Witness Narrative by Bill Kabitz on 2006-04-23
It happened like this: We were in Boatsmear rapid, I was in the main current facing down river heading for the eddy on river left (a narrow eddy that runs along the cliff), Dennis was in the eddy facing upstream heading for the ?squirt spot?. As I approached the eddy, I spun my boat to enter the eddy facing upstream (a move I have done a million times), the problem was, I misjudged my approach. I tried to enter the eddy in front of Dennis, then realized that I was too close to his boat so I tried to maneuver past his boat and enter the eddy behind him. At that moment, the bow of Dennis?s boat moved left just enough to catch the stern of my boat, driving his bow into my back just below my PFD. The impact knocked the wind out of me. It was at least a minute before I could take a breath. Thanks to my fellow boaters that helped me get out of my boat, cross the river, and walk out to the Hwy. This goes without saying, but I?m going to say it anyway: This was 100% my fault, it was poor judgment to enter the eddy in front of another boater when I could have easily slipped in behind it.
