A local tragedy has provided another reminder to all paddlers not to let their exuberance at spring get in the way of safety. Yesterday in the local forest preserve, two elderly men (and a dog) in a canoe were taking advantage of our first day of wonderful spring weather after a prolonged, late winter in Chicago. They were on a very calm (Class I or below) stretch of the north branch of the Chicago River when their canoe capsized. According to news reports, the younger (60ish) man was able to be rescued, perhaps with the assistance of onlookers, but the older man (92-no typo) was not. If the news reports are accurate, the paddlers were wearing neither immersion gear nor PDFs, they may have struck a pylon and destabilized, and it is not clear how good their swimming abilities were. This branch of the river connects to a lagoon system that is at most a couple of feet deep, so it is possible the knowledge of the lagoons' "safety" might have added to the men's complacency. The river bottoms out, admittedly, after it leaves the lagoons, but it is no more than 30 feet or so wide. I have paddled this area before, and it is easy to take it for granted. It is, unfortunately, a sobering reminder of how the wrong circumstances can combine to cause disaster even in the most apparently unthreatening conditions. Here is a link to the Tribune story: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0703120187mar12,1,5066688.story ?coll=chi-newslocal-hed Tom Joyce *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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