Concord Monitor.com 10-28-06
CONWAY, NH Teacher dies in kayaking accident
www.copncordmonitor.com (10-31-06)
A newly wed high school math teacher and enthusiastic outdoorsman died Sat. (10-28) when his kayak capsized in the Saco River in Conway. Cliff Eisner, 36, taught for 11 years at John Stark Regional High School in Weare. After spending nearly a year in Alaska, Eisner, who grew up in Henniker, took a job last month at Kennett High School in Conway. Part of the job's allure, friends and family said, was the location; Eisner loved being close to mountains and rivers for hiking, biking and kayaking.
On Sat., Eisner went kayaking with 2 other men, according to Sgt. Jim Juneau of the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department. Heavy rains had caused the state's rivers to swell, and the Saco was raging. At 4:55 p.m., Eisner capsized. Though he was not able to right himself he managed to get out of his kayak and tried to swim to shore. But Eisner, an experienced kayaker who was wearing a life vest, was overcome by the river, which was high, fast and full of debris, including entire trees that had toppled off the banks. More than 50 rescue workers searched the waters for Eisner. They found his body in the Saco River behind the North Conway Fire Department an hour later, 6 mi. from where he'd capsized.
Eisner died 1 wk. after he married his wife, Marilyn (Carignan) Eisner. Both avid hikers with humble personalities, the couple had a casual ceremony at the base of Mount Cardigan attended by 60 people. They spent their wedding night sleeping underneath the stars.
http://www.concordmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061031/REPOSITORY/610310355Posted: Mon Oct 30 2006, 10:32AM
From the Conway Daily Sun: Oct 30, 9:22 AM EST
N.H. teacher dies in kayak accident
CONWAY, N.H. (AP) -- A math teacher at Kennett High School died during the weekend when his kayak capsized in the Saco River. Authorities said Cliff Eisner, 36, was in his first year at the school, where he taught geometry and precalculus. He formerly taught at John Stark Regional High School in Weare. Counselors were ready to help grieving students and teachers at the school Monday.
The Saco in Conway gage rose quickly on Saturday, Oct. 28, from 900 cfs to over 20,000, above flood stage. Likely, the section that Mr. Eisner was attempting was above flood stage when he was on it on Saturday.
From the Manchester Union Leader:
Storm causes chaos across Granite State From Staff and Wire Reports Two deaths were reported over a weekend of wild, windy weather that stripped trees bare, knocked out power to thousands and rendered waterways across the state dangerously choppy. Cliff Eisner, 36, a teacher at Kennett High School in Conway, died Saturday after his kayak capsized in the Saco River.
Eisner, new to the district this year, taught geometry and pre-calculus. He previously taught at John Stark Regional High School in Weare, according to meeting records from that district. Conway school officials met yesterday afternoon at the high school with the district’s crisis team in preparation for grieving staff and students, said Carl Nelson, district superintendent.
Also from http://www.npmb.com/cms2/forum_viewtopic.php?4.56411:
The storm also turned deadly on Saturday. New Hampshire Fish and Game also reported a 36-year-old kayaker was killed while on a river in Jackson. The body of the man was later found in North Conway. The death remains under investigation.Witness Narrative by Darron Laughland on 2006-11-21
History of paddlers involved: All three were experienced paddlers, including ACA Instructor Certifications, Raft Guide Training, ACA Swift Water Rescue, Wilderness First Responder, one EMT, and at least 10 years paddling experience for two of them, nearly that for the third. We met at 3 in the afternoon. Cliff and Darron drove to Town Hall Rd. in Bartlett, NH and met the third member of our party . Level looked high - so we went to the upper section of the E. Br. Saco.
When we got to the put in - water was high with some wood moving around. It is a class 4 plus - 5 creek run. We paddled for a few hundred yards and Cliff and I agreed that it was more than we were comfortable with. A third boater joined us and we got out and decided to put in downstream at what I describe as the "abbreviated run takeout" where the gradient and difficulty drops to class II-III. At the level that day I would describe it as class IV - fast moving water, a few eddies, occasional large holes and wave trains, and some strainers and debris piles on the sides of the river.
We paddled without incident for nearly 3 miles, catching an eddy occasionally for a break and to check in with everyone. We saw the Town Hall Road Bridge - Darron was second, and Cliff was third. The water under the bridge was high enough that we could probably touch if we reached up - we did not check the gage. After passing under I turned to look back and saw Cliff's boat upside down. Based on his location - he must have flipped in one of the two holes that form in the center of the river just upstream of the bridge. They are not very retentive but are strong enough to flip a boat.
I paddled hard to shore to set up with a throw bag after yelling to Nate. Cliff attempted several rolls and was still in his boat when he passed me - at this point I ran down shore, but was essentially removed from the scene as Nate and Cliff had passed me and rounded a corner. Nate paddled with Cliff - who was clear of his boat and swimming with boat and paddle for shore. Nate describes yelling at him to let go of his gear and finally Cliff letting go of his boat but hanging on to his paddle. He appeared to be struggling but was still swimming at this time. At that point the river decends a "staircase" after splitting in two - at the bottom there is a large log perched on top of two boulders and a very strong hole. Our friend had been facing upstream and turned to paddle through the bottom of the staircase and hole and lost sight of Cliff. He pulled into an eddy downstream, then got out of his boat with throwbag.
Meanwhile, I had jumped in a car passing on the road and driven downstream maybe a 3/4 mile, and sent the driver and three passengers to watch the river at locations downstream, and then started working my way back upstream. I heard a yell from Nate - and saw Cliff floating facedown past in the water. We were unable to keep up with Cliff and at that point recognized that the time that had elapsed from Nate losing site of him, to seeing him pass - that it was highly unlikely that a rescue was possible, and at this point it became a recovery.
We knew that 911 had been called by the people on the bridge, and called 911 again to get additional information to the incident command, and a few minutes later talked to fire fighters/rescue from Bartlett Jackson rescue. We got a ride to our vehicles - and drove to North Conway Fire Station. Nate was ahead of me and had gone with the rescue folks to where they had recovered Cliff's body. I waited at the NC Fire Station.
His body was recovered while passing in a large eddy near the N. Conway Golf Course approximetely 6 miles from where he swam out of his boat. When his body was recovered, his family was notified. His gear was intact and according to witnesses at the scene there appeared to be no significant trauma. He had on a rescue vest, waist throw bag, dry top, skirt, neoprene gloves, and poly pro with shorts on the bottom. No booties as he had forgotten them. I believe there was no autopsy performed as cause of death was drowning.
The boat was recovered from a debris pile only short distance downstream and appears intact - although it was not closely inspected. In discussions with Nate, we think that Cliff may have gotten hung up on wood or rocks at some point - as he did not come down for some time. The hole and the large tree may have had a role in this although it is hard to say.
A week later I went back to the scene and there is wood present that would have been submerged but close enough to the surface to hang a swimmer up - even if only for a moment. The speed of the water, cold November water, Cliff's several roll attempts, swimming with a water filled boat (floatation present) and a paddle, may have been contributing factors. There was some discussion of Cliffs swimming ability after the incident. The biggest single factor may have been swimming in flood stage strong currents.
The section just upstream from the bridge where the incident occured and down - has been paddled frequently by Nate and Darron. It was Cliff's first time on the East Branch. I printed off the USGS gage graph form the Saco River in Conway and it was spiking very steeply that day. According to a woman who lives on Town Hall Road - her rain gage and buckets on her porch indicated several inches of rain (over 3) during that rain event. The river continued to rise well into flood stage that evening and overnight - in fact the large tree that had been present in the "staircase" section that Cliff swam was gone after having been there for around 5 years according to another resident of the road. Even during the search the water was coming up noticably.
According to the NH Fish and Game - nearly 50 people participated in the recovery and rescue. Bartlett Jackson Ambulance, North Conway Fire and Rescue, Conway PD and Conway Rescue was posting at bridges downstream. Freyburg Maine PD and Rescue were on standby and Mountain Rescue Service was rigging lines at points over the river and there were three Fish and Game Officers present. NH Fish and Game Department contacts for this incident are Brian Abrams and Sgt. Juneau (I think).Nate Harvey 603-466-2333 nate@greatglentrails.com Brian Abrams - NH Fish and Game Please contact me with any questions - I wrote the report in a narrative form and am aware that it is not in the right "person" etc. for publication - and give AW the right to edit it for publication on line and in the AW Journal. I will try and get a copy of the Fish and Game materials and reports as well.
CARROLL COUNTY INDEPENDENT
Thursday November 2, 2006
Kayaker Drowns - Conway Man was a Teacher at Kennett
On Saturday, October 28th a 36 year-old Conway man, Clifford L. Eisner, drowned while kayaking with two male companions in the East Branch Riber in Bartlett. At approximately 4:55 PM Eisner rolled over in his kayak and was unable to right himself. According to witnesses Eisner separated from his kayak and struggled towards shore, however he was overcome by the force of the river. At that time, river conditions were very high and fast and contained a lot of debris due to heavy rains recieved throughout the state on Saturday.
Eisner's body was recovered six miles downstreamin the Saco River behind the North Conway Fire Department. Eisner was an experienced kayaker and was wearing a flotation device at the time of the accident. Local weather observer Briggs Bunker of North Conway reported thar a total of 3.73 inces of rain fell from Friday Evening, October 27 throgh Sunday Evening, October 29th. The river stage in North Conway rose from 3.8 on saturday morning to 11.9 by 3 AM sunday. The flow of the river inbvreased from 900 cfs to 24000 cfs during this time.
