Cleveland kayaker dies in New Zealand
Bijili E
Just received a news report from AOL (Associated Press):
"Dr. Robin Dodd, from Cleveland, was with a group of kayakers who on Saturday
tackled a treacherous stretch of the Hokitika River, on the west coast of New
Zealand's South Island, 155 miles south of the capital of Wellington . . ."
Did anyone know him?
BijiliE
msellers
>Did anyone know him?
Rob and I sort of grew up together in Cleveland. He graduated HS a couple of
years ahead of me. He and I worked as raft guides on the Ocoee for a number
of years. He @ Sunburst (preNOC) and I @ OO. Rob was a good guy and a good
friend though we had grown apart as friends can do. He went to med school
and had attempted to become an ortho surgeon. Think he was currently working
ER in Chattanooga. Condolences to family! He will be missed!
marc
msellers
marc
Brian Gardel
but many of my friends did.
I remember Robin being an extremely solid long time boater with lots and
lots of experience running hard rivers. Last time I paddled with Robin was
on the swollen Upper Fish creek below the falls (Steamboat, CO) earlier this
srping at high water. I dislocated my shoulder in one of the first gorges
and swam to shore. I reduced my shoulder on my own (the rest of my party was
across the river and unable to reach me due to the flooded nature of the run
and the ruggedness of the gorge) and Robin, who as a doctor had reduced many
shoulders in his time, later remarked he had never seen anyone reduce their
own shoulder. We exchanged addresses, he gave me a few last words of advice
on healing my wounds, and we parted ways. I've thought of him many times
since and have held great admiration and respect for him since that day on
Fish Creek and had hoped to paddle with him again. For reasons I can't
describe or fully understand, Robin deeply touched my heart and gained my
respect as one of those paddlers whom I would trust on any stretch of river.
Robin, you will be dearly missed my brother!
If anyone has any updates or information on the circumstances which led to
Robin's death in NZ, please post them as I know many others are deeply
affected by this tragedy and will want to know what happened. Thank you.
Brian Gardel
during the tragic event. I've got a couple photos that were also send with
the message posted on mountainbuzz:
http://mountainbuzz.com/wwwboard/index2.pl?read=533
...
Hey Brian, we are sorting things out here in NZ with the accident and I
thought I would relay the details to the states. Could you please see that
this message gets distributed on Mountainbuzz, rec.boat.paddle, ect before
the rumors fly.
Thanks
1/9/00
It is very unfortunate to say there was a drowning on the Upper/Upper
Hokitika River yesterday on the South Island of New Zealand. Robin Dodd,
U.S. doctor/paddler, was trapped in a sieve several feet underwater and was
unable to free himself. An experienced group consisting of Arnd Schaeftlein,
Mark Lyle, Dave Persolja, Tomas Rundgren, Gustav Lindstrom, Jim Hiese, Robin
and myself where pushing for the second decent of the top section of the
Hokitika. We helicoptered in for the two day mission with what we considered
fair to low water conditions. The run was full of sieves, very apparent with
the low water. About half way into the first day of the trip we stopped to
scout this rapid. It was one of the smaller less concerning rapids of the
day, and we reckoned there were no problems. Arnd went through first without
much difficult, with Gustav entering second rolling midway through. Robin
entered third and was slowed down and thrown off slightly by a small hole
midway. He then went over a 4 ft drop with a strong pillow and fold created
by a rock just downstream. He subbed out in the seam similar to Arnd and
Gustav but pinned against the rock just underwater. His paddle was
immediately released and it looked as though he made a quick attempt at
exiting his boat. Within seconds Robin and his boat where underwater and out
of site. In less than a minute, 6 of us where able to get within 6 feet of
where we last saw Robin but were unable to either see or help him. Arnd,
Dave, and Tomas all made a very bold jump into a tiny eddy above the sieve.
Arnd was then lowered down in front of the rock by his feet for several
attempts at reaching Robin underwater. Unfortunately the current was to
strong and Robin was out of reach. We later tried snagging him and his boat
with ropes and a Z-drag but nothing seemed to work. After over an hour of
rescue effort we decided to continue through the rest of the canyon to the
hut where we were to spend the night.
From there we were able to radio the helicopter pilot and let him know what
had happened. The next day a team of search and rescue flew to assist in
extraction. At the present time all recovery attempts have been
unsuccessful.
A similar drowning occurred several days ago on the Nevis River, when German
kayaker Guenter Schuppan fell backwards into a sieve. Bernd Sommer was on
the scene and was able to free the boat within a minute. By that time
Guenter was out of the boat and trapped in the sieve. It ended up taking the
local rescue crew several days, and river/flow alteration to recover the
body. This rapid was also said to be small and non-concerning but contained
a powerful sieve.
Chris Emerick
chr...@ibm.net
Rutter the Nutter NZ
drowned on Saturday afternoon.
The gorge that he was paddling in is extremely technical in places
and this section is rated Class 5 - 5+. We have little other
information from what is contained in the report by Chris Emerich that
is already posted except that Robins body was recovered today and that
the rest of the group will be leaving NZ shortly.
Check out also the articles at
http://onenews.co.nz/National/2000/01/10/00014751.htm
The NZRCA will be assisting with the investigation of Robins death
and we send our sympathies his family and friends.
Yours
Robin Rutter-Baumann
Vice-President
NZ Recreational Canoeing Association
PO Box 284
Wellington
NEW ZEALAND
Ph. +64 3 374-5242
www.rivers.org.nz
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.
Wilko
> Just received a news report from AOL (Associated Press):
>
> "Dr. Robin Dodd, from Cleveland, was with a group of kayakers who on
Saturday
> tackled a treacherous stretch of the Hokitika River, on the west coast
of New
> Zealand's South Island, 155 miles south of the capital of Wellington .
. ."
It was sad to read this. It got even worse when I followed the link on
Nutter Rutter's post and found that four days before Robin Dodd died,
another experienced paddler, this time a German, died while paddling in
New Zealand as well. :-(
My condolances to the loved ones and friends of these two boaters.
--
Wilko van den Bergh - Quibus(at)europe(dot)com
Eindhoven - The Netherlands - Europe
--- "Look Mum: No sense!" ---
Jacmoore
and am deeply saddened by the loss. Robin was originally from Cleveland TN, but
has lived in Chattanooga for many years. He was a physician by profession, but
his first love has always been boating. He was an exceptional paddler.
Does anyone have any details of the accident? I heard that the accident
occurred in a class III rapid, although this is probably third-hand information
so it could be inaccurate.
Another sad day...
J. Moore
>Dear Folks,
>
>Just received a news report from AOL (Associated Press):
>
>"Dr. Robin Dodd, from Cleveland, was with a group of kayakers who on Saturday
>tackled a treacherous stretch of the Hokitika River, on the west coast of New
>Zealand's South Island, 155 miles south of the capital of Wellington . . ."
>
Jacmoore
J. Moore