Two Kayakers Die after Going over Dam in Yuba County

That's something I hate about being on the river each day....wondering when some poor unfortunate soul is gonna drown.
Waters are high all around....it's not just PFD time which should be every time...it's also time to ask ourselves if it's even be on the river kayaking time.
Yeah this doesn't apply to most of us here, most you guys are pros and can handle these high flows but I myself have chosen to miss a few paddles around here on the AR due to the high fast flows...and from what I hear I live on the tame part of the river...
Poor guys...

Sometimes "experienced" doesn't always ≠ skilled or clued in.  Rivers just sneak up on you, a whole lot of water, lot of variables.  Me and Jeff got sideways to a tree on the Stani a few years back, and neither one of us thought we were rookies.  I only went for a swim and lost my cell phone, but Jeff got a Gammie in his neck, yuck.  Thankfully it didn't end up worse, seemed bad enough!  After that, I bought a lil Caper to paddle swift water.

http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php/topic,13125.0.html

Feel awful for the wife/mom/widow that is left behind.  Father's day will forever be a horrible reminder for her...

A guy died there in the last couple of years. Same deal. Most likely did not see it coming till it was too late. The river is raging compared to normal up there. Two jet skiers rescued the son of the unfortunate guy last year. The rivers in this area are just flowing too much to make a good fishing day. AR flows are to rise again in the next couple days.

Sad situation but these so called "kayakers" had no skills, no experience, no clue... stupid gives this sport a bad name.

Damn dude those are harsh words for the dead. Have you ever been there yourself? It's actually not a very technical section of the river most years except for the dam which is an obvious portage.

With flows as high as they are I bet they didn't see the dam until it was too late. Sucks for them and their families. Easy to be an armchair quarterback but maybe you should have a little compassion for those involved.


-Eliot

Meh... it should be common knowledge that spring equates with high water... it should be common knowledge that low head dams are drowning machines...  There are inherent risks in all types of recreation, especially watersports... it sounds like the kid wasn't trying to run the dam but got swept downstream and that the Dad was merely trying to save his kid... very regretable, but the responsibility to be in and on the water lies with the parents, not some public agency that someone can sue. 

I can be compasionate and regret the event yet also lament the fact that people make stupid decisions every day that result in their demise.

It will be worth watching are more facts come to light. What was their experience level, their float plan, did they know flows are extremely high, are their warning posted about it, warnings about the dam, did they know about the dam, if rentals what did the rental company tell them, were they in a club (clubs share intel and make people safer)? And so on. If i have to click through a damn legal notice just to use a frickin' GPS in my car that only an idiot would watch instead of the road, then we should have ample warnings about high flows in rivers that kill the unaware or less experienced.