Diving at the bottom of a waterfall

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swimmer_spe

Contributor
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Location
Sudbury, Ontario
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There is a river I know that I have always wondered about the bottom. I am not sure about the bottom current, but at the top, it is quite slow. The river drops off over my head within 5 feet from shore. The river is about 50 feet wide. It is not high water fall.

So, I ask, anyone ever dive at the bottom of a waterfall?
 
Yes. I've done it. It's pretty cool to see what it looks like underneath
and behind where the water is falling from above. I wish my camera
lens hadn't fogged during this dive. :-( But it gives me an excuse to
go back sometime. :) I had a blast.

[video=youtube_share;C0L4iLPLwEg]http://youtu.be/C0L4iLPLwEg[/video]
 
The water at the bottom of a waterfall can be quite dangerous. Canoers get trapped some times in a rolling hydraulic.
 
I'm not sure what the height of the fall is, or the volume of flow, but be careful of the undertow. If I wasn't sure of the current, and had friends to help, I'd probably use a tether line as a safety on the first dive to check it out.

My view comes from a search and recovery diver viewpoint, so my concerns may be unwarranted. ;-)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - now Free
 
So, worst case, inflate BCD and surface.

That's the worst idea for a hydraulic ever.

Understand hydraulic currents, and how to best escape them; understand how heavy flow can cause your regulator to misbehave, and how to protect against and recover from current-induced freeflows; remember that things that can trap, crush, and/or impale you may get stuck in the hydraulic, too. Other than that, have a good dive and take pictures :wink:
 
That's the worst idea for a hydraulic ever.

Understand hydraulic currents, and how to best escape them; understand how heavy flow can cause your regulator to misbehave, and how to protect against and recover from current-induced freeflows; remember that things that can trap, crush, and/or impale you may get stuck in the hydraulic, too. Other than that, have a good dive and take pictures :wink:


I understand those risks you say.

So, what should you do?
 
Man has no one ever gone whitewater rafting. Yes you need to know the technique for getting out of a hydraulic but the basic idea is correct ball up inflate if the fall pushes you down when you bounce off the bottom you should be pushed out too. I got a great video of a guy going over Pillow Rock in West Virginia and popping up 50 yards down stream.
 
Man has no one ever gone whitewater rafting. Yes you need to know the technique for getting out of a hydraulic but the basic idea is correct ball up inflate if the fall pushes you down when you bounce off the bottom you should be pushed out too. I got a great video of a guy going over Pillow Rock in West Virginia and popping up 50 yards down stream.

So, in short, Inflate BCD is correct? Ball up, you mean bring your arms and legs in? I was always told to point my toes if i fall out of a canoe in whitewater.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/perdix-ai/

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