Grand Rapids Whitewater » raft http://grandrapidswhitewater.org Putting Rapids back in the Grand River Tue, 01 Mar 2011 20:31:29 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Low-Head Dam Dangers http://grandrapidswhitewater.org/2009/04/low-head-dam-dangers/ http://grandrapidswhitewater.org/2009/04/low-head-dam-dangers/#comments Mon, 20 Apr 2009 22:34:15 +0000 Chip Richards http://grandrapidswhitewater.org/?p=165 Grand Rapids currently has 5 low head dams downtown.  They are also known as drowning machines.  Most fishermen are aware of the inherent dangers and know to avoid them.

“I thought maybe it was gonna be a little dam that I could go over like the whitewater rafters.  It didn’t work out like that,”  said Joe Hileski.  “I almost died.”  On Wednesday April 8, 2009, Joe set out for an adventure on the Grand River. 

Photos by Paul L. Newby II | The Grand Rapids Press

Photos by Paul L. Newby II | The Grand Rapids Press

He purchased a $20 rubber raft from Meijer and launched at Riverside Park.  “Next thing I know that dam came up awful fast and there was no stopping it.  I went all the way to the bottom and hit my head on a rock.  Somehow, miraculously, I found that raft and clung to it.”

To find out how Joe was rescued by two fishermen, read the MLive, Grand Rapids Press article  http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2009/04/man_in_raft_rescued_from_grand.html

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