Bull Sluice Pin on Chattooga from www.solgear.com

[coloRADodanimal]

that's nothing like the arkansas, i think i wanna learn chatooga boating

[MrGoodpliers1]

A couple of things... I would not allowed what looked like paying customers to stand right there while the z-drag was going on in case a D-ring popped. The raft on decap could have been bailed shortly after the z-drag on it was started as it was no longer taking water. Needeless wear and tear/danger from z-drag.

[SolgearMan]

@MrGoodpliers1 Agreed that customers should have their risk minimized. In this case, everyone was a guide. And while d-rings did pull (I think at least five), there wasn't a z-drag set up. There was simply enough muscle power. Enough to pull off d-rings. And agree, reduce the amount of water in the raft on decap rock to make it lighter creating less force to pull it off, or maybe stand on the rock and help push. A better anchor system to the d-rings may have saved a few as well.

[sw3210]

alls well that ends well, good learning experience and thank you for sharing that with us. loved it, demostrates river dynamics so well.

[profyost]

I ran sweep for a group of novice kayakers on sec. 3 (at about 1.7 ft, I think), and watched in disbelief as the trip leader, a reasonably experienced paddler, FORGOT Bull Sluice was there, leading the entire group into the rapid instead of the portage spot. One kayak ended up on decap rock. The leader ran the sluice upside down and broke his glasses. On the other hand, these people seem to mostly know what they're doing. I've known a number of SEE guides who were all real experts.

[christrippbarker]

bucket boats are a bitch

[blueapollo421]

ps that was bad ass

[blueapollo421]

wow i have never heard of anyone putting a raft right on top of decap like that, i know a few guides on the chattooga with the balls to do something like that.

[KillerKyah]

The time I went over Bull Sluice, our raft got caught at the bottom. It was bent into a V and filling with water fast. Our guides got us out to safety and we were able to continue our trip with no problems. The crews that work on these rivers know what they are doing and what to do in case something doesn't go as planned. I now have photos and great memories from my white water excursion. I'd love to go over it again and see what it's like when things go right.

[SuperSwiftWater]

Big props to the southeastern crew...nice work gentlemen

[drstaff]

The only "sketchy" (read impressive) thing to me was the second raft running right above decap rock to land on it. I've seen a kayak stern pinned in the crack behind decap, and these were relatively small rafts. A risk I would not have taken, but I admire the skill of the raft guide who thought he could place the raft there (I'm just a part-time amateur raft guide). That move speaks to experience.

[drstaff]

Some of the comments on here from whitewater folks surprise me. Judging by the level of the water on decap rock, the level was no higher than 2' -- well below the upper limit for running commercial trips. The outfitters know this rapid inside and out, and the rescue method (approach raft from downstream, guide knew that he was in a spot where if he flushed it was a pretty safe ride) was relatively ideal. (continue on another post ....)

[ClassicCity17]

Nice work all around! I have tried Bull Sluice twice (never successfully) in a canoe. What a rush! I wish I was on the river right now!

[GalderIncarnate]

White water rafting is a very risky, deadly, but ultimately thrilling recreational sport. From my experiences in white-water, the guys in this video are actually very experienced themselves. The recovery of that raft was executed perfectly- I was quite amazed. So yes, this sport is incredibly dangerous, but my point is- So is sky-diving and cliff-climbing. Experience is the difference between professionals and fools.----Great video.

[LapisLee]

I ran the Chattooga River in 1979 with members of the ROTC from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, where I went to cllege from 1978-1979.

[geoff1222]

i really do love reading some of these comments, im glad no one got sucked in the sive under decap. @lastcall808 its not disrespect if you know where every cubic foot of water is going, the trick is knowing which ones go down or into things and which will carry you away. nice save!! probs to the jumper for getting in there haha. im supposing yall have all been inside the cave right there?

[SolgearMan]

So to all future posts:

I think we can all agree that the above stunt is dangerous. You can attack those in the video as stupid all you want, but it would be great if there is some meat to a post that helps someone learn about real rescue technique in the river. That was the point in posting this video. I wouldn't have run Bull Sluice like that, but I probably would have had to sit and wait for the river to release my raft from the rapid on its own. We can all learn from other's mistakes.

[bdalton02]

Definitely an incredible recovery!

[bdalton02]

Going over Bull Sluice period is dangerous, and everyone who's ever run the river knows that rock is there. There's been tons of things (including people) that have gotten caught right there. Riding the bull over the rapid isn't the dangerous part, hitting the hole in the wrong spot is where they went wrong.

[SolgearMan]

Point taken and conceded. This is dangerous, but is it stupid? I would agree with you that they did not hit the intended line. But I might not be so quick to agree that riding the bull over the rapid isn't dangerous. Because like you point out, people have died there and even though risks can be mitigated, they can not be eliminated... which is why millions of people have paid to ride that bull.

[lastcall808]

These people obviously have no respect for water, I doubt any of these guys could tell you the exact weight of a square foot of freshwater. I read your comment about 90 on the freeway blah blah, 1st of all that is why the speed limit 55-70. If you did this same act everyday for lets say 14 years, like drivingon the highway......1 of you guys would be saying aloha. Haoles lol.

[SolgearMan]

Those of us who know how manage risk in swiftwater are aware of the danger... that is why we do it. Oh yeah... everyone in that video has been doing it longer than 14 years and know the forces created by "moving water" that isn't so fresh. And by the way, lastcall808, a square foot of water has no weight... those who understand water measure a cubic foot... we even factor in time... it is called CFS!

[fvoisard]

@lastcall808

the exact weight of a square foot of water is 0, on the other hand a cubic meter of water is 1000kg. from my river experience, the rescue was swift. the only thing i would have done differently would have been to empty the second boat once they limited the water uptake, it would have been much easier to slide off the rock.

[joebugg2009]

that was an amazing pin. and an even more amazing recovery. i've never seen a raft pin like that. i pinned a ducky like that on the tellico one time though.

[HowardMorland]

This operation was an irresponsible risk of life to recover a piece of equipment.

[SolgearMan]

I would argue that I take larger risks when I drive on the freeway at rush hour. Would that be considered an irresponsible risk of life to get somewhere at 5:20PM? Is it an irresponsible risk of life to entertain one's self by rafting this rapid at all? NO... we minimize risk and accept that the risk will always be there. The risks in this operation were minimized better than someone negociating the freeway during rush hour avoiding idiots texting on their phones and driving 90 MPH.

[jakeboggs27]

check out my video "jake boggs yaking video"

[CesaMan01]

No wonder the raft got pinned, your supposed to go far right not right down the middle where the rock is

[TopJimmyWinn]

People have died there I think.

[jagjs21]

yeah alot have died there. I almost did about 5 yrs ago i jumped in to pull my brother out and got swept down the rapids and busted my head on a rock luckily the waters not very deep just swift

[TopJimmyWinn]

Yeah, I looked it up in the forestry records up there, and it said eight people have died at Bull Sluice since the early 70's when they started keeping records. I think thirty something people total on the whole river since records started. But just think about through time how many have died on that river? Probably hundreds. Like Burt Reynolds said in "Deliverance", which was filmed on the Chattooga, "you don't beat it, you don't beat this river". Bye!

[trumpetofyhvh]

I can't believe that on a bet I once swam down Bull Sluice, from way above this rapid, just for fun, man that was nuts!

[talmoncus]

Higher than it has been in years. Huge!

[littlejohnny32]

what level was the water at in this video?

[bradmikeshaw]

horseplay, gets you everytime

[2t2]

Nice save Mike. Snuffy saved my life once and it wasn't on the river! Much love to my brothers.

[playaker001]

Some very good rescuing there with the line across. Was the pinned guy unconscious by the time you chaps got him out? couldn't help but notice he got swept away again =]

some great techniques though. well done.

[seevfa]

yeah peacock, yeah snuffy!!