On march 20th, 1988 Randy Castile was paddling a Class III section of Oregon's Sandy River with a friend. Both were using squirt boats. The last drop in the run had an 18" diameter log sticking out of it. Mr. Castile attempted to run left, between the cliff and the log. He broached as he ferried over and pinned against the log. The log cracked and shook. Seconds later his paddle appeared downstream.
His partner struggled back upstream through rugged terrain. He lasooed the log, then worked his way out to it in swift current. He clipped one end of the rope to the grab loop, grabbed the other, then drifted downstream. He wanted to use the current to pull the boat free, but all it did was pull him under water. After fifteen minutes of effort he paddled to the takeout and called 911. Then he lead rescuers through the woods to the accident site where they found Mr. Castile floating in an eddy.
Source: Steve Scherer, Sandy, OR
Squirt boaters soon realize that their boats are more challenging to handle and more prone to pinning than conventional kayaks and change their paddling tactics accordingly. In particular, the Jet does quite poorly in upstream ferries.
Two boat trips make rescue difficult. he fact that Mr. Castile came free on his own suggests that an extra person or two might have made a difference.
