A  CLOSE CALL AT KOONTZ’S FLUME

            “I had a close call at Koontz’s Flume on West Virginia’s Lower Gauley in the Fall of 1997. The folks I was with used the ‘last chance eddy’ above Koontz’s Flume, and I went with them. I eddied out fairly low, planning to ferry back out quickly. An OC-1 had trouble with the eddy turn. I waited figuring he would get into the eddy well above me or ferry away from it to set up for the rapid. But he just floundered down the main current right along the eddyline. My bow kept him out and his bow kept me in as we both slipped closer to the bottom of the eddy. I backed up to give him room, thinking I would still have time to  move. Wrong! I was dropping into a suck  hole!

            “I spun around as I dropped and saw the such hole as I washed in. It scared the hell out of me! All of the water just disappears under the rock! As I went under I felt a log in front of me.  I wrapped my arms around it and pulled myself out of my boat, then found another log to stand on. With my feet on one log and my legs resting against another, I got my head and shoulders out of the water. I grabbed my paddle and threw it into a chute to my right so it would wash to the bottom.

            “I started to survey my predicament. I didn’t think I could clim back up the way I came in, even without my boat. There was water flowing downstream ni a slot a little ways to my right, but I wasn’t sure if I could get far enough over to catch the flow. Then I heard, ‘Rope!’ An alert open boater had seen what happened, jumped out of his boat, and ran within range. We made eye contact, and he made a perfect throw. I thought that with help from the rope I could pendulum myself and the boat to safety. He set up a good belay, and I dove in. The tension on the rope was powerful. I let the boat go as soon as it had a chance to float clear, then released the rope and swam the rest of the right slot.

            “While rounding up my gear, I thanked the guy with the rope. He complemented me on keeping my cool, but I think it was mostly luck.”

SOURCE: Pete Staehling, posting to rec.boats.paddle