NICOLE DAISLEY
103rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary)
U.S. Army Reserve
Southfield, Michigan
My husband and I love the outdoors. Whenever we get a chance, we enjoy camping, boating, fishing and anything else that will give us a break from Army life. One spring it had rained a lot, and the rivers and streams were swollen. We’d wanted to go on a canoe trip for a while, and the heavy rains created what we thought would be great rapids on our local river. We got some friends together for the trip, rented three canoes with all the proper safety gear and made our way to the river.
Once we got to the river, we were excited to see how high the water had risen. My husband and I were very experienced with a canoe, so we didn’t anticipate any danger. Unfortunately, we didn’t take our friends’ skill levels into consideration.
All six of us set off in our canoes, expecting an awesome ride. We knew the first few miles of our trip would be simple because my husband and I had canoed this river a few times. The fast-but-smooth flow was fun for all, but it probably gave us a false sense of security.
About 5 miles into our trip, the water got choppy. Even my husband and I were starting to feel things were about to get more challenging. We should have pulled over to the bank and walked to safety, but being young Soldiers, we always pushed everything to the edge. As a group, we decided to forge ahead because we only had a mile or two to go until we reached the bridge where we would get out of the water. When we approached the next series of rapids, however, we realized we were in serious trouble.
My husband and I watched as our inexperienced friends’ canoes tipped, got lodged in a group of underwater trees and snapped in half. We could see them floating helplessly down the river. We kept our canoe afloat and attempted to paddle over to help them. We were able to reach two of our friends, who held on to the sides of our canoe as we paddled to the bank. Luckily, some people on the riverbank witnessed the incident and called 911. A safety boat was then dispatched to rescue our other two friends.
After the incident, we all realized it was a stupid idea to attempt a canoe trip following a storm. The only thing that saved my friends was the fact I’d insisted they wear their life jackets. At the time of this incident, I’d only been in the Army for a few years and didn’t know anything about risk management. I believe that if I would have taken the time to weigh the hazards we could encounter on this trip, we would have never left that day.