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America Book Preview My emotions were running high and I was flustered by the whole charade. Again I have to admit to being a little nervous and more than a little apprehensive about my forth-coming adventure into the unknown. Shooting rapids to seasoned players of the game was probably like riding a bike, but to a newcomer like me, it spelt danger and excitement, which is fine for that initial buzz, but until the fear is overcome and one can safely say "I now know how to do this" and is at ease with taking minor, or even major chances, then unfortunately caution prevails and optimism decreases. Having already heard about how many people lost their lives, trying to emulate movie-star Burt Reynolds in the film Deliverance, does not do much for ones positive-thinking attitude either. The clouds thickened around me and a few lightning bolts flashed in the sky, giving a macabre, almost gruesome turn to a once glorious day. Last night my worst fear was having a bout of sea-sickness - or possibly falling into the cold water, but now I began to wonder if fate was telling me I should not be going on this crazy adventure at all! Visions of hitting rocks and being sucked into whirlpools rattled around my irrepressible imagination. In a sense, this was worse than my Skycoaster jump, because at least with that stunt every safety aspect has been taken into account and no jump, except for weight allowance is any different, but rivers are unpredictable and this baby was the mother of them all. I knew in my heart that my fears were probably unfounded and that the chicken in me was just having his say. If I did not have any fears, then I wouldn't be human and the thrill of accomplishment would be far less, so I'll stick to shitting myself and wiping-up my mess in triumph. Working in teams, we soon had everything sorted and spirits were running high. Our team of eight consisted of two young couples, both in their twenties, a middle-aged doctor and his wife, me and our captain (for want of a better word) was Amy. Amy was tall, with a voluptuously shaped body and a strong, but friendly personality whom everyone liked. Wearing only a pair of blue shorts, a sleeveless top, a pair of 'Jesus' sandals and donning a suede Stetson on her head, she looked a little under-dressed for the part, but she soon took control of her team and after a short briefing session we launched our dinghy onto the white waters of the Mighty Colorado River. Everyone else in the boat had done this before except me, so I watched what each person did very carefully and copied them as best as I possibly could. After negotiating a few of these monstrous boulders, we got the hang of what we had to do and as our confidence increased, we often did it before the order came from the back. Then we came to Tombs Rock (at least I think that's what Amy called it?) And that was when our pleasant little sailing trip turned into the real thing. What we had all been waiting for - (and most of us secretly dreading I believe) was about to happen, although none of us had any idea at the time - not even Amy! As normal, the boat lifted at the front and we took water on board at the back, but then it lifted even higher, before crashing nose-down into the river, sending a torrent of water over the front two rowers and knocking the husband into my lap. His face was a picture of fright, as he quickly scrambled to try and replace his footing, but before he could regain composure, another member of our crew came crashing down on top of both of us, almost sending me over-board. It was Amy! She had been thrown the length of the dinghy by the momentum of our dive and for a second didn't know what had hit her. We were in turmoil, but none of us panicked - well not out loud anyway! Our fellow oarsmen saw our plight as mayhem reigned and the river tossed us around like a toy in a bath. Trying to stand and get back to her place was murder for Amy, as she constantly got thrown into rowers' laps, but finally she made it and between us we regained control of our vessel and ourselves. |
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