RE: [Paddlewise] ice on flatwater (long winded)

If I could add a story to the Be Careful Out There group,
in about 1972,3,4, while I was living in Mt. Pleasant, Mich., 
there was a canoeist named John Oakley who put in on the
Chippewa river (100 ft. wide, 10 ft. deep most of the way) one
day in January.  He rounded a bend and came to a wider spot
where the surface had frozen.  While running his canoe up 
the ice and breaking through, the boat flipped and he was 
thrown into the water out in the middle of the wide space.
He was not wearing a PFD or much in the way of protective 
clothing.

Someone happened to discover him in the water and called
the rescue folks and his wife.  She put her own canoe into
the river and got to him in time to hold him up until the rescue
team could get to them with a boat large enough to pull him 
in and get him back to shore.  He survived.

So, what's so remarkable about this?

Oakley is a champion marathon long distance canoe paddler.
In 1972 he won at least one leg of the three-part international
canoe championship that takes place in NY, Michigan and 
Quebec.  He owned a canoe livery on the river and was familiar
with every inch of the water in the area.  His skills far exceeded
those necessary to safely paddle this river.

He survived because his wife was also a champion canoeist 
and given her level of ability was able to get to him in time 
and because he was in such terrific physical condition.  

And because he was lucky.
And because he was lucky.
And because he was lucky.

He made some bad decisions and it almost cost him everything.

If this might happen to someone at his level, every one of us is
equally if not more susceptible to proving Darwin was right.

So do be careful out there.


Larry Mills
Warm & dry.
Purchase, NY

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