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kayaker
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/201...af_crocodile_kayaker

Kayaker presumed dead after Congo crocodile attack

JOHANNESBURG – A South African man who was leading two Americans on a whitewater expedition in Central Africa is presumed dead after a crocodile attacked the kayak and dragged him away, rescuers said Thursday.

The two Americans paddled to safety after the Tuesday morning attack on the Lukuga River in Congo. The International Rescue Committee helped evacuate them to a nearby town, said Ciaran Donnelly, the organization's regional director in the country.

The body of 35-year-old Hendri Coetzee, who was living in Uganda, has not been recovered. The stretch of river where they were traveling is notoriously dangerous for its whitewater, and because of its high density of crocodiles and hippos.

"There are three-ton hippos that will bite you in half," one of the American kayakers wrote on his blog, quoting Coetzee. "Stay off the banks because the crocs are having a bake and might fancy you for lunch. Basically, stay close behind me and follow my lead. Any questions?"

The two Americans — Ben Stookesberry and Chris Korbulic — were "physically unharmed but shaken up by the incident," Donnelly said. They are currently in Congo but expect to return home to the U.S. shortly. Korbulic is from Rogue River, Ore., and Stookesberry is from Mount Shasta, Calif.

The trip was a first-of-its-kind kayaking expedition from the White Nile and Congo rivers into Congo, according to a statement from Eddie Bauer, the trip's sponsor.

"We are saddened by the tragic accident and express our deepest sympathies to Hendri's family and friends," the company said.

The three men, all experienced kayakers, were part of a mission to document unexplored whitewater and development projects in the region.

In his online blog, Coetzee discussed the importance of trusting instincts and the group's only rule — "nobody panic."

In Coetzee's most recent entry dated Nov. 26, he wrote: "As I licked my dry lips and carefully checked that my spray deck was on properly, I had the feeling I might be doing something I should not. I pushed through the doubt and when I finally shot out the bottom of the rapid I was happy I did. It was just paranoia after all."

"Dwarfed by lush green mountains rising up to 3000 feet above us, we were drawn in ever deeper with a constant eye on the banks for trouble," he wrote.

There are many places kayakers should not go. Was this one of our members?

quote:

Following the incident, Ben and Chris were able to paddle to safety and contact the International Rescue Committee (IRC) who dispatched a team to evacuate them to safety.

What a couple of modern day explorers they turned out to be. Did the river stop flowing after their guide got ate? What stopped them from continuing on? Shitty britches?

I have often seen these guys in the floating coffins going down rivers loaded with croc and hippo and just shake my head. Both will attack, one to feed, one to defend although the result is the same. Sad thing, but the price for thrills can be quite steep. Not for me brother.

If he bred, looks lik emore croc. food

A tragedy that needn't have happened. Ask the survivors if they would have gone swimming in the river? Little difference between a swimmer and a kayaker to a Hippo or Croc.

You can't fix stupid.

Looks like a winner for the Darwin Awards. Some runner ups also.

Mike

Mike , i was thinking the exact same thing as i read the first post. obviously God decided the gene pool needed a shot of chlorine. if this sounds callous, too bad- you can't fix stupid!

quote:

Originally posted by Dave Fulson:
I have often seen these guys in the floating coffins going down rivers loaded with croc and hippo and just shake my head. Both will attack, one to feed, one to defend although the result is the same. Sad thing, but the price for thrills can be quite steep. Not for me brother.

I had to shake my head when I read this thread. I spent two wonderful days kayaking on the Okavongo river near Rundu in 2008. I also swam in lake Tanganyika on the same trip. AFAIK neither place has many croc or hippo.

I would think swimming or water-skiing in Lake Kariba would be much more dangerous. I have never done either, but a lot of white Zimbos have....

I don't know, I guess if you spen enough time in Africa you begin to do some crazy stuff. I even set foot in Angola without papers towards the end of my trip in 08, probably the stupidest thing I have done. But if I hadn't done it I would not have gotten my avatar picture....


I also abalone dive here in California. The thought of being eaten by a sharks really scares the sh**+ out of me. But the as with everything else, fears are rarely rational: you are about 10x more likely to die of heart-attack or drowning while diving than by shark attack.

Having done a lot of long distance paddling trips in canoes and kayaks, I too have to shake my head at this tragedy. I'm shaking my head because I don't have the stones to do a trip like that on a river like that. Not a trip I'd have taken in a white water boat. Maybe in a group of 3 large canoes, if there was at least 1 person I could trust with a heavy rifle in each boat. Of course that would mean portaging most of the rapids, which would have defeated the whole point of the excrcise for these folks.

The last big trip I did with my father was on a river in the Arctic. He'd had a heart attack a few years previous and we had to come to grips with the fact that if he (or I for that matter) had a major problem, there would be no help coming. Mortality is explicitly addressed before any one goes on a long wilderness trip. These folks got into it with their eyes wide open, the risks were understood and accepted. No need to call them idiots, or to have much sadness that one of them died. He'd already made his peace with that outcome long before the boats were in the water. I'll just offer a toast to some one who dared.

Dean

(Editted to add a couple of sentences I forgot the first time)

I know Chris Korbulic's mother. Very nice gal and a former newspaper reporter. She lives about 20 minutes from here. The whole family has been obsessed with rafting and whitewater for many years. I guess the thrill of the Congo is why they call it extreme kayaking.

I cannot believe some of the comments about Darwin awards,stupid etc. You guys are so short sighted and need to think before you type!

Hendri was a pioneer of note who knew full well the risks he was taking. The spirit and drive that lived in him was akin to that of the great explorers who left the the comfort of the modern world to "discover" the America's and Africa. He was no fool, an incredibly talented athlete, had a passion for Africa and had the balls to go were no white man has gone for decades all in the name of adventure.His wish would be that his life was celebrated; he continually pushed the envelope and this time he paid the price he always knew he might. Sound familiar? He had a pretty similar outlook to many of the early hunters/adventurers that are so celebrated by us modern hunters.

Some of you guys should be ashamed of your comments!

I agree. He was a courageous, insightful and distinguished pioneer. Unfortunately, he was also a dumbass. That said, RIP, fellah. You certainly didn't go out in boring fashion...

quote:

Originally posted by Manyathelo:
The spirit and drive that lived in him was akin to that of the great explorers who left the the comfort of the modern world to "discover" the America's and Africa. He was no fool, an incredibly talented athlete, had a passion for Africa and had the balls to go were no white man has gone for decades all in the name of adventure.His wish would be that his life was celebrated; he continually pushed the envelope and this time he paid the price he always knew he might. Sound familiar?

Not around here lately!

Sorry to hear it. Sad that a life was taken, but that's the risk that any person runs when they take on risky, life threatening activities. We all do it when we hunt dangerous game, don't we?