Re: [Paddlewise] Bombers

I never do this kind of stuff after a memorable encounter.... It was
in 1990. I was doing category V white water rafting with my friends on
a remote Siberian river that flows into the Lake Baikal in Russia.

We were resting after a well-deserved lunch on a small pebble strip at
the bottom of a river canyon. It was a very hot day; we felt exhausted
after negotiating a bunch of demanding rapids, so we gave ourselves 20
minutes of a total relaxation before packing our scattered stuff and
jumping back into the rafts.

Suddenly someone spotted a heavy helicopter flying across the canyon
very high above. May be because we were glad to see an unexpected sign
of civilization in that tough surrounding or perhaps because we just
felt friendly and relaxed, we waived to the pilots without much hope
that they can even spot us. Well, that was a BIG mistake!

In no time, the huge chopper literally dropped on our heads, causing a
tornado in a relatively narrow canyon. Almost instantly all our
utensils, the loose clothing, the helmets, the life jackets, the
precious roll of toilet paper and everything else were blown away to
the river stream. When they landed on the beach, the pebbles were
flying like bullets. The worst of all we could not hide, because we
had to hold on tight to our rafts before they were blown away. Once
they landed, one of the pilots opened the door and without turning off
the engines, roared - "What?"

What could we say? The best we could come up with under the
circumstances was - "Nothing!". Perhaps that was even BIGGER mistake.
As I see it now, at least we could pretend that we called them for a
good cause. They guy cursed us, the guy gave us a Russian analogy of a
"bird", a very big one. From what we can see behind the glass cabin,
the crew was debating on how to teach us the simple etiquette of the
wild: "If you seek my attention, you need my help".

Fortunately, the God decided to bestow His mercy upon us. A small
group of backpackers emerged out of nowhere and headed straight to the
chopper. They were offering a full bottle of vodka for taking them
down the river. Once the pilots regained the purpose of their lives,
they forgot about our existence and took off shortly after giving us a
farewell "bird". How we managed to survive is another story, but I
guess you can appreciate why I am not waiving to anything in the sky
anymore if it is larger than a hummingbird :)

Vic.

On Wed, 10 Nov 2004 13:48:34 -0500, Jim Farrelly <jfarrelly5_at_comcast.net> wrote:
>   I had a pleasant experience the other day while mucking around off
> Tybee Island, Georgia, USA.  I took a break and rested on my back deck
> with my paddle across my chest when I heard an unusual, almost haunting
> droning.  I squinted North and saw a silver WWII B-17 Flying Fortress
> going South just a few hundred feet over my head! It was kind of surreal
> to lie there rocking slowly looking at that old plane go by.  I gently
> waved my paddle. I was hoping for a wing waggle but didn't get my wish...
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