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Most Rafters Avoid Accident Site on Kennebec Because of Danger

September 03, 2008 - WATERVILLE -- Most Maine whitewater rafting companies tend to avoid the stretch of rapids on the Kennebec River where Waterville physician Thomas E. McDermott died last month when his raft flipped.

Known as the Rock Garden for its abundance of barely submerged boulders, the rapids also contain a powerful hydraulic that can flip rafts and send their occupants on a long, painful swim.

Most rafting companies instruct their guides to steer to the right side of the river to avoid the section, wardens and guides said.

"I know some companies let their guides go through (the Rock Garden), but we never go through," said Tim Blake, owner of the Jackman-based Windfall Outdoor Center. "It's pretty much forbidden territory over there – in shallow water, they're going to get beat up, and in deep water, they're not going to have a very memorable experience."

When the water level is high, as it was at the time of the Aug. 21 rafting accident near Indian Stream Township, the hydraulics tend to get filled in and become less dangerous, Maine Warden Steve Allarie said.

Skirting the Rock Garden rapids by steering to the right-hand side of the river "is an industry standard," Allarie said. "However, as the water levels change, the runs can also change. At higher water levels such as on that day, it can be runnable."

Jim Murton, owner of North Country Rivers, the rafting company involved in the fatal accident, said the guide, Brian Tarpy of Falmouth, was not at fault, and that his training – Level 2 certification – qualifies him to guide on any river in the state.

"He is an extremely talented guide and has over 40 runs, and that's been on all three rivers," Murton said. "So he's in that upper 5 percent as far as quality of guides."

The raft flipped, sending six rafters and the guide into the water. Guides pulled an unresponsive McDermott from the water but were unable to save him. Wardens said it appeared he had died of cardiac arrest, which can be triggered by sudden exposure to cold water or brought on by a pre-existing condition. The medical examiner's office has not yet released a final determination.

A recent landslide had thrust a fallen tree into the water, and this, not a hydraulic or submerged rock, was what the boat struck when it overturned, Murton said.

"I stand 110 percent behind the guide's selection of route," he said. "He had no control over the geology of the gorge."

Other raft-company owners and guides take different approaches, however. New England Outdoor Center policy requires its guides to avoid the Rock Garden entirely, the company's river manager, Caleb Frati, said.

"Not in the Rock Garden," Frati said. "Regardless of water flow, we're always going to take the right-hand side."

Moxie Outdoor Adventures in the Forks occasionally might make an exception and run the Rock Garden rapids, but only if the rafters are fit, experienced and request this variation ahead of time, owner Cliff Stevens said. Even so, his guides haven't done this in years, he said.

"It's at the beginning of the run, it's a big wave, and it can flip a boat," he said. "And you don't want to start out right off the bat chasing down boats."

Owners and guides reported similar policies at Adventure Bound and North American Whitewater.

Murton had no comment on the experience levels of rafters in McDermott's boat.

Allarie is gathering information to send to the district attorney's office. This is standard procedure in cases of fatal boating accidents.

"It is an ongoing investigation, and I am continuing to look into all avenues," he said.

By JOEL ELLIOTT, Blethen Maine News Service September 2, 2008


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Regions: Belgrade, Bangor


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