Mississippi River mishap nearly deadly
Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2008 1:03 pm
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Mississippi River mishap nearly deadly
Pals' trip of a lifetime takes dangerous turn
By Jody Callahan (Contact)
Memphis Commercial Appeal
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
The four canoeists didn't know it, but a small mistake Wednesday morning would nearly cost them their lives.
A few miles upriver from Memphis, the high school friends from Milwaukee loaded their gear into a pair of canoes, then pushed into the Mississippi River, continuing a journey they began more than 400 miles and 17 days ago.
But on this morning, the load in one canoe wasn't balanced just right, making the craft unsteady. And the wind was gusting as much as 25 mph, creating high, choppy waves.
At about 10a.m., that combination turned dangerous when a wave capsized one canoe, dumping David Homan and Al Carroll, both 21, into the always unpredictable river.
Spotting their friends in the water, Walter Brummund, 21, and Joe Steigerwald, 22, turned the second canoe to help, but ran into trouble themselves.
"We capsized twice and managed to turn the canoe over and bail it out twice and get back in," said Brummund, who just graduated from the University of Wisconsin in Madison. "We came up on a barge. They picked us up, and we told them what had happened."
The barge crew called the Coast Guard, which then alerted civilian and law enforcement agencies that there was trouble on the water.
The Coast Guard launched its 25-foot rescue boat with three people aboard, scanning the river and its banks for the missing canoeists.
They were joined by a Memphis Police helicopter while three nearby sheriff's departments -- two in Arkansas, one in Tennessee -- launched their boats.
"We had a pretty extensive search-and-rescue operation going on," Coast Guard Lt. Leon McClain said.
Finally, two officers in the helicopter spotted Holman and Carroll on the bank, two hours after they spilled into the river and six miles from where the canoe capsized.
"We probably swam for at least an hour and a half, two hours, to get to shore. It was ridiculous. The waves and the wind combined made it very hard to go anywhere," said Holman, a student at Wisconsin. "It was frightening."
The Mississippi County (Ark.) Sheriff's Department picked them up and took them to Osceola, where they were reunited with Brummund and Steigerwald.
Thanks in part to their life jackets, no one was seriously hurt. The rescue personnel on the water even managed to snag the men's $3,000 canoes and some of their gear.
But given the water conditions, the incident could easily have turned deadly.
"It's pretty dangerous. We've got high water right now. The current's moving swift," said Coast Guard Petty Officer Alec Newtown, who has spent three years on the river.
"There's a lot of debris in the river. There's undertows. It's swift moving. It's pretty unsafe. We've had numerous people die from being in the river."
Homan seemed aware of the group's good fortune.
"It definitely could have been worse," he said. "I now have a greater respect for the mighty Mississippi."
Now, the friends have to decide if they want to continue to New Orleans, more than 600 twisting and turning miles down the Mississippi.
Brummund hasn't quite made up his mind.
"I think we are going to try to continue," he said. "We're still thinking about it. But obviously, (Wednesday) was a re-evaluation."
Despite his hours in the water, though, Homan wasn't ready to give up.
"I have every intention of continuing on," he said, before adding, "but I'm not going to be canoeing in any more wind."
Mississippi River mishap nearly deadly
Pals' trip of a lifetime takes dangerous turn
By Jody Callahan (Contact)
Memphis Commercial Appeal
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
The four canoeists didn't know it, but a small mistake Wednesday morning would nearly cost them their lives.
A few miles upriver from Memphis, the high school friends from Milwaukee loaded their gear into a pair of canoes, then pushed into the Mississippi River, continuing a journey they began more than 400 miles and 17 days ago.
But on this morning, the load in one canoe wasn't balanced just right, making the craft unsteady. And the wind was gusting as much as 25 mph, creating high, choppy waves.
At about 10a.m., that combination turned dangerous when a wave capsized one canoe, dumping David Homan and Al Carroll, both 21, into the always unpredictable river.
Spotting their friends in the water, Walter Brummund, 21, and Joe Steigerwald, 22, turned the second canoe to help, but ran into trouble themselves.
"We capsized twice and managed to turn the canoe over and bail it out twice and get back in," said Brummund, who just graduated from the University of Wisconsin in Madison. "We came up on a barge. They picked us up, and we told them what had happened."
The barge crew called the Coast Guard, which then alerted civilian and law enforcement agencies that there was trouble on the water.
The Coast Guard launched its 25-foot rescue boat with three people aboard, scanning the river and its banks for the missing canoeists.
They were joined by a Memphis Police helicopter while three nearby sheriff's departments -- two in Arkansas, one in Tennessee -- launched their boats.
"We had a pretty extensive search-and-rescue operation going on," Coast Guard Lt. Leon McClain said.
Finally, two officers in the helicopter spotted Holman and Carroll on the bank, two hours after they spilled into the river and six miles from where the canoe capsized.
"We probably swam for at least an hour and a half, two hours, to get to shore. It was ridiculous. The waves and the wind combined made it very hard to go anywhere," said Holman, a student at Wisconsin. "It was frightening."
The Mississippi County (Ark.) Sheriff's Department picked them up and took them to Osceola, where they were reunited with Brummund and Steigerwald.
Thanks in part to their life jackets, no one was seriously hurt. The rescue personnel on the water even managed to snag the men's $3,000 canoes and some of their gear.
But given the water conditions, the incident could easily have turned deadly.
"It's pretty dangerous. We've got high water right now. The current's moving swift," said Coast Guard Petty Officer Alec Newtown, who has spent three years on the river.
"There's a lot of debris in the river. There's undertows. It's swift moving. It's pretty unsafe. We've had numerous people die from being in the river."
Homan seemed aware of the group's good fortune.
"It definitely could have been worse," he said. "I now have a greater respect for the mighty Mississippi."
Now, the friends have to decide if they want to continue to New Orleans, more than 600 twisting and turning miles down the Mississippi.
Brummund hasn't quite made up his mind.
"I think we are going to try to continue," he said. "We're still thinking about it. But obviously, (Wednesday) was a re-evaluation."
Despite his hours in the water, though, Homan wasn't ready to give up.
"I have every intention of continuing on," he said, before adding, "but I'm not going to be canoeing in any more wind."