Making a Difference

Does the ACA make a difference?

Read the following testimonial to find out.

"Mike, but for your great training, a young lady may have bought the farm this past Saturday.

I was kayaking the upper reaches of the Nolichucky with my brother in funyaks. Because of high water, most of the participants were in guided rafts. At least one was supposed to stay behind the “ducks,” but all the rafts with guides got ahead. As we were going into a class 4 rapid stretch, I noted there weren’t any guides or rafts behind us so moved to sweep. A young lady managed to paste her funyak around a boulder with a shute on each side. She was trapped in the middle of it, the funyak literally bent around the boulder.

I was lucky enough to be able to maneuver my boat over and get it against the bolder and get her out of her boat and on the bolder without being pushed down one of the shutes. We then had an adventure of a lifetime getting the paddles, my boat, and the inner floatation of the funyak up onto the dry portion of the boulder. After pushing on the top of the raft against the stiff current just enough (took everything both of us using our legs) to let the downward current push up the trapped tube, we got her boat on top of mine on top of the boulder, the inner floatation pad back in, her in back in the boat with her paddle, and heading back down the River.

She was lucky not to have been pinned on the wrong side of the boat.

But for your great training, I probably wouldn’t have figured out what needed doing. She said she was going to name her first born after me, but I said to name the child after my great instructor."

Make a difference, sign up to take an ACA paddling course, workshop or clinic today.

www.americancanoe.org/Findinstruction

Be knowledgable, be safe.

Paddle Safe - Paddle Often,
Christopher Stec
Chief Operating Officer