After years of dedicated work by American Whitewater, the rapids of the North Fork of the Feather River in Northern California are running again. But the events of September 27th showed that paddling them is not without risk. Eric Petlock, an active local paddler who became AW’s principal investigator, filed a report that tells the following story. A raft containing four experienced paddlers and one first-timer were making their way down the Class III-IV Cresta Run when they broadsided on a rock and flipped. The first-timer, Yannick Meraud, 38, swam towards the river left shore. He was pushed up against and under a huge granite slab which lay alongside the riverbank. Witnesses saw him disappear, and tried to help by running a line along the margin of the slab. When they did not succeed, they sent for help. Rescue squad members who recovered the body the next day reported that the slab is actually the roof of a giant underwater cave. They believe that Mr. Meraud eddied out in there and could not escape. We hope that this tragedy will alert other boaters to this danger spot and prevent future accidents.more info on boof.com http://www.chicoer.com/Stories/0,1413,135~25088~1663959,00.html Rafter’s body found in underwater cave By DANNY BERNARDINI – Staff Writer PULGA – A rafter who was presumed drowned in the North Fork of the Feather River Saturday was found by divers early Sunday. After calling off the search Saturday evening, Butte County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue divers returned to the water Sunday and located the victim in an “underwater cave” just after 11 a.m., CDF Capt. Greg McFadden said. The victim, who was reported missing by fellow rafters after their raft capsized Saturday afternoon, was not identified by the Butte County Sheriff’s Office as of press time Sunday. McFadden said the divers received a break when PG&E lowered the water level below the Cresta Dam another foot Sunday, after nearly cutting all water Saturday, allowing divers to enter the area where the body remained. He said the water level was dropped roughly 13 feet. Assisting the divers was a canine unit that confirmed the location of the body from a raft prior to the dive. McFadden said the deceased rafter was pinned between the raft and the rocks, and because of the higher water levels, he could not recover. Once a month, the water levels on the North Fork are raised by PG&E as part of an agreement with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. This was believed by PG&E spokesman Jonathan Franks to be the first raft or kayak incident in the raised water during the two years they have been increasing the flows. Drowned rafter was a Berkeley resident By GREG WELTER – Staff Writer PULGA – The man whose raft overturned on the Feather River Saturday has been identified as Yanica Meraud, a Berkeley resident. The victim was recovered Sunday morning by members of the Butte County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue team. He was reportedly rafting with friends just south of the Plumas County line when his raft capsized in swift water and trapped him against a rock that had been undercut by the current at about a 45-degree angle. Search and Rescue spokesman Capt. Mike Larish said Meraud was wearing a helmet and a floatation device, but noted the speed of the water and the angle of the undercut funneled his body into a chamber well below the surface of the river. He was found by divers Richard Chandler and Brandon Harris more than 20 feet below the level of the river at the time the accident occurred. Once a month PG&E raises water levels on the North Fork of the Feather River, at the request of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, for white-water recreation. Larish said the higher water level didn’t necessarily contribute to the accident. To make it easier to conduct a search, PG&E lowered the water level about one-and-a-half feet Saturday. A search and rescue dog and handler Trish Cox entered the river on a special white-water raft donated to Butte County Fire/CDF just last month by Chico businesswoman George Bellin. Larish said the search wouldn’t have been possible with any other craft and noted that the dog alerted several times around a large undercut rock on the southwest side of the river. PG&E reduced flows further Saturday night. When Chandler and Harris entered the water, it was 20 feet lower than on Saturday afternoon. They located Meraud at the end of a 15-20-foot long chamber – one of several they discovered in the underwater rock formation. Larish said it was unfortunate the victim went into the river at spot where safety equipment could do little to save him. He said it was the first drowning he knows of on the river where the victim wore a floatation device. Using a rope system, Meraud’s body was raised up a steep slope to deputies waiting on a ridge just before noon on Sunday. http://boatertalk.com/forum/BoaterTalk/459687