Anyone ever gone white water rafting?

[Danger Girl]

This is a question for everybody who has been white water rafting... i am schudeled to go but i have heard a lot of horror stories!! Has anyone here ever been seriously injured? AND- my friend gets sea sick easily: how rough *are* those waters, and would you even notice it??
THANKs GUYS

[Jaiem]

If you've never gone before I hope you didn't book a trip on an advanced river run.

Just follow what the guide says and keep your cool. And enjoy yourself!

[Danger Girl]

Well no its not for advanced rafters- its a beginner thing, like a tour company set it up for us. I was just wondering how choppy the ride is gonna be and if i'm gonna get my face smashed into a rock or not!!

[Tommy]

Rapids are classed into six categories.

Class 1 = Pathetic, you wouldn't even notice the ripple
Class 2 = A little bit of choppy water
Class 3 = Good fun, gentle rapids that will put a smile on your face
Class 4 = Paddle hard and make sure you approach it right, adrenaline rush!
Class 5 = Pretty rough!
Class 6 = Don't be stoopid, you'll flip in the raft!!!

If you're going with a tour company then I would expect that you will be riding class 3 to 4 rapids. They might even be just class 3. Class 3 is fun and is good for beginners. If you are a bit adventurous then Class 4 is fun yet still safe.

The class of the rapids can vary throughout the year depending on how much rainfall there has been.

I think rafting is pretty safe, I've never heard of anyone getting injured. The quality of your ride is all donw to your guide. If you tell them that you want a gentle ride down the river they can accomodate that. On the other hand if you say you want to flip the raft then they can do that too.

About 3 years ago I had my first run down the Ocoee river somewhere not to far from Atlanta. I was pretty psyched the night before cos the guide was winding us up about the intensity of the experience. Also the safety brief was quite serious but when you get out there you find it's actually quite relaxing and all good!

With a name like Danger Girl I think you'll love it!

[akashik]

People die white water rafting...

Of course they die parachuting, bungee jumping, speed racing, as well as crossing the street, slipping in the shower, or sneezing while they drive.

A reputable company will know what they're doing and rest assured, your safety is at the forefront of their decisions. Those guys are very experienced, and trained to deal with emergencies so I wouldn't be too worried. Besides half the fun is the fear of thinking you're staring at the last few minutes of your life

Most beginner courses will get a little bumpy at times, just enough to give you a bit of a thrill. It's in their best interests to make people want to come back of course so the whole trip should be fun.

Greg Moore

[Jaiem]

How's this for a rafting operator's slogan:

"Most of our customers survive the trip!"

[Jason Ellis]

I have rafted numerous times and love it. I will agree that most beginners rafting trips run by rafting companies are on Class 3 and Class 4 rapids - you should be fine. Ask ahead of time what class of rapids you'll be riding, and if you don't feel safe (i.e. if the guide says Class 6) then just don't go.

You'll do fine - it's a real lot of fun. It is a lot of work when you hit big rapids - Class 4 or higher you really have to paddle hard.

A few things to remember (and they will tell you this during your safety briefing, but I'll tell you anyway) - keep your life vest tightened (I've seen people loosen the vest as soon as they get in the raft - don't, a loose vest can come off if you fall out into heavy rapids), and make sure your helmet fits securely and doesn't slide around on your head.

If you do fall out of the raft, *don't freak* - even outside the raft you're not likely to get injured. Pull yourself into a semi-sitting position with your feet and legs in front of you facing downstream (kind of like you're in a Kayak but you're not) with the life vest floating you. Try very very hard not to turn your back on where you're going - get your feet out in front and keep them there. Try to control where you're going and if at all possible follow the same route the raft you fell out of is going - the rafts are always going to follow the safest route through the rapids, and if you're outside the raft you want to do the same.

As soon as you're through the rapids and have hit a relatively calm stretch, your raft's guide will wait for you and pull you into the boat.

All of that, of course, is assuming you fall out, which you probably won't. I've rafted probably dozens of times over the last 8 years and only fell out once (and it was not my first time rafting, either - it was the first time I did Class 5 rapids that I fell out, and that was because the damned boat flipped and we *all* fell out). No injuries on anyone, though, we all made it through intact.

Good luck, and enjoy the trip. Rafting is a lot of fun and is exciting. Listen to your guide and follow his commands and you will be fine. In my experience, the only people who fall out of the raft on a Class 3 or Class 4 rapid are the ones who don't follow procedures.

Oh - as far as the seasickness, I wouldn't worry too much about it. In my experience, most seasickness is not caused by rough water, but rather is caused (again, in my experience) by the repetative motion of a boat going up, down, up, down, up, down - it's enough to make anyone want to jump off and swim to shore. On a raft, you're not going to have the same repetative motion that you do in a boat on the ocean. Yes, you'll have some up and down motion, as well as side-to-side, but it's not really that repetative like it is in the ocean.

Of course, if your friend gets sick in a rowboat out on a calm lake, or perhaps more on-point if she gets sick floating on a tube in the swimming pool, then, yeah, rafting might cause it, too. But if it's ocean seasickness, rafting has a completely different feel to it.

Have fun!

Jason

[Tommy]

Hi Jason, good to see you hear again!

Danger Girl, definitely point your feet down stream IF you fall out. Another top tip is to wear some old sneakers and really ram your feet under the raft when your sitting inside. Your guide will go through all that with you but if you really get your toes underneath and tucked in you will get more leverage when you're paddling and it should also keep you safely inside the raft.

Also look out for the photographer somewhere along the route and make sure you smile!

[Danger Girl]

Wow thanks guys! All that info really helped me out. Now i'm gonna go FOR SURE!! It sounds like a lot of fun. How long does one rafting trip take? A couple of hours? Well thanks again for all your help! )

[akashik]

helpful little monkey's aren't we

Greg Moore

[Tommy]

Yeah, you should definitley go. It's soooo much fun. Living in England doesn't provide me much oppurtunity to raft, the nearest places are Wales and Scotland. I would go more if I could.

I reckon a standard trip will be something between 45 mins and 1 hour. It all depends on the river and the number of rapids there are.

Tell us all about it when you're done, scan in the photos if you can