did yo hear about the nile river death

here is a link to it
www.fionajarvie.co.uk/diary/2006/02/sad-...-news-from-nile.html :jawdropper: :jawdropper: :jawdropper: :cry2: :cry2: :cry2: :cry2:

that's sad man

We heard.
It is a very sobering reminder of the real hazards involved in our favorite sport.
Our familly has (on other sites) extended a wish of sympathy and strength to the familly and friends of the french paddler who was lost and wishes to do so again here on the playak website.

i'm glad to hear that

his name was Marc Villebrun. He had come to Uganda not only to paddle but also to conduct a project named 'make kayak not war' that would help children from Uganda learn paddling.
His body was recovered today
[img:24ce8364d5]www.3-o.org/makekayaknotwar/blog/themes/...eciel/img/header.jpg[/img:24ce8364d5]

www.eauxvives.org/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=12396 (french forum)

Man it was really sobering to hear. Makes you realize that there is a real danger in this sport.

It is always upsetting to hear of such a loss, my sincere condolences to all those affected by this tragedy. A reminder to us all to play safe.

a real wake up call. always sad to hear about a fellow paddlers death.

also this is the first death ever on the nile river

sad sad sad folks, a brief reminder of the danger-factor in our sport..

i fit was not for the kayakers thinking that the nile river was easy there would still be no deaths

You don't know that Marc thought the river was easy - even experienced boaters can make mistakes. It would be easy to think the Nile is deep enough not to have to worry about keeping your feet up (his death was reported as a foot entrapment) or maybe he couldn't - maybe he got sucked down by the boil line and nothing he could have done would have helped - we don't know and we probably never will. We can't make generalised assumptions about why he died.

"i fit was not for the kayakers thinking that the nile river was easy there would still be no deaths"

Well that's untrue as well - locals die on the Nile. Children drown people commit suicide at Bugagali falls. This is the first kayaking death not the first death. Any river that is paddled a lot is likely to have a death on it at some stage - I don't think it's the standard of kayaker it more that the nile has become a more popular destination increasing the statistical probability that something like this would happen.

Let's not forget that someone, one of our own boating community, has died. Thoughts and condolences to his family, friends and most of all those who were there with him and were powerless to help.

My regards to his family and friends.

[color=cyan:d051e57b05]Death is a really horrible situation to deal with. It makes a person wonder why we do the things we do sometimes. Unfortunately it is a part of our sport. Even with all the training and experience and safety, there are still too many factors that are beyond our control. Itanda rapid is a class 5/6 big volume run and when an individual decides to run a rapid of such magnitude then he/she is (hopefully) aware of the consequences of screwing up a line, or taking a swim. In the same breathe, accidents do and can happen on easy sections of whitewater too. It is a real shame that accidents do happen and I'm sure many people are asking why. My condolences to all of the friends and family of Marc Villebrun.[/color:d051e57b05]

why would you want to risk your life in a class 5/6 rapid if you don't have the proper safety

Thats the whole thing with rapids in the class 5/6 realm. They are very often tough to put safety up. Sometimes due to steep cliffs or on large volume rivers such as the Nile, the river is so broad, what use is a throwbag? Not too much. Get stuck in a recirculating hole on a large volume river and chances are it's far from the bank. Even if it's not. You ain't going to be able to see the rope anyway because you're being tossed around.

He actually (according to Fiona Jarvies report) swam on the Hump then went down on the seam line where the current from the Hump meets that from Ribcage - meaning he was above bugagali - hardly your Class 6....

Folks, People die (including paddlers) in much smaller water. There is no shortage of class 2 river incidents over the last 20 year.
It is a reality and despite the best safety in the world it can still happen.

Let's not forget the reason for this discussion and stop and offer a moment of peace for the fellow paddler who is lost to his family and friends.

it is just knowing your skill level

Oops sorry, i thought it was in Itanda...

still if he would have of known his skill level we would have probably have had one more paddler in our world

[color=orange:a3034a175c][size=18:a3034a175c]Im srry to hear that sucks that all the adrenaline we get from paddling that it can be takin away with one false move. That if we screw up we can die and it never runs through our mind will doing the sport... [/size:a3034a175c][/color:a3034a175c]

this is a truley sadening story my condolences go out to all of his freinds and family but at least he had fun while it lasted this little poem means alot to me im not sur eif it goes exact;y like this but it gets the meesage across

y run wen u mite fall over
y skip wen u mite trip
y love wen u get cud get get hurt
y live wen u mite die

because life is all about having fun

paddlin for me is about having fun not paddlin class 6 killer rapids and 100 waterfalls.....

same here

[color=cyan:5ae97f90a5]It's good to push the limits a little every now and then but generally just to be outside and discover new places is what makes paddling so damn addictive.[/color:5ae97f90a5]

Yea, But I love pushing myself. That is somthing I love to do. You just have to do it smartly (not saying this guy didnt). You shouldnt go from class 3 to class 5.

yeah progess class 1 by 1