Is Rockport all that safe??

[Butch Crain]

Best hijack of the year Dave!

Hang in there - we all know blistering August days mean those 50 degree nights are not too far up the road.

SYOTR

[Fish]

Man, sorry I missed getting in on this train wreck of a thread. Must be getting slow in my old age.

"Well maybe we're all fools and none of it matters." -- Jack Crab, Little Big Man

- Fish

[Richard]

It does matter. We can let things get bad or we can try to change the outcome. We have a beautiful park in Conway. Cadron Settlement was a Corps of Engineers park and it became a pretty bad place. They turned it over the the city of Conway and the city turned things around. It is now a place that families can enjoy again.

[okieboater]

Yup, Butch, I got tired of all the flames back and forth just adding to the already oppressive heat wave and took the bait head on re The Chattooga, entry point. Even got some help from my fellow Dutch Oven wanna be, Roger.

Now El Fisho is gonna attempt to revive the flame war (one of his signature posts IE drops a bomb then laughingly watches the mass confusion) and it looks like my fellow canoe driver Richard took that Fish bomb as well!

What the heck, we need to all go find some cold moving water and get those canoes, rafts and kayaks doing what they do best - that is get us paddling, rowing and having fun on water not electronic message boards.

[Chester]

Ryan my Danger Boy, ain't this thread is so reminiscent of the Let's go clean up the Cadron one a few weeks back, where all the know it alls NOT, copied and pasted selectively from Ohio or somewhere about teh damage of taking out logjams? You gotta love it.

[LOREN]

so all in favor of a kayaker lead malitia at rockport say aye. With that out of the way we can now let this thread die.....

[Ben Rodda]

I know that you guys want to kill this thread. However I think that Ryan is onto something. It just got lost in all of the bickering about judging people and all that. If you want to flame me about me being judgmental then go head.

I used to live in Columbia, South Carolina, and we had an amazing play feature right in the middle of the city. On the weekends there were 100's of people that would come down to the river to just hang out and enjoy the river. The more people you throw in the mix the more potential there was for crazy things to go down. Most of it was pretty entertaining.

However there were a few encounters that were down right scary. One afternoon a buddy of mine was attacked as he paddled into shore. He fought them off with his paddle, while sitting in his boat. I had a large tree branch swung at me in the parking lot by a drunk dude. Another buddy had heavy fishing lures cast at him. Many break-ins etc. Part of this was because we were not careful in how we interacted with people at the park. We had one season that seemed to be pretty bad which resulted in some productive parking lot conversations and we changed some of our ways. Here are some observations:

- We were very recognizable. As kayakers we wear the same gear every time we paddle, paddle the same boat, arrive at generally the same time... etc. As well we are so focused on the river that we rarely pay attention to the people we see at the river. This made us targets for break-ins and if we happened to upset someone they knew us better than we knew them.

- Because of the fact that we were so easily recognizable we had to change the way we interacted with other people at the park.
* We generally behaved as if we were on their turf rather than ours.
* We stopped lecturing people about how dangerous their behavior was. Instead, we might graciously offer an idea of how they might have fun more safely. We would cheer them on when the did something cool... etc.
* If a rescue was needed we performed it without lecturing them of the stupidity of their actions.
* We stayed clear of any fishermen and helped them pull lures out of trees if they needed it.
* We went out of our way to talk to people at the river, smile at them, answer questions (one of my favorites was while surfing a wave: "Hey buddy don't you know that water is moving way to fast for you to paddle upstream?" I replied, "Yes I know but its really good exercise"). Often times being the first person to say hello will go a long way.
* We always boated in groups and never left anyone by themselves. SO if someone new was paddling with us we would mention to them that we were leaving and they might consider doing the same because of the break ins etc.
* We got the police to drive through the parking lot from time to time.
* Whistles are a great idea.

- Other people at the river knew that kayaking was an expensive sport as well and as a result we were judged by them as being wealthy or as being "yuppies". The judging thing can work both ways you know. So we did what we could to remain approachable and friendly.

Any other ideas on how we can keep Rockport safe for everyone?

[Wildwood]

"People, I just want to say, you know, can we all get along? Can we get along? Can we stop making it, making it horrible for the older people and the kids?...It’s just not right. It’s not right. It’s not, it’s not going to change anything. We’ll, we’ll get our justice....Please, we can get along here. We all can get along. I mean, we’re all stuck here for a while. Let’s try to work it out. Let’s try to beat it. Let’s try to beat it. Let’s try to work it out."
Rodney King
May 1, 1992
Third day of L.A. riots

[Cowper]

Well, we tried, but I guess this thread just isn’t ready to die quite yet.

Cowper where you joking?? cus I don't feel that way even at dawn.or later …. i ask is my daughters love it there. .. Should I not take the kiddos to rockport? or leave early. or like any other place we shoud always be carfull,ie;mall,rest stops,martin luther king ave.work. cus I see ruffer peeps at my work. than i have in all ark.

No, I wasn’t joking. But since you closed by saying, “like any other place, we should always be careful”, I really don’t think we’re that far apart here. Take the kids? Yes. Leave early? Most days no, but keep your eyes open and some days, yes. I may have a slightly different perception just because I’m an old coot who has been around long enough to see a few “harmless” situations turn ugly in very short order, especially when alcohol is involved. Also, the fact that I sometimes take a raft down there may tend to shift me into a different situation; it forces me to spend 45 minutes to an hour on the boat ramp, late in the day, at about the same time that those who have been drinking the most are getting out there and waiting for rides. Often they are tired, and sometimes already a little bit grumpy. It’s just something to be aware of, that’s all.

I used to live in Columbia, South Carolina, and we had an amazing play feature right in the middle of the city. On the weekends there were 100's of people that would come down to the river to just hang out and enjoy the river. The more people you throw in the mix the more potential there was for crazy things to go down. Most of it was pretty entertaining.

However there were a few encounters that were down right scary. One afternoon a buddy of mine was attacked …. Many break-ins etc. …
- Because of the fact that we were so easily recognizable we had to change the way we interacted with other people at the park.
* We stopped lecturing people about how dangerous their behavior was
* If a rescue was needed we performed it without lecturing them of the stupidity of their actions.
* We went out of our way to talk to people at the river
* We always boated in groups and never left anyone by themselves.

Ben, I think you nailed it, and offer a good list of suggestions. I included edited versions of the ones I especially liked in the above quote.

[Tmuse]

You know that as rockport users we are all kinda of locals there, I least I feel like a local, maybe it's because I am in Hot springs, I always try to talk to the real locals when I am down there with my two boys and my wife Elaine, or if I am down there by myself. Folks are curious about this crazy kayaking thing or that canoe in the river or that great big inner tube we call rafts, most folks are harmless and are looking for a good time, so we should show them one. And try to respect them and they will respect you, you catch more flys with honey. As for my safety and my families safety I think we are safe, I would recommend that you leave before dark, as night time is kinda sketchy. So try to have fun and be safe and remember we are all rednecks living in this great state we call Arkansaw!

[Cowper]

So try to have fun and be safe and remember we are all rednecks living in this great state we call Arkansaw!

Not me!

[Tmuse]

Cowper that is classic!

[Jim Krueger]

I agree Tim! After a long day on the river today, I am 'restored' by this picture :) You'd just never know he was a scientist!

Best Regards
Jim Moose

[jermdog]

Rockport is as safe as your average tire fire. Also, consider booby trapping the area. Also, always pack a gun, always. You never know when you might want/need to shoot a drunken teenager.

[druse]

Cowper,...You got a purty mouth boy, comon down here to Georgia and well,...let's go paddlin.