West Virginia's Gauley River below Summersville Dam is one of the most famous big-water runs in the United States. During the fall drawdown period 2500 cfs, an optimal level, is released for several weekends. The first drop, Initiation Rapid, seems like a straightforward drop over a sloping ledge. But on the far right there is a hidden hazard: a crack between two giant boulders where water is sucked town between them. The crack narrows, and halfway down the drop a 3 foot diameter boulder is "chocked" under several feet of water.

On September 24, 1982 Bob O'Connor, an experienced Gauley boater, was making a run with a group of friends from Georgia Tech. For some reason he ended up running the far right side of the drop which took him over the crack. His stern was pulled underwater, and when it contacted the chock rock it stuck fast. O'Connor was pinned with is back to the current and his bow pointing 50 degrees skyward. The water rushed past his body and threatened to pull him under,

His group responded quickly, but the pinned boat was difficult to reach. Henry DeGrazia reached a big dry rock to the right of the pin. He threw a rope to O'Connor. Initially it helped, then the boat pivoted, dropped down several feet, and pinned O'Connor in the onrushing current half in and half out of his boat.  DeGrazia called for help and several people moved towards him. But only Dave Montanye reached the rock. Dave grabbed the rope and, belayed by Henry, lowered himself down the rock towards the crack. By now O'Connor's head was under water. He had an air pocket; he could talk, but he could not move, and he seemed to be slowly slipping deeper. Dave grabbed O'Connor's PFD with one hand, holding onto the rope with the other. He could not stop O'Connor from slowly getting pulled under.

Montanye was gettinmg exhausted, so he and DeGrazia switched places. At this point kayaker Franbny Strickland arrived at the scene. She told them there had been a similar pinning  several years earlier, and that the previous victim had washed through. Now DeGrazia attempted to move the boat so that both it and O'Connor could wash through. the boat shifted and both rescuer and victim plunged under water. DeGrazia and O'Connor's life vest surfaced downstream. Concerned that the kayak might be blocking the passage, Montanye worked his way out to the kayak and tried to free it. He lost his footing and washed through the tunnel also.

Now others, including Wick Walker and Dean Tomko climbed up on the rock. Walker, who had paddled in Germany for several years, had a quick-release water rescue harness that fitted over his life vest. Clipped into a rescue line and belayed bny Tomko, he was able to walk down to the crack and actually lowered himself waist-deep inside it. He clipped a second line to the boat and tried to pull it free. The boat came loose and dropped into the crack. When the line was cut, it washed out at the bottom.

Earlier on a runner was sent to the dam a mile upstream to get the water shut off. As the water level dropped, Walker lowered himself into an underwater cavern. It contained no snags and no signs of Bob O'Connor. A search party was formed and they eventiually found him at the base of the drop. Unfortunately, thousands of rafters were trapped by falling water levels and spent the night inside the canyon.

Initiation Rapid contains a dangerous hidden trap that has been responsible for one other death and dozens of narrow escapes in the last two decades. People are often lured there by a well-formed surfing wave which, when caught, carries them over into harm's way. The best way to avoid trouble at Initiation Rapid is to run center-left, and to stay clear of the right side.

The rescue attempt was competent and courageous. A rescue life vest with a harness like the one Walker used could have made a difference if it has been available earlier. Unfortunately these devices were not available in the United States in 1982.  

Deliberately pushing someone through a suckhole is clearly a last resort. These areas often contain hidden hazards and someone could get hung up under water. In this case it seemed like a reasonable option.