But below Niagara falls, in the Niagara Gorge the river drops over 300
feet in seven miles - and over 200,000 cubic feet of water often booms
and pounds, reverberating into the very core of the Earth. Moving at
over 30 miles per hour in a gorge, at times 250 feet wide, the Niagara
River creates the largest standing waves in North America.
On August 29th 1975 a thirty-seven foot long air inflated rubber and
nylon raft belonging to Niagara Gorge River Trips Inc. (owned by George
Butterfield of Toronto) carrying twenty-seven tourists and two pilots
capsized in the Whirlpool Rapids throwing everyone into the churning
white water. Three passengers died from drowning and twenty-six
survived. The accident occurred during the 11th trial run of this raft
tour through the Niagara River rapids. The raft had departed from the
Maid of the Mist dock at the base of the Prospect Point Tower and was
about two miles down river of a five mile route to Lewiston, New York.
Accident victims: The three dead persons were identified as: Julia
Martinez, age 30 of Toronto; David Ross, age 37 of Toronto and Anthony
Sawczyk, age 24 of Niagara Falls, New York. Three of the survivors were
admitted to the Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center with serious
injuries. Each of the passengers had paid fee of $20 for this journey.
The youngest passenger was 16 years old and the oldest was 52 years old.
Four of the passengers were women. To further add to this tragedy, one
man, piloting a 22 foot - 250 horsepower jet boat pilot died of a heart
attack while attempting to recover this raft from the Whirlpool of the
Niagara Gorge.
Previous 10 Trips Down the Niagara River: On May 23, 1972 the standing
waves threw the two 35 foot (12 meter) nylon-rubber rafts high into the
air. On July 26, 1972, during a trail run, six passengers were thrown
into the rapids. They were able to be saved by the second raft only
after they had been swept downstream into the Whirlpool. On August 5th
1972, during its maiden commercial voyage, a pontoon was torn away in
the first rapid and one passenger was plunged into the rapids. On August
13th 1972, seven people riding through the Whirlpool Rapids were thrown
overboard. Luckily no fatalities were reported. On the second August
13, 1972 trip, seven people were thrown overboard. The commercial
Niagara Rapids trips were then discontinued and have never been resumed
to this date.
Niagara Gorge Background: The New York State Department of Parks, by
regulation, prohibits launching a boat from park property, which is the
only feasible access from the US side to the rapids above the whirlpool.
The old regulation provided for the issuance of permits and it was that
regulation that boaters exploited to gain access in 1987. Subsequently,
the regulation was modified to adopt an absolute boating prohibition
above the whirlpool. American Whitewater was unsuccessful in their
challenge to that regulation. There have been some efforts to secure
legislation or a revised regulation that would permit limited access,
but, to date, they have been unsuccessful.
