Man, it’s been a tough year on our river…
http://www.localnews8.com/news/24848697/detail.html
Kelly.
Man, it’s been a tough year on our river…
http://www.localnews8.com/news/24848697/detail.html
Kelly.
That’s tough, I have gotten to know a couple of guides in passing. Good guys working hard to make a living doing what they love. It’s so easy to fall out of a boat and apparently in this case the current sank the boat also. He probably left a family behind, which is tough on them. The client made it to shore, I’m guessing they did not have waders on as the guide did.
If this is happening with any regularity the insurance carrier is going to require guides wear a PFD when in a boat or they will not provide insurance. The guides will fuss but a SOSpender or their competition is not uncomfortable.
the pfd law in idaho, especially in the snake river, is inadaquate. i’d bet this guide wasn’t wearing a pfd.
Very sad news. I’ve always enjoyed talking to Rob and was looking forward to meeting up with him in 3 weeks. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family.
Regards,
Scott
Wes,
The news article confirms your statement. He was not wearing a life jacket. An unnecessary loss. I will pray for his family.
I expressed my condolences to Rob’s family on another board.
But just so we’re clear here, waders filling up with water is not going to cause someone to sink if he or she takes a dunking.
The specific gravity of water in waders is equal to the specific gravity of the water outside of the waders.
Is this Rob the one who runs the fly shop in Victor? Idahoflyfisher?
Yes. I understand that this is the fellow.
Somehow it seems worse when it’s somebody you’ve met - we enjoyed our day with Rob on the Teton, and I keep remembering some of his wisdom.
Spoke to a guy who was on the search and rescue team today. His body was carried downstream approx. 35 miles in two days. This is unusually fast. The search teams expected to find him near the bridge where the boat capsized. I wonder if air was trapped in the lower part of his waders, making him bouyant, but upside down. Does this sound plausible?
Praying for that family!
aa
Very plausible, Lew. While I don’t think water filled waders lead to more risk on the water due to neutral buoyancy as has been explained, when wearing a wading belt (recommended), should something happen to upend you, there is a strong possiblility that the air trapped in waders could act like a bobber and serve to keep you upside down. But, at the same time, if a person is conscious, they should be able to keep their torso above water and float in a sitting position. Just my take on it. These guys we’ve lost on the river this year were very experienced, so my opinion is that something pretty serious (i.e., a blow to the head, etc.) must have happened for them not to survive as did their companions/clients. It’s a sad thing to hear of any lives lost to this type of accident. Don’t think for a moment that it won’t happen to you, these guys probably thought the same thing, and now they’re gone…we all need to take simple precautions to avoid tragedy. At the same time, sometimes all of the right preparations still can’t prevent one’s time from coming.
Prayers to all who have lost in these situations. I hope we all pay attention and learn from this tragedy.
Kelly.
Stopped by Three Rivers Ranch flyshop in Driggs to pay my respects to those who worked with Rob. Talked to Jerome, I believe; still pretty broken up about Rob’s passing, but he had some funny stories to share - the “chronic” midge was a hoot. Damn shame he’s no longer with us.
Regards,
Scott