~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
At 2:30 am early last Wednesday morning, a group of us came into Glasgow: mostly a bunch of very friendly guys from Texas in solo and tandem boats, and me way back at the tail end. As usual, Glasgow looked really dark and sleepy that time of night. Circling around to pick a spot to head under the bridge, I swear Scott’s safety meeting video came to mind and remember lining up to enter the span right down the middle, which would be the span closest to the checkpoint so I didn’t have to fight the current from the center.
(I looked online and I think this is where I was...)
All went well as the boat glided under the bridge until it hit the center—at which point, my boat was suddently pulled sideways and backwards towards the huge debris field located on the right concrete support. I just couldn’t believe it, and it happened in two seconds. There was no way I could paddle against the current which grabbed my boat, and then next, the boat was pulled around to the front of the support and lodged under the branches of a huge strainer with the current roaring around the bridge’s concrete support in front of me. When I put my paddle in the water to try to push to a more stable position, it was instantly taken and sucked under the boat on its leash. In this type of dangerous situation, I had little hope at that time of anyone being able to rescue me since it would be too treacherous for anyone to come near, I figured my best shot was to yell out for help and alert people so they’d know why I disappeared.
After a minute or two, the current got stronger and my boat suddenly flipped and I found myself upside down being pushed backward into the strainer debris field against the concrete support. I quickly exited the boat and was caught up in the the strong hydraulics under the bridge, which had me doing cartwheels underwater . I had to swim hard to get my head above water, and remember gasping for breath and being so relieved to have been able to come up from the bottom, and not be caught by the large logs and branches underwater. I have a waist pack PFD but did not inflate it at the time because I was worred about entanglement with the debris.
Having finally cleared the bridge, the current began sweeping me downriver. It was so strong that I could feel my clothing being torn off me, so I was trying to swim and keep my pants on, too. Not so easy.
Now free from the bridge, I decided to inflate my waist PFD “just in case.” It was the first time I’d ever had to use it, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. The yellow life-vest type device instantly puffed up and I tried to get my head into the head area, but it was too small for a human head. So I grabbed the inflated PFD and held it to my chest like a paddleboard while I waved and yelled to the people gathered at the checkpoint. I saw lights shining on me, and I verified who I was. The inflated PFD was very bright and I think it made me easier to spot in the dark. Two of my fellow racers launched out and threw me tow ropes, and somehow they were able to help me get to shore. To those two guys who managed to fight the current to help me get back on land, heartfelt thanks. I hope you’ll identify yourselves so we know who you are!
As I crawled back on land, my ground crew driver Kerry’s son, Nick, and his wife met me with a space blanket and helped me get up and walk. It had all happened so fast and I was disoriented, cold, and a bit in shock from the whole situation. My original plan had been to get to Glasgow, take some supplies, and shove back off immediately for the next checkpoint. Had been still feeling fresh and wanting to get as far as I could.
Next, River Relief launched a boat and they tried to see where my boat was. And according to someone, they’d tried to bounce their boat and make a large enough wake to dislodge the boat from the branches. After about ten tries, they had to give up. I was told that the Army Corps of Engineers might be able to help the next day, since they were in charge of clearing debris and had equipment.
When the sun came up, I walked down to the launch and heard my boat was still stuck on the support. When I looked under the span where I’d passed, I saw a tell-tale rip line which those of us who fish in the oceans know .. it’s a sign of a hole, with a hydraulic. The rip line extended from the debris strainer all the way to the center of the span. That’s why the debris strainer there was so big— a circulating current under the bridge was bringing things over to it.
By 9 am that morning, Kerry and I drove to the Army Corps office located in Glasgow, and met with Don Woods, who was the only one on duty at the time. He said all the Corps staff were away, and said we could follow him to City Hall to talk to everyone there. I described what had happened to me, and also told him about the rip line I’d seen. He confirmed there are strong circulating currents there and told me that anything could happen under that bridge with the strength of the currents at that time. At Glasgow City Hall, the staff decided to call the Glasgow Police and Fire Department. Almost as soon as the phone receiver went down, we saw the Glascow Police zoom by and so we all headed to the launch to see what could be done.
At the launch, we could see both Steve and Dave from River Relief climbing on top of the huge strainer debris field in front of the bridge support. Their boat was parked right behind the support. I was absolutely terrified for their safety, but people told me they were experienced with climbing on things like that to clear the rivers from garbage.
The Glasgow Fire Department came over with their rescue boat and squad cars, and talked with Karin from Rivermiles about using the launch for a few minutes. First we saw Steve and Dave from River Relief get my paddle, and then suddenly, my boat rounded the concrete support on its own, and began floating downstream towards the Glasgow Fire rescue boat. They grabbed the boat and towed it to the launch. As we ran over we could see it was in perfect shape, and my deck bag was still there, the cell phone had survived inside a dry bag, and even my two bags of clothing and supplies were still inside the boat. It was a miracle.
Kerry and I drove off to Bass Pro shops to get a re-arming cylinder for my PFD, as well as new deck lights (which had floated off) and sunglasses (ditto).
When I came back, Karin asked me if I was going back into the race and I told her YES. All of us were smiling and elated to have the whole situation resolved so positively. Getting back in my boat felt like the most normal and happy thing I could do.. and it felt great. Many of the townspeople from Glasgow were at the launch enjoying the race, and they came up to me and asked what happened. One older farmer listened, and then advised, “You thank the Good Lord today you are safe!” Amen.
At the awards ceremony, Karin said some fishermen had found my SPOT tracking unit and gave it to her. I turned on the unit and pushed the button to register my final track.. the finish line at St Charles.
Thanks to: Kerry Recker, son Nick and his wife, the paddlers who helped me get to shore, Steve, Dave and Vicki from Missouri River Relief, Glasgow launch volunteers, Don Woods from Army Corps of Engineers, Glasgow City Hall, Fire Department and Police, and the fishermen who found my SPOT.. and Rivermiles staff, especially Karin.
In case anyone's wondering, my boat is a QCC 700x in kevlar layup, yellow deck with black accents, and she's named MIZZOU.
<
Pages: 1 2
Story-- Glasgow Bridge Accident (Read 18625 times)