Rafting sullies style

Thoroughly Smashed said :

Ben_Dover said :

Some Samuel Taylor Coleridge

I prefer the Iron Maiden cover version

What cover version? Steve Harris’ 13 1/2 minute epic has two four line quotes from the Coleridge poem; and one of those is the spoken word part of the song.

I cannot avow such Blasphemy to go unchallenged.

c_c said :

Look I’m no fan of the nanny state around floods these days with cops stopping you going within 500m of a gated level crossing….

He he, I snuck past the traffic control guy and went down to Coppins Crossing for a look this afternoon. Three cops were their having a look themselves. 🙂

When rafting/kyaking etc. you should always aim for the v in the water. This is the deepest part of the waterway. Notice that those who raft more to the right (as the rafters are travelling) stay on and those who are closer to the bank gets bucked off.

Also, you need to travel faster than the water i.e. paddle, otherwise you are at its mercy. If you travel faster than the water you are in control.

Looks like good fun, wish I had a roof rack to throw the old polo bat on the car.

If they get out themselves, good luck, but why risk other lives to save deadsh!ts from their own stupidity?

Look I’m no fan of the nanny state around floods these days with cops stopping you going within 500m of a gated level crossing, but what’s happening in this video is just stupid. A bunch of total ignorant arseholes. Look at this: http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw-ambulance-helicopter-paramedic-mick-wilson-died-after-winch-line-in-rescue-operation-in-kangaroo-valley-was-cut/story-e6freuy9-1226230364369 and then look at this http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/man-23-drowns-trying-to-swim-yarra-river/story-e6frf7jo-1226114525302

Stupidy like this can kill you, and can kill those who try to help.

Looks like good fun. If one of them is injured or dies, well, they knew what they were doing and no real sympathy from me.

Beautiful Railway Bridge of the Silv’ry Tay!
Alas! I am very sorry to say
That ninety lives have been taken away
On the last Sabbath day of 1879,
Which will be remember’d for a very long time.

‘Twas about seven o’clock at night,
And the wind it blew with all its might,
And the rain came pouring down,
And the dark clouds seem’d to frown,
And the Demon of the air seem’d to say-
“I’ll blow down the Bridge of Tay.”

“My mind is a raging torrent, flooded with rivulets of thought, cascading into a waterfall of creative alternatives!”

There. That’s *my* classic contribution to the literary arts, regarding water/floods! Hahahahaha! Put that in your poetry pipe and smoke it! 🙂

Henry82 said :

Just got this email.
——————-

Good afternoon

Yesterday ANU Security attended Sullivans Creek to ask a number of people to immediately stop ‘rafting’ down the flooded waterway. The police were called, but the people undertaking this dangerous activity dispersed before police attendance was required.

This is a highly irresponsible activity in the circumstances. Swimming and playing in and around swollen creeks and rivers is very dangerous. People must heed the warnings issued by the Emergency Services Agency, as well as ANU security.

Sullivans Creek is, at the moment, full of muddy storm water with strong currents. It also has many hidden hazards, such as fallen tree branches and rocks, as well as floating debris. The people involved in yesterday’s actions are extremely lucky they did not cause themselves, or others coming to their aid, serious injury or worse.

Further rain is forecast for this weekend. ANU Security will be monitoring use of Sullivans Creek over the weekend given the potential for repeat flooding.

May I take this opportunity to thank all staff and students who are taking appropriate precautions in the current conditions. I hope you all stay safe and dry over the weekend.

Regards

Ian Young

Vice-Chancellor

lol, WTF are security going to do. not like they will be able to catch them.
Next students will be wearing balaclavas so they don’t get their enrollments cancelled.

Just got this email.
——————-

Good afternoon

Yesterday ANU Security attended Sullivans Creek to ask a number of people to immediately stop ‘rafting’ down the flooded waterway. The police were called, but the people undertaking this dangerous activity dispersed before police attendance was required.

This is a highly irresponsible activity in the circumstances. Swimming and playing in and around swollen creeks and rivers is very dangerous. People must heed the warnings issued by the Emergency Services Agency, as well as ANU security.

Sullivans Creek is, at the moment, full of muddy storm water with strong currents. It also has many hidden hazards, such as fallen tree branches and rocks, as well as floating debris. The people involved in yesterday’s actions are extremely lucky they did not cause themselves, or others coming to their aid, serious injury or worse.

Further rain is forecast for this weekend. ANU Security will be monitoring use of Sullivans Creek over the weekend given the potential for repeat flooding.

May I take this opportunity to thank all staff and students who are taking appropriate precautions in the current conditions. I hope you all stay safe and dry over the weekend.

Regards

Ian Young

Vice-Chancellor

adsman said :

So amusing reading all these comments about how it looks “fun”.

Nothing wrong with having fun, just as long as these students don’t expect the SES (who are already busy helping out elsewhere during this flood event) to rescue them when they get into trouble.

Time after time people are warned to stay away from flood waters, and with good reason, it’s dangerous and you could end up getting swept away or worse yet drown & end up dead. Not so fun now is it?

Hm… Yup, it still is!

lobster said :

I have always thought of and wanted to do this when the storm water gets really high.
But I always think – who knows what is on the bottom there?

Well, the last time I canoed up Sullivan’s Creek, it was silt, blue-green algal slime, and an incredible amount of litter.

Peter

poetix said :

McGonagall really was as good as Gina Rinehart.

McGonagall was a godlike genius!

VC has sent out a grumpy email. Security will be watching the creek over the weekend.

Disinformation said :

Looks like a bunch of no idea kids having potentially dangerous fun to me.

In the same way as has happened every day of every year since the history of man.

Yawn.

Next.

poetix said :

Ben_Dover said :

I’ll raise you a wedding guest and a dead bird, (it’s sea bird flavour!)

“The sun now rose upon the right:
Out of the sea came he,
Still hid in mist, and on the left
Went down into the sea.
….

But now there came a flash of hope once more;
Day broke, and the wind lull’d: the masts were gone,
The leak increased; shoals round her, but no shore,
The vessel swam, yet still she held her own.
They tried the pumps again, and though before
Their desperate efforts seem’d all useless grown,
A glimpse of sunshine set some hands to bale—
The stronger pump’d, the weaker thrumm’d a sail….

Geez, youse klever poet-type talkers should get a room! Your gunna make the rest of us look infear… infeer… dum! HAHAHAHAHA! 🙂

So amusing reading all these comments about how it looks “fun”.

Nothing wrong with having fun, just as long as these students don’t expect the SES (who are already busy helping out elsewhere during this flood event) to rescue them when they get into trouble.

Time after time people are warned to stay away from flood waters, and with good reason, it’s dangerous and you could end up getting swept away or worse yet drown & end up dead. Not so fun now is it?

just made the 2pm national triple j news…naughty finger waving!

Ben_Dover said :

And the villagers flew to the beach in a state of wild uproar
And in a dory they found four men were cast ashore….

On behalf of Lord Byron, I kick you for descending to McGonagall.
Have you seen this site? http://www.mcgonagall-online.org.uk

Apparently, today is the anniversary of a tragic boating accident:

The Kessack Ferry-Boat Fatality

‘Twas on Friday the 2nd of March, in the year of 1894,
That the Storm Fiend did loudly laugh and roar
Along the Black Isle and the Kessack Ferry shore,
Whereby six men were drowned, which their friends will deplore.

Now I’ll have to kick myself as well.

McGonagall really was as good as Gina Rinehart.

And the villagers flew to the beach in a state of wild uproar
And in a dory they found four men were cast ashore.
Then the villagers, in surprise assembled about the dory,
And they found that the bottom of the boat was gory;
Then their hearts were seized with sudden dread,
when they discovered that two of the men were dead.

And the two survivors were exhausted from exposure, hunger, and cold,
Which used the spectators to shudder when them they did behold;
And with hunger the poor men couldn’t stand on their feet,
They felt so weakly on their legs for want of meat.

They were carried to a boarding-house without delay,
But those that were looking on were stricken with dismay,
When the remains of James and Angus McDonald were found in the boat,
Likewise three pieces or flesh in a pool or blood afloat.

I’ve seen kayakers in the storm water before, but usually they at least had PFD’s and helmets on, were using equipment that doesn’t look like a kids inflatable raft. In this case its probably stupid, but people with the skills and ability would be able to handle stuff like this.

Ben_Dover said :

I’ll raise you a wedding guest and a dead bird, (it’s sea bird flavour!)

“The sun now rose upon the right:
Out of the sea came he,
Still hid in mist, and on the left
Went down into the sea.
….

Well this terrible time wasting brings me to my last bet: My Favourite Poet. A man brave enough to rhyme ‘luck’ and ‘duck’. I take your bird that has ceased to be and raise you a Lord, who was a very naughty boy indeed, and who would certainly have rafted down Sullivans Creek, bad foot and all:

….

But now there came a flash of hope once more;
Day broke, and the wind lull’d: the masts were gone,
The leak increased; shoals round her, but no shore,
The vessel swam, yet still she held her own.
They tried the pumps again, and though before
Their desperate efforts seem’d all useless grown,
A glimpse of sunshine set some hands to bale—
The stronger pump’d, the weaker thrumm’d a sail.

Under the vessel’s keel the sail was past,
And for the moment it had some effect;
But with a leak, and not a stick of mast,
Nor rag of canvas, what could they expect?
But still ‘t is best to struggle to the last,
‘T is never too late to be wholly wreck’d:
And though ‘t is true that man can only die once,
‘T is not so pleasant in the Gulf of Lyons.

There winds and waves had hurl’d them, and from thence,
Without their will, they carried them away;
For they were forced with steering to dispense,
And never had as yet a quiet day
On which they might repose, or even commence
A jurymast or rudder, or could say
The ship would swim an hour, which, by good luck,
Still swam—though not exactly like a duck.

The wind, in fact, perhaps was rather less,
But the ship labour’d so, they scarce could hope
To weather out much longer; the distress
Was also great with which they had to cope
For want of water, and their solid mess
Was scant enough: in vain the telescope
Was used—nor sail nor shore appear’d in sight,
Nought but the heavy sea, and coming night.

Again the weather threaten’d,—again blew
A gale, and in the fore and after hold
Water appear’d; yet, though the people knew
All this, the most were patient, and some bold,
Until the chains and leathers were worn through
Of all our pumps:—a wreck complete she roll’d,
At mercy of the waves, whose mercies are
Like human beings during civil war.

Then came the carpenter, at last, with tears
In his rough eyes, and told the captain he
Could do no more: he was a man in years,
And long had voyaged through many a stormy sea,
And if he wept at length, they were not fears
That made his eyelids as a woman’s be,
But he, poor fellow, had a wife and children,—
Two things for dying people quite bewildering.

….

Sandman said :

Most of these guys have obviously been rafting before and know the deal.

You can tell their level of rafting experience AND what is inside their heads just by watching?

I’m going to have to ask by what criteria you’ve made this amazing judgement.
Was it their paddling techniques?
Their choice of watercraft?
Their personal floatation devices and protective headwear.

If there is nothing specific which leads me to believe that you have no super powers of observation towards judging boating experience level, I’m just going to have to put it out there that you’re full of crap and can’t actually justify your statement.

Looks like a bunch of no idea kids having potentially dangerous fun to me.

Ben_Dover said :

Some Samuel Taylor Coleridge

I prefer the Iron Maiden cover version

poetix said :

‘There is a tide in the affairs of men.
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;
Omitted, all the voyage of their life
Is bound in shallows and in miseries.
On such a full sea are we now afloat,
And we must take the current when it serves,
Or lose our ventures.’

Told you it would end in that guy!

I’ll raise you a wedding guest and a dead bird, (it’s sea bird flavour!)

“The sun now rose upon the right:
Out of the sea came he,
Still hid in mist, and on the left
Went down into the sea.

And the good south wind still blew behind,
But no sweet bird did follow,
Nor any day for food or play
Came to the mariners’ hollo!

And I had done a hellish thing,
And it would work ’em woe:
For all averred, I had killed the bird
That made the breeze to blow.
Ah wretch! said they, the bird to slay,
That made the breeze to blow!

Nor dim nor red, like God’s own head,
The glorious sun uprist:
Then all averred, I had killed the bird
That brought the fog and mist.
‘Twas right, said they, such birds to slay,
That bring the fog and mist.

The fair breeze blew, the white foam flew,
The furrow followed free;
We were the first that ever burst
Into that silent sea.

Down dropped the breeze, the sails dropped down,
‘Twas sad as sad could be;
And we did speak only to break
The silence of the sea!

All in a hot and copper sky,
The bloody sun, at noon,
Right up above the mast did stand,
No bigger than the moon.

Day after day, day after day,
We stuck, nor breath nor motion;
As idle as a painted ship
Upon a painted ocean.

Water, water, every where,
And all the boards did shrink;
Water, water, every where,
Nor any drop to drink.

The very deep did rot: O Christ!
That ever this should be!
Yea, slimy things did crawl with legs
Upon the slimy sea.

Before the stormwater controls that are currently in place – in the early 80s only a bit of rain would turn the creek into an absolute torrent. And the Toad Hall Shooters would tackle it on lilos.

This reminds me of how much fun uni students had jumping off Commonwealth Ave bridge.

Ben_Dover said :

Ah, the innocent days of studenthood. Oxford has the Isis, Cambridge the Cam, and Canberra…

Beside the river make for you
A tunnel of green gloom, and sleep
Deeply above; and green and deep
The stream mysterious glides beneath,
Green as a dream and deep as death.
…
To smell the thrilling-sweet and rotten
Unforgettable, unforgotten
River-smell, and hear the breeze
Sobbing in the little trees.
Say, do the elm-clumps greatly stand
Still guardians of that holy land?
The chestnuts shade, in reverend dream,
The yet unacademic stream?

And it’s so sad to think that Brooke died on his way to Gallipoli. Much better that young men can do reckless fun things in flooded drains than waste all that in wars. (This poem makes me think of ‘Ode to a Nightingale’, but I don’t want to get into a duelling banjos thing with the poesie…I’ll take your Brooke and raise it a Keats…It’ll end in Shakespeare or the Bible.)

I don’t know how we got here from Sullivans Creek! But:

‘There is a tide in the affairs of men.
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;
Omitted, all the voyage of their life
Is bound in shallows and in miseries.
On such a full sea are we now afloat,
And we must take the current when it serves,
Or lose our ventures.’

Told you it would end in that guy!

I would love to see the teepee guy try to navigate those rapids – double law breaking! Take that Canberra wowsers

I’m not making a personal opinion re: the safety of this eitehr way, but I find it funny that we generally get pissed off at people that put themselves in danger in flood waters:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2010-12-27/airheads-try-to-take-mattresses-on-30km-flood-run/1887536

http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/wicked-weather/severe-storm-warning-for-gold-coast-scenic-rim-toowoomba-dalby/story-e6frep3x-1226269023796

But, in this case, we generally all find it ‘good fun’….
So, where is the line between putting yourself (and SES crews etc) in danger, and good fun?
I suppose next time a car gets washed away we can say: ‘The person had obviously been driving in rivers before and knew what he was doing (whoops, until he didn’t)’, and ‘besides, he was just trying to have good fun!’ Hahahahaha!

However, I just wonder who would have been blaming who (and suing who) if something nasty happened? Those ANU rapscallions! [shakes fist] Hahahaha! 🙂

Just got a mention on 666 after the SES update. Maybe it was the photo on RA that alerted them. Can we have a policy of “no resue” if you risk your life to have a bit of a laugh? Why should anyone else risk their life to come in after you?

The man from the ESA is on the radio now saying “stop doing stupid activities” in direct reference to this video. Naughty kiddies!

Have a look at the other rafting videos on youtube. Those rivers aren’t in flood yet there’s more water, more rocks, more fall. This is dangerous just because it’s a “flood”? It’s a steady stream of water, not flash flooding. People drown because they underestimate their abilities. Most of these guys have obviously been rafting before and know the deal. Let them make the best of the situation.

EvanJames said :

My oath. Maybe their parents didn’t wrap them in sufficient cotton wool, and they still know how to have fun. The next generation won’t, they’ll stand there and film things with their phones, but that’ll be it.

There’s a difference between activities that have a history of killing people and activities that appear to be dangerous, but aren’t.

Playing in floodwaters is not playing in the river. There seems to be some sort of mental incapacitation when water turns up somewhere that it usually isn’t.

If the emergency services were prevented from rescuing people who wilfully disregarded common sense and warnings, it would be considered natural selection. I wonder who would be screaming about that?

Play in the pool. Raft down rapids.

Stay out of flood waters.

Cotton wool doesn’t excuse common sense.

Looks fun…. dangerous, but fun.

Knowing the big stone blocks that are somewhere under that water, I can’t help but think they should be wearing helmets (and PFDs).

Apart from that, looks awesome fun. And really, down stream there is nothing but progressive lower gradient creek and then a lake, so in the general scheme of things it isn’t that bad. Gotta be safer then operating a motor vehicle with all the other muppets on the road.

Ah, the innocent days of studenthood. Oxford has the Isis, Cambridge the Cam, and Canberra…

Beside the river make for you
A tunnel of green gloom, and sleep
Deeply above; and green and deep
The stream mysterious glides beneath,
Green as a dream and deep as death.
…
To smell the thrilling-sweet and rotten
Unforgettable, unforgotten
River-smell, and hear the breeze
Sobbing in the little trees.
Say, do the elm-clumps greatly stand
Still guardians of that holy land?
The chestnuts shade, in reverend dream,
The yet unacademic stream?

Gotta make the most of it, right?

‘Why can’t fellows be allowed to do what they like when they like and as they like, instead of other fellows sitting on banks and watching them all the time and making remarks and poetry and things about them?’ Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows

It’s the references to Toad and a rat that made me remember that!

Watson said :

Disinformation said :

Yes, they’re laughing about it at this point, but now you know how idiots get killed in floodwater. Exactly the same sort of behaviour ends up as bodies found later on.

Ooh, students disobeying the authorites, Who’d have thunk?

I’m glad someone is making the most of a bad situation and it looks like heaps of fun. Tad cold though.

My oath. Maybe their parents didn’t wrap them in sufficient cotton wool, and they still know how to have fun. The next generation won’t, they’ll stand there and film things with their phones, but that’ll be it.

Watson said :

Disinformation said :

Yes, they’re laughing about it at this point, but now you know how idiots get killed in floodwater. Exactly the same sort of behaviour ends up as bodies found later on.

Ooh, students disobeying the authorites, Who’d have thunk?

I’m glad someone is making the most of a bad situation and it looks like heaps of fun. Tad cold though.

Sure. As long as they don’t expect SES volunteers to risk their lives rescuing them if things go wrong.

Bec ause no-one has ever come to grief playing in flooded creeks.

Disinformation said :

Yes, they’re laughing about it at this point, but now you know how idiots get killed in floodwater. Exactly the same sort of behaviour ends up as bodies found later on.

Ooh, students disobeying the authorites, Who’d have thunk?

I’m glad someone is making the most of a bad situation and it looks like heaps of fun. Tad cold though.

Yes, they’re laughing about it at this point, but now you know how idiots get killed in floodwater. Exactly the same sort of behaviour ends up as bodies found later on.

OzChick said :

lobster said :

But I always think – who knows what is on the bottom there?

Well, who knows what’s in that storm water? Effluent?

Going by the RANK stench there yesterday, I’d say a fair bit.

I’m not surprised that it takes the intellect of a university student to disobey the warnings issued by the SES. Stay out of flooded creeks and rivers during flash flooding and you won’t get swept away. Sure it might look like fun now, but when someone drowns under that murky runoff, they’ll be mourned as a hero, a sensible, top of their class student with a bright future.
Don’t go whining to the authorities when you capture the moment with your i-phone, when your mate is drowning. Don’t go posting it all up on a Facebook memorial with all the fanfare of a war hero. Use you brains and prevent a tragic death before it happens!

lobster said :

But I always think – who knows what is on the bottom there?

Well, who knows what’s in that storm water? Effluent?

I have always thought of and wanted to do this when the storm water gets really high.
But I always think – who knows what is on the bottom there?

Back in my day, I was bitten by a Sullies Rat

Looks like a lot of fun.

Interestingly, one piece of advice my science tutor gave the group when I was a first year student was don’t go throwing people in to the creek, because it is a really good way to get very sick.

Hopefully she was wrong.

How awesome is that? I lived in Toad for a bit, and used to watch the creek go up, but never thought of rafting on it.