Getting Destroyed Kayaking the Chattahoochee section 3 at 6.8 feet 

A literal “what not to do” video from start finish. Excellent example of not knowing what you don’t know when beginning new adventures. The outcome is nothing short of a miracle. Thanks for posting. Glad you all made it!

Glad everyone is ok! This was close to ending very differently. Hopefully, new boaters can learn several things from this video. Never get on a flooded river unless you and your team have solid rescue skills, and a roll. Always have the inexperienced boater(s) in the middle of the group, NEVER lead a swimmer into entanglement hazards while trying to get them out of the water. (She was incredibly lucky not to have gotten trapped on a strainer), If a member of your group disappears like she did, you DO NOT continue down the river; she could have easily been trapped with no one there to help and it is incredibly dangerous to continue down a flooded river solo, (as later seen in the video). People over boats, too much in this video was on saving the boat. Get the swimmer(s) out safely, then your team gets out, regroup, and go to plan B. I always appreciate people posting videos like this so others can learn and hopefully stay safe on the river.

Man, this brings back some painful memories. I’m glad you guys are all ok. We were less than a half mile into our run in 2016 when things went as bad as possible. One of my best friends got in an awful position and was unable to surface on his own. We were in no position to start a rescue mission in time, as he was at the rear of the pack. His kayak caught up to us, and we didn’t see him. It wasn’t until the next day when he was recovered. Even though the other 6 of us didn’t see it happen, we all live with nightmares of what we pictured happened. I was an avid kayaker for a decade up until that point. Hitting the water every weekend. I gave it up that very day. Strictly just lazy river fishing floats for me. You don’t know what true danger is until you’re in it, and I don’t care to find out. Keep your heads on straight, and don’t take any shortcuts when it comes to safety. RIP Lee-Boy.

Great video of what not to do. Seriously thanks for sharing. We all make poor choices, posting this video is a great reminder of a river that is normally in our skillset that can morph into a much more difficult beast.

I am glad everyone is ok. I appreciate you exposing yourself to the internet's harsh scrutiny to let others learn from your mistake. We all need to keep safety in mind. Thank you!

I knew this was going to be eventful within the first 2 seconds.

Thank you for posting this video, there is a wealth of knowledge to be learned from mistakes, and its nice if people can learn from others mistakes without all the trauma of the experience. To all the snarky commenters, what good is it to shame a person for a fault they already admitted and are now remedying? It's literally the most humble way to handle the situation and teach others.

Hoollyyyy Shiiiit. I'm going to man's this a suggested watch for all my intro students. This is exactly what i tell them to watch out for when starting out. Know before you go. And if it's brown, turn around. By sharing this video, you have saved lives. So glad you all made it out alive.

Thanks for posting this. Your breathing when you capsized (and the rest of the way) tells the entire story. Things can go very wrong very quickly when rivers are at flood stage and sometimes it is best to leave the launching boat ramp and go grab a coffee instead. The water sets the rules. Always. Man, glad y'all are OK. That could have ended very differently.

Heart pounding. I too am glad you shared this. It's a good reminder to think ahead and be prepared. No flooded rivers for me, thanks.

Never ever swim towards the shore when there are trees and branches in this strong current, that was a really bad decision to be hounest. Once you get stuck in these branches, the current will pull you down and you will drown. Never ever try to touch the bottom with your legs, just keep floating as flat as possible until you reach a calmer part of the river or an island without driftwood. Glad you all made it, this is a video with some valuable lessons. Cheers from the Netherlands.

Thanks for posting this very well may save somebodies life. You handled the comments with grace too. God bless.

"Don't let go. Quit lettin' go!" Such noble advice!

That exact thing happened to me on my first trip in a kayak. Took the roll class and friends took me to a river. They didn't expect it to be so high but said it will be fine. I think I got a half a mile and rolled couldn't get back up and bailed ended up on a rock in the middle of the river which turned into a rescue. After they dragged me to shore they said the rail trail is up this bank, walk to the take out almost three miles and left me on the bank with the boat and my gear. Started dragged the kayak and after about half way they had sent a ranger up the trail in a pick up to find me. Never got in a kayak again, was nearly my last day on Earth. Thanks ex buds!!

You started with one kayak and ended up with another. That's a crazy ride. Glad you all made it out of there.

Thank you for sharing. Glad everyone got out safely.

I hope know better these days, but there were times when I can imagine if I ended up in the same bad situation I could have made some of the bad decisions shown here. This video is extremely educational for all of us, thank you very much for posting it.

I'm glad everyone is ok and thank you for posting this. All around this was a messed up group of paddlers who never should have been on this river! Many will and can learn from this video.

An accident waiting to happen, happened! Count thyself lucky...very lucky indeed! Years ago I used to give a talk called, "Levels of The Game" in which I described the importance of knowing your level of technical competence and staying within that level. As I used to point out, most of us came up through an educational system that told us to "take chances" and "risk being wrong." While that works well most of the time in the academic world in the world of nature every test is pass/fail no make up allowed! And the first test you fail may be the last test you ever take!

Thank you for sharing your experience. I am glad you all made it, that was a very dangerous situation. I hope other kayakers will see this and be reminded of the power of whitewater and seek to learn how to keep themselves and others. You are doing a very good thing by sharing the dangers people should watch out for.

These lines in the video description are something to learn from as well: "Well, Charlie was able to make it all the way and even saved our boats! He's our hero!" Yikes. I'm sure you'd agree now that there are no heroes from this paddling day and that 'people over gear/boats' is the way to go. You're all fortunate to survive this one. Thanks for your honesty in your follow-up comments here in the chat. It's so clear that you used this as a major learning experience and took lots of steps after... Wishing you (and everyone here) the best for future fun and safe adventures on the water!!

Much thanks for posting this; it's a genuine, selfless public service. I will share this with a number of friends (and I have subscribed). I read through all the comments as well. I'm very glad that you all survived that day and have since proactively learned much! Pardon this question: you mentioned that Charlie's run was smoother because he was on the Torrent. I'm an old fart that has paddled much my whole life, but never significant whitewater. I don't YET know how to roll, but am eager to nail it. In the meanwhile, I'm seriously considering buying a sit-on-top whitewater boat. (I've looked at the Torrent, but lean much more towards the Fluid "Do it Now"). Like many, in the past a sit-on-top was out of the question for me. But being 63 and as of yet not having rolls down, and the only local whitewater being a relatively short run (in and out, over and over) of new artificial features in the local river, not having to trouble with a skirt is attractive. How does Charlie like his Torrent, and is he still paddling it? By the way, I love floodwaters and have long paddled them often, mainly because of the backwaters that open up.

Dam, I was panicking before you even started!

Brown water would be an indicator of later trouser colour 😁

Little problems can become big, when you’re out on the water. Looked like your kayak got stuck in a hydraulic, I’m glad you didn’t get stuck. I’m happy everyone made it out safe! Thanks for sharing

Incredible video, thank you for sharing. Me and my family bought a couple of inflatable paddle boards we have taken down the Hooch a couple of times during low water, from buford dam to settles bridge. We flipped last time as 20 mile rock/rescue rock, so ive been watching videos to learn more about hoe to stay safe. This was really helpful and we definitely wont be on the ruver during a water release! Glad yall were okay

We bought a brand new 18 ft aluminum Canoe in the spring of 74 ... one month later wrapped it around a boulder in West Virginia. This Video is very exciting on that exact same level. Right up there with our 400 foot destroyer going under the sea in the F5. Like the song says, " Sometimes water gets rough..."

Completely irresponsible for people with such low skills to be paddling at high water. That was only Class II - III whitewater. Very little maneuvering required; simply stay in the middle, ride the waves and stay out of the trees. At least one paddler/swimmer with no concept of self rescue or how to assist a rescuer made it more dangerous than necessary. I guess this can be seen as a cautionary tale and may save other unskilled/inexperienced paddlers from trying something similar.

Very easy to be critical of this. I'm shocked that this even happened. Definitely happy they all made it out alive and seriously hope they will take up some professional training with qualifed/experienced clubs/kayakers.

Thank you for posting this! I've gotten complacent paddling after watching this.

Wow. Terrifying. Not to sound like an ahole, but did yall have your combat rolls down before this and just couldn't hit them in those conditions?

Remind never to rob a bank with this guy......the alrm went off and he left tracy standing in the street with money 😂 "hoping tracy got to shore" was priceless.....as if that somehow makes it ok to ditch your partner in a river rapid to drown.

I've seen this so many times out on the river. After paddling for 25 years, I'm of the opinion that class 3 water isn't for people who can't roll. If you don't have the discipline to get your roll down in flatwater first, then class 2, maybe whitewater kayaking isn't for you.

'im nervous and excited' Peter Griffin 2023

I’m so glad you are all OK! And thank you for posting a video of this frightful adventure. you show guts fighting through it and also fighting through the stupid troll comments that are sprinkled throughout here

Thank you for sharing your video. A friend and myself are just getting into kayaking. We did a small tour with class 1 and class 2 waves and on sit on kayaks. I came off on every rapid. I watched your video holding my breath the whole way! Thank you for sharing. It will definitely help those of us who are new to this sport but I never will ever paddle a river like that one..lol.. I'm thinking the lake is perfect for me :) Glad you are all ok. I was really worried watching it.

THANK YOU for posting this!

Fair play for posting this. Hopefully it will help educate future paddlers

Lucky break. Great video. Glad you guys made it out!

step one, get side to side with the capsized boat. step two, Cockpit facing you pull sideways and push back of boat down (float bags are stored here). step three, Once you push down pull front across boat emptying it of water and slide to other side. step four, wayyy lighter to tow to shore.

I was a trainee raft guide in Haiming, Austria 1996. We were encouraged to witness as many bad situations as possible. Our instructors would purposefully get us stuck in waves, take our paddles. Take our flip lines. One time i witnessed my friend Andrew get sucked into a hole and he didn’t resurface. I’ll never forget that feeling of seeing him go and because of the river flow we were getting further and further away from him. You feel utterly useless so i REALLY felt for you when you were on that island. *Andrew resurfaced 45seconds later 😅

Ive run this at 7'2" and its not bad, there are a few holes to stay out of, and trees, and if like me you can not roll, do not go for your boat go for the bank. Your boat will be highway 52 for pick up.

I watched this start to end. I’m glad it turned out ok. Last time I swam was in the Arkansas River in Browns Canyon. Something you never forget. Part of the sport that you need to be trained and prepared for. This video is a great training video. Thanks for sharing.

Man, i live about a mile from lake seminole which is the southern most point of the hooch. Its about 200 yards wide and several holes 40+ feet deep and slow as molasses. Its unreal, the contrast between here and there. I kayak when i go hunting, 1.5 miles down and then 1.5 miles back up river. Man im glad you all made it out of that river.

Great video. There is no substitute for experience. I use to teach "Safety Afloat" to boy scout adults. I always started off each session asking how many people had had life threading experiences on water. amazingly there was almost 80% of people raising their hands. River at flood are always dangerous. We got on the Chattahoochee above Helen in our whitewater kayaks late one afternoon. As we came around a curve in the river we could see tree tops. We got out to scout. It was a large, double drop waterfall. There was no mention of this waterfall in the river guide book we had. We tethered our kayaks together and slowly started lowering them along the waterfall. Well, one kayak slid over into the river and filled with water. Quickly all of them were full of water. We spent an hour getting them all out and getting back on the river. It was beginning to get dark and it was hard to see the rocks in the river when we finally arrived at our takeout. After that, never got on a river I didn't know after noon. That was the second time I had taken out at dark. Saved my bacon several years later when my buddies wanted to get on a class V river, didn't know the water level, didn't know the river, I waited for them at the take out. Two walked out. One got chased by a bull and hung up on an electric fence, one had gone over a waterfall backwards and hurt his arm and cracked his helmet, and one made it to the take out. We got a motel that night. The next day went back in to get the kayaks that were left. A friendly farmer took us to the edge of the canyon at the back of his property where we hiked in and got the kayaks, and paddled them down the rest of the river to the take out.

I'll stick to my hot tub clinging to Bertie my rubber duck, thankyou very much! 🥰

This was very bad play calling, I’m sure y’all learned a life saving lesson for the future & this is a great video to express a few safety red flags! You led your wife directly into strainers. At higher water a branch is going to snap almost immediately against the weight of a person and the current. She would’ve been better off floating in the main flow until that river bank. The first eddy you missed after you realized you didn’t see her wouldve made this entire rescue story different. Panic happens n so does shit! But by golly please go by the rule of do you feel comfortable being the only rescuer and do you have someone to rescue you! If not, invite more boaters for your excursion. This was hard to watch my friends I’m glad y’all are okay! A really good educational video - thanks for putting it out for newer kayakers to learn from!

why do people do this on such bad fast rapids/water? how is this fun?

This is a series of bad decisions. I've been paddling for 23 years. Let me share with you some things that I've learned. It's O.K. to turn around and go home, or go to an easier river because plan A was too high. Flood stage adds the danger of the side of the river is all up in the trees, but you certainly know that now! When I do a "Step up" run, I make sure that I'm one of the weaker paddlers in the group. I want people who are familiar with the run at the current flow and I want people who act quickly and know how to rescue. I've been invited on trips that I thought might turn into a shit show and turned down the invitation. I do my best to avoid shit shows. I will admit that it's been a while, but I have been the shit show more than once. Learn how to swim using your paddle, instead of swimming one handed while dragging it. It makes a world of difference. If I ever left my wife like that, I'd be sleeping with the dog indefinitely! Be safe out there!

Ummm....isnt getting back in the kayak one of the first drills before going downriver? Also as a one-time-only rafter we backpaddled into most of the big stuff i guess to increase maneuver time.

Beastmode through the fear. This guy is a G

17:59 Is that a lowhead dam?

@6:05 when you look back at Tracy, that's the moment after which it's pretty much everybody for themselves. You are REALLY LUCKY (kayaker for 49 years).

wow. im a long time paddler from northern california love the honest video. glad you all made it. homie get your ass on some flat water and learn to control your egdes, like for example paddle fast set an egde( start a turn) , get your paddle vertical on the inside of the turn use your opposite or outside knee to tune the angle and paddle in circles holding your turn by using your edge. do this both wAYS then in reverse until you can do it all day . its basic but you will gain the control to help catch all those eddies you missed. please dont take this to be judgy i used to charge the shit out of rivers with no technique and i mean that. you either back up and pay your dues or just keep pushing your luck.. for me a class in durango on slalom changed everything , i went from class 3 paddler charging class5 to a reasonably good boater over a few years.just step back, lay the groundwork then get out there and run it! truly not judging just what i would say to a friend and i consider all who love the river a friend. peace like a river homie.

Holy cow! Sooo many basic safety rules broken! A few: 1. Assess the river. It was up in the trees when you put in - many, many lethal strainers ahead! 2. Keep together! 3. When someone swims EVERYONE goes to assist! 4. Get to the swimmer - get your stern loop so they can grab it. 5. The swimmer should hang onto paddle, if they can. The swimmer should grab the stern loop and HANG ON, and KICK in time with the paddle strokes of the boater. WAIT until the water is really shallow - ankle deep- before trying to stand up. Hike to your boat. 6. After the swimmer is safe, get boats & gear. Get boats, gear & swimmer on the same side of the river! 7. DO NOT paddle away from a swimmer until they are safely on shore!

You guys need to spend about 2 weeks in pools learning a combat roll. I've seen this end very sadly many times. Glad you ALL are alive.

I'm glad that you guys were okay, but so many things went wrong here. Before you get back on the river, you need a new paddle, learn how to roll in a combat situation, and especially take swiftwater rescue to learn how to safely and efficiently rescue somebody and their gear, and how to swim when in a rapid

glad you posted this as if for nothing else on a lesson on what not to do when going out on a river , always check the river levels , if your going to go on moving water with even a grade 2 rapid you should be either trained or be capable of self or group rescue and have the extra equipment with you to do so , at nearly 12.30 the caption "hoping she made it to shore" , you dont hope you check regardless of a kayak floating off down the river ,, this was a complete sh@t show from the beggining and always remember kayaks etc can be replaced , you life carnt !!! stay safe on the river glad your all ok

Glad you all made it

As a new kayaker (1 year) I'd never kayak on a river without an experienced rescuer, even a grade 2. I'm happy to kayak on flat water alone but I can roll and accept the possibility some random badness could happen. Even on flat water you can try to roll a couple of times and get a mouthful of water and it's not pleasant and certainly an eyeopener when you have to pull the deck. Glad you're okay!

Excellent brother… Fluk I had tears in my eyes. Glad you are all okay.. god bless from ca dude.

Glad everyone is ok, a lot of poor decisions made but hi d sight is 20-20. Hope you all learned a lot and aren't taking unnecessary risks like this anymore. It was like watching a horror movie, every time i was thinking "dont do that", "that" was done. Stay safe out there.

That first dip was insane! You almost had it!

I just have one question. Why?

That was awesome! Not for yall obviously 😂 but thank u for sharing and glad everyone was ok

hell of a video glad it worked out the hooch is a mean one

Isnt there deadly wildlife in there? Not to mention cant see in the waters at all

What is she doing if she can’t swim or know basic stuff on what to do if you lose your kayak

You guys were out classed. Should have never been on the river. Glad everyone is safe and had on pfd's.

It seemed like a good idea at the time, right? Great public service film. Glad y'all are safe!

take a swift water rescue course, keeping toes up, and downriver, can also save your life.

Do you ever see whirlpools? when your kayaking

Looks awesome and scary. Glad you guys are okay

Atleast there was a nice lawn chair wating for ya in that tree.

When I saw the guy paddling the sit on top at flood stage, I knew there was going to be trouble. Glad everyone made it out ok. I feel your pain! This outing reminds me of a similar event when I started kayaking. I had just began whitewater kayaking at the end of the previous summer. It was early spring and got talked into running a 4+ (my 1st 4+) on the Kern in CA at flood stage at 4000+ CFS. My buddies were better paddlers than me and shouldn't have egged me on, particularly since my roll wasn't bomber, but the blame lies solely with me because I made the decision to go. Fairly soon in the run, I flipped in a hole at the top of 4+, which at that level, ran into a 4. I bailed and lost my kayak and paddle and was exerting a ton of energy trying to make it to the side before the long 4 ahead. I was able to get there by grabbing onto a branch with all my strength, like you did, and I got to shore. Honestly, if I hadn't made it to shore then, I don't know what I would have done, because I had no energy left. I didn't run another river at flood stage for 2 more years and by then I had my offside and hands roll down. Definitely learned a tough beginners lesson. My buddies did recover my kayak and paddle and finished the run.

Flood stage rivers are so difficult to deal with swim situations because they don't give you any downtime, the water is moving so fast. Combined w those damn thick bushes lining the sides that was rough

so not a huge kayaker but why didn't you let go of your paddle?

Why would you lead her into sweepers?

wow. glad yall lived. i always wondered what this looks like at flood stage. it's very similar to the hooch below buford dam during a release (class 2-3 when each wave and bump is taken individually, but actually class 4 cause they aren't individual and it's continuous and class 5-5+ if someone swims and needs to get to shore). your video really shows how at flood stage the banks become strainers and it makes for that class 5 swim. the hole you flipped in at 18:00 is first ledge of the rapid 3 ledges (second ledge isn't visible, and you got out on top of 3rd ledge). when the river is around 4-ish feet there's potential for a possibly terminal hole on river left, but it was washed out. you probably weren't gonna be able to paddle out even with a bomb proof roll. rolling up doesn't magically get you out of that low head dam kind of hole, and it's got enough power to loop you even if you can stabilize a surf. the technique is frantic paddling on the downstream side while side surfing to claw your way to the edge of the hole where water is flowing past. That's WAY easier to type than to actually do. i teach beginners on this section (at normal levels), so i'm intimately familiar with the run. i bet this is actually more difficult at 4 feet because a lot of what I expected to see at the buck island and canoe eating rock section was so far underwater it was out of play. but also at that level if you swim, you aren't going full george of the jungle to get to land. as for the recovery. commenters here underestimate the difficulty of getting back upstream. yeah, everything about that was as bad as it could be, but you can't just bippityboppitybloop your boat back upstream to pick someone up. "but he should have caught an edd"[batman slap] THERE ARE NO EDDIES! everything's underwater! for what it's worth if it comes up again, I like to swim in the middle of the river when i'm in the chocolate milk and look downstream for a better place to exit. pushing a capsized kayak is always gonna be a struggle; i like to bump it around so i'm downstream of it, facing upstream at it, with the upstream end of the sunk boat pointing towards the shore i'm trying to go to. put my bow into the sunk boat's cockpit and that lets me paddle with both hands (try it on the lake sometime). i use that method more than the rescue cowtail on my pfd. once again, easier to type than to do cause pushing a capsized creekboat in current is like stopping a ford f150 someone left in drive. also it's nice when everyone has practiced a boat over boat rescue and deepwater reentry. probably wouldn't have been successful here, but having options is good and swimming an empty boat in is more realistic. anyone worth paddling with has been in a situation where they realized they made a critical oopsie. glad yall kept at it.

I was swimming at a local swimming hole, and stepped off into a deep spot with a little white water and was getting pushed underneath the riverbank and willow roots, i tried fighting my way out, and got to the point where my face was the only thing above water, and i was so wore out, so YELLED for help!!! 2 guys and my brother came an pulled me out, it was embarrassing because most the spots were only about waist deep, but when i realized i was stuck it felt like my heart stopped and my stomach turned.

Dude in the red boat saved the day

That was intense, I love to kayak, and I thought about going down White River in Indiana when it floods, but after seeing this, I don't think I'll try it. There's been several people killed trying to go down it while flooded .

This looks life-threatening based on your skills and the level of the river. Glad you made it out because it could have very easily ended differently.

That was intense!!! Thanks for sharing!

What brand was that red kayak?

I love how bro just keeps going like she’s gonna just appear saved on the shore 😂

I just went kayaking with my girlfriend and it was her first time and dude I was scared as hell just from the little shit we had to deal with. This is insane dude

Glad y'all are alive and well. Stay safe

Wow thats a weird situation. Glad yall are all ok

Wow, that was some crazy kayaking... glad everyone's ok.

"Grab a branch or something?" I've cleaned Cl V. Glad you are alive. "Grab a branch or something?!?!" Take a whitewater rescue course. Good gravy.

There's high water, then there's flood stage. I used to run flood stage in my 20s and 30s when I thought I was invincible. Last time I did the same thing happened. Started with 4 people on Wilsons after 6 days of rain and only I made it down. 2 lost boats, six broken ribs, and a water rescue so I don't run it that high anymore

So the dude went and rescued the boat before he even knew if his friends were alive or not? Be careful who you boat with!

Hay cocodrilos en esas aguas?

Yeah, but what a thrill! If you had to explain, they wouldn’t understand! Rock on!👍🇺🇸❤️

"I don't know what to do" wow! not the words you want to hear from someone you do adventures with, wow!

W in the heck did he find your kayaks? I've done the flint twice at flood stage. It wasn't this big but it is unnerving when you cant see over the next wave. We had one concussion, i lost iphone and 3 over adrenalined kayakers

This is why I love my packraft. If you go out, you just flip it and hop right back in.

Geez that was difficult to watch. I went through a bad (fishing) kayak situation a few weeks back and it put the fear in me. I had to get hauled out of the water.

Lesson learnt? Flooded rivers are dangerous ,even for skilled paddlers. Flush drowning is very real. Scout , safety. and backup plans