Lost Boat On Clear Creek

[Nickdanger]

I swam at the top of Screaming 1/4 mile yesterday. Thankfully I made it to shore just before Goalpost--I think I had three or four oxygen molecules left to burn at that point, so a pummeling in that hole wouldn't have felt good. So anyway, my boat was last seen below Tunnel 1. The playpark was busy the whole evening and no one saw it go by, so it's probably stuck somewhere in between. If you see a purple Redline pinned I'd appreciate the info.

Thanks to Darren and others who gave me a ride and helped look for the boat.

By the way, I had no intention of running 1/4 mile and was almost into the eddy at the top when this massive boil just rose up and tipped me back into the steam--just a heads up to others.

Cheers, Nick

[Livingston]

No problem Nick. Glad you got out when you did; it was rough navigating that rapid in a boat. If I knew it was a Redline you were looking for, I would have driven you straight to Alpinglow instead of trying to find that relic (kidding).

On a side note: If anyone looses a boat along that stretch, call the golden police or fire dept right away to tell them what type and color boat is floating downstream and if the boater is OK. Within probably 15 minutes of Nick's swim, half a dozen emergency vehicles were headed up the canyon and two firemen on boogie boards were floating from tunnel 1 down to the playpark!
I Don't know if the following is accurate, but I heard if they recovered the boat a rescue or recovery fee (fine?) is issued.

-d

[Badazws6]

I know there are some local Fire departments doing some training on clear creek this week. So their reaction may have been stronger and quicker then usual...

[kevintee]

Originally Posted by Badazws6

I know there are some local Fire departments doing some training on clear creek this week. So their reaction may have been stronger and quicker then usual...

There were about 10 or so of em at the Golden Playpark on Saturday, so I could see that.

[Ture]

They (Golden swiftwater rescue) tried to charge me about $2000 for retrieving my pinned boat behind tunnel 1 several years ago.

The tourists driving down the cayon call 911 when they see empty boats floating down Clear Creek. Then the Golden swiftwater team comes up the canyon. Maybe they are better than they were back in the day, but back then they didn't know the names and locations of the major rapids and they didn't have a kayak on their team. They stopped me once when I was walking laps on the Screaming Quarter Mile and asked me if this was Elbow Falls because they had to get there. As far as I know they have boogie boards and a raft. A kayak would be nice for getting across the creek in a section that would blow a boogie boarder away. Maybe when I retire I'll volunteer to be their kayaker because they could really use one or two of those....but they probably wouldn't like me very much.

Another annoying thing they did (during the last big water year we had on Clear Creek....about 1300 cfs) was take over a rescue that some of my friends were involved in...they were self-rescuing just fine after a few of the group self destructed on the Screaming Quarter Mile. The swiftwater team came in and started barking orders and took over the scene. They told the paddlers to put their throwbags away immediately and stand down. All that was wrong was there was a swimmer on the right hand bank and they had to get him back across the river to the left hand bank in the middle of Screaming Quarter Mile. No big deal as long as some stranger that wasn't even there when it happened isn't ordering you to put your throwbag on the ground and step back. Like I've said before, they can eat the corn out of my shit.

[KSC]

We ran it last night - no Redlines. Hope it turns up. Perfect excuse to modernize? How about the Wavesport X?