01/13/00 LAMBERTVILLE -- A man who tumbled out of his kayak while navigating the Delaware River yesterday morning was rescued by a local first aid squad after he had screamed for help for almost 30 minutes, officials said. The kayaker was spotted in the river about 8:15 a.m., near an area known as the Lambertville wing dam, by a resident of Solebury, Pa., in Bucks County who heard the man screaming and dialed 911, officials said. Officer Dan Boyle of the Solebury Police Department responded to the river and saw the man struggling. The kayaker was in distress for about 25 minutes, said Boyle. The Lambertville-New Hope Rescue Squad in Lambertville launched a boat into the river at a ramp known as The Fireman's Eddy, off Route 29 across from the Golden Nugget flea market, said Kevin Snyder, chief of the squad. Members of the squad quickly located the man, a 34-year-old Scotch Plains resident whose name could not be determined yesterday. He was picked up about a quarter-mile south from where he was first spotted, said Snyder. The man's kayak also was recovered, Snyder said. The rescue boat took the man back to the boat ramp, where an ambulance awaited him, and he was taken to Hunterdon Medical Center in Raritan Township. He was suffering from hypothermia but had no other physical injuries from the rough ride, said Snyder. The "air boat" used by the rescue squad is powered by a large fan at the stern and has a special polymer coating on the bottom so it can skim over rocks in the river. "We have the boat especially for use in shallow water. This is pretty routine for us. We (rescue boaters) use it in the summertime quite often," he said. ____________________________________________________________________________ ______________________ The above is © 2000 and clipped from the "Trenton Times" without permission. Local Philly news had eight seconds of video shot from the chopper above, more of the casual recreational kayak being resued by the fan boat than of the victim, who was seen in a two-second shot wrapped and prone on the bank. Curiously, the NJ Network news, just downriver from there, didn't carry the story at all. Since it was mentioned that the firemen also "rescued" his backpack, can we lay odds on his wearing street clothes ? The wing dam in question, like all wing dams, looks totally benign and people have drowned there in summertime. __________________________________________ NetZero - Defenders of the Free World Get your FREE Internet Access and Email at http://www.netzero.net/download/index.html *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
For those of you not from this area... The Lambertville Wing Dam is a popular playspot for whitewater kayakers in the Delaware River located below Lambertville NJ and New Hope PA. Generally rated a 2+ but small areas can be a 3 and of course it varies with water level. Sneak routes are possible and I've seen sea kayaks go through there without difficulty. Besides being a playspot it is a terrific venue for teaching whitewater safety and rescue courses. Bits and pieces of it can be seen in Charlie Walbridge's ACA video "Heads Up". It has also been the site for the Canoe Poling National Championships now and then. JP >LAMBERTVILLE -- A man who tumbled out of his kayak while navigating the >Delaware River yesterday morning was rescued by a local first aid squad >after he had screamed for help for almost 30 minutes, officials said. >The kayaker was spotted in the river about 8:15 a.m., near an area known as >the Lambertville wing dam, by a resident of Solebury, Pa., in Bucks County >who heard the man screaming and dialed 911, officials said. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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