft jetboat...

http://www3.telus.net/public/hotrods/Images/Image1.bmp

[Dirty]

Okay, I heard that one boat sank and many more connected with rocks. If anybody was there please post details.

[abbyfireguy]

Met Mark after the run....
We were extremely lucky today.....
Three guys in a 19 ft North River got swamped and sank...The three floated down river through two rapids and were lucky to survive,,,,extremely lucky!!!
Many injuries as well,,,broken arms ,ribs and several crunched in hulls...
I returned unmarked,,,old guys are a little more carefull I guess....

[~T-BONE~]

Todays run was scary:eek: :eek: Needless to say No one was able to make it through the first set of majour 7 ft. rapids. There was lots of carnage even with with High Calibers 17 ft. boat with bloody noses and glass cuts from th 2 winshields that blew out attemptinging to ford the rapids.... As well as the starter wires being shorted out after being swamped by all the water!!!!! :shock: What a blast!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

[BIGHUNTERFISH]

Boy all this fun for an investment of over 30,000 bucks and 100 to 150 bucks on gas per trip.No thanks :cry:

[~T-BONE~]

Boy all this fun for an investment of over 30,000 bucks and 100 to 150 bucks on gas per trip.No thanks :cry:

Sorry you weren't able to get involved! It was a blast before the shit hit the fan! Yetr most people are unable to see the views of the river from that level.... Probablty would have picked you up if you were available!!:wink: 4 guys in the boat 40 bones per head = cheap entertainment.........

[~T-BONE~]

Met Mark after the run....
We were extremely lucky today.....
Three guys in a 19 ft North River got swamped and sank...The three floated down river through two rapids and were lucky to survive,,,,extremely lucky!!!
Many injuries as well,,,broken arms ,ribs and several crunched in hulls...
I returned unmarked,,,old guys are a little more carefull I guess....

hopefully those that were injured make a speedy recovery ! T-Bone..

[abbyfireguy]

I'm sure the bruised egos will heal as well...:-( :cry:

[Dirty]

I can only guess that this is a case of a time when people need to know their limitations. If you are inexperienced you don't go and run whitewater. We don't have very many whitewater rapid stretches in the common places people boat on the Fraser. Many people have little to no experience running them. Sometimes it is better to play it safe or take a ride with an experienced person before getting yourself into trouble.

[mark]

I was there in my buddies boat which was hands down the fastest boat on the river. He also has 25 years of jetboat racing experience. We were the first to reach the sailor bar rapids. At a distance of 100yards away, he said no boat will make that today! He was right, every boat that tried got heavy damage! While T-bone says it was a blast, yes it was for a while, but he left early before the scene got ugly. As the damaged boats came down river it was just a matter of time before the inevitable. A boat comes screaming in honking his horn and yells ROLLOVER, 2 guys still missing! He had pulled 1 guy from the rapids and 2 were missing. About a dozen boats rushed up river only to find floating boat junk, no sign of a boat or people! After an hour of searching we headed back to the beach with long faces. Few words were spoken as every person knew that the other 2 guys were dead! Search and rescue showed up with a boat and chopper, which would of been a body recovery at best. A short while later they got word that the 2 guys managed to swim to shore, and hiked up to the highway where they cought a ride to the hospital! The boat was probably like 50k, and will never be seen again! I can tell ya it was a grim 2 hours before the good news came in!

[BIGHUNTERFISH]

I think in the future the guys that organize an event like this should take a run up the river to evaluate the conditions before the event takes place.It is amazing know one drowned,and I thought the main focus of the event was learning jet boat safety.:confused:

[mark]

The entire river was a pussycat run up to where we beached and had a fire. It was extremely obvious where the danger was. Some challenged it anyways! My buddy and myself are usually the first to do crazy rapids that others shake their head at, but we knew with one look that them rapids was certain disaster. It was harsh lessons learned many, but could have been much worse. P.S. river boating is usually a blast, but can be dangerous!

[BIGHUNTERFISH]

So is icefishing,but I dont organize a derby if the ice is 4 inches thick.I dont think you get my point but I am not surprized.

[ruger#1]

Racing trio rescued from icy Fraser river

Men 'risking hypothermia' in dangerous rapids

Ian Austin and Salim Jiwa, The Province

Published: Monday, January 29, 2007
Three people racing on the Fraser River were lucky to survive yesterday after their aluminum jet boat capsized in swift water near Saddle Rock, about 10 kilometres north of Yale.
Rescuers were called out at 1:15 p.m. to an extremely rugged section of the river, so cold that waterfalls were frozen solid along the river banks.
"There are lots of cliffs and lots of steep slopes," said RCMP Const. Bert Paquet. "It can be quite hazardous."
The boat overturned at a particularly nasty bend in the river, where Saddle Rock sits directly in the middle, with perilous boiling rapids on either side the only way through.
"The currents and the waves can be quite intense and unpredictable," said Paquet. "The water can be very, very cold. You're basically risking hypothermia as soon as you hit the water.
"It's dangerous any time of the year, but especially in winter."
Two of the men managed to swim to shore, while a third was caught in the current and sent hurtling downstream through a series of rapids before also making his way to shore.
He was found by rescuers lying on a beach downstream, and all three were whisked away by ambulance to Fraser Canyon Hospital in Hope for treatment of hypothermia.
"This time of the year you have to know how to run the river," said Hope Search and Rescue officer Oran Alexander. "The water is low and you get shallow areas and the current and that can turn you over pretty good."
The three men, one carrying an inflated life-jacket, were released from hospital shortly before 6 p.m.
Bundled up in warm clothing, the trio looked shaken by their ordeal.
They had nothing to say about the crash when approached by The Province at the hospital.
A woman came to collect the three survivors, who quickly bundled into a van and drove away.
Chilliwack Search and Rescue and other units including a helicopter were called out, said Alexander.
He said the three men were competing in the Fraser Canyon Boat Run, organized by TNT Marine, a builder of aluminum jet-powered boats.
"We will be running from Island 22 to Yale and leaving the launch at 8 a.m. We enjoy spending time with our customers on the water and we look forward to seeing you there," said a promotional bulletin on TNT Marine's website. "Let's get out and have some fun! Anyone with a jet boat is welcome."
Alexander said the organizers failed to alert Search and Rescue so it would be aware of the event and be prepared for any mishaps.
"We were not informed until we got a call from the RCMP the previous night," he said.
No one from TNT Marine could be reached for comment yesterday.

[RiverOtter]

So a bunch of jet boats run up the river to a sand bar and stop short of an impassible set of rapids. Then what, double dare each other and see who can make it the furthest before totalling their boat or capsizing??

It seems strange to me that the most experienced guy(s), like Marks friend sit on a bar, while boat after boat attempts suicide. Was there any discussion before all those boats attempted an impossible feat????

RO

[mark]

So is icefishing,but I dont organize a derby if the ice is 4 inches thick.I dont think you get my point but I am not surprized.

I can assure you, there was nothing dangerous about the journey from the launch to the beach where we had the fire!
The clip from the province was not a very good analogy of what really happened!
No-one was daring anyone to attempt the rapids (as far as i know). I can tell you as a boater, it is enticing to try to go farther and challenge the rapids but everyone must know their limitations. Some of the guys have done those rapids before in higher water so maybe they had the confidence to try it. Heck if i had my boat, i might of had a closer look myself! Its much like a 4x4 rally event, where guys enter giant mudholes knowing they cant make it, but with an audience, the balls outthink the brain! :|

[BIGHUNTERFISH]

I agree everyone must know their limits, but correct me if I am wrong wasn't there alot of new boat owners ''customers'' who were learning about their boat and the limitations it has.If a person with boating experience would have seen that the rapids were impassable and put some buoys out to warn people then do you think these accidents would have happened?If I was an organizer of the event I would have made sure no one even attempted the rapids.

[browningboy]

The thing about the run was that half of the bunch that were damaged had big ball syndrome and were strictly sockeye fisherman, not used to hammering whitewater and "cavatating" etc. It was to be a fun event, and there will always be a person to "challenge" himself but if another run is planned, one should have a meet just after Yale and some experienced boaters go ahead and evaluate the upcoming conditions and tell everyone, as when theres so many boaters and if you follow to close. the wakes will start to cover surface rocks etc, which will beat you up! Even saying something like that, theres always one to say I can make it!, so its tough to stop a person when you don't even know him, you can try to educate but not all will listen!:roll:

[mark]

Browning boy said it pretty well!
These rapids did not sneak up on unsuspecting boaters. It was basically a 7 ft. waterfall across the river, you could see it coming a long ways away. there was lots of room to stop have a look turn around and return to safer water. Every boater that attempted them rapids did so fully knowing what was ahead!

[Jetboater]

unfortunatley I did have to stay out of the limelight for a little while until I composed myself after reading what the reporter had said. as for no comments from TNT marine, well its hard to give a comment when they contact my business at 9PM on a sunday.

we have been constantly trying to contact the province to get this matter resolved,

as for the boat that had the mishap, I cannot go into to deep of details because I was not there, it was a grim day on the water when the call came through. the boat was actually with us sturgeon fishing, after running up river to have a look at the rapids they began to turn around and a wave took over the bow.pulling the nose under,
the fellow is extremely educated in boating and one of the fellows instructs the power squadron

as for the help they recieved, their mustang life vest saved their lives,the two men climbed up onto the highway trying to flag down vehicles when finally a police officer driving his route found them, the other man was resqued by one of the boats in the group.

We really have to thank the people who were involved on this run to help the guys out, boats can be replaced but lives cant, is ity a wake up call for sure, do we always practice safe and courteous boating?? of course we do. will we offer this run to anyone with little experience from now on , no way

we definatly have to change what happens on the water and how we look out for each other,

could this have happened to any boat out there of course it can,

if anyone would like to talk to any member of run you can contact me directly at 604-857-5387

will we go up the canyon again? of course we will, we got back up on our bikes when we wiped out when we were younger, we get back in our cars after accidents.

we do have to be very grateful that someone was looking out for the people that were in the accident.

[abbyfireguy]

Other than the boat sunk, almost all (with one exception)the damage to boats was done on clam flat water from Yale to Hope on the return trip...Guys weren't watching for the rocks and driving into the sun full blast without being able to see properly..A recipe for damage....
I ran fast but cautiously on the way home and had a good run,no marks or dents...
Some new rookie boat operators didn't take advice and went into the whitewater with resulting water damage to glass and dangerous water filled boats..
Some people just don't understand the meaning of the word NO...
If another run goes it will be totally different from full radio communication to experienced operator,or they just won't be invited or included.....
Its too dangerous to play around with a powerful river with no experience or safety equipment.....