Delaware River of Death - Number 4!
 

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I wanted to post a heads-up to anyone fishing the Delaware River that thes high waters this summer have made the river more dangerous than usual.
TWO people have drowned this week in the Delaware River.
That makes four this summer. This one is actually the second drowning in Worthington State Forest this summer.

Here's the article from NJ.com:
http://www.nj.com/warrenreporter/ind..._river_default

I have stopped fishing Worthington State Forest in the summer because the massive crowds of inner-city people make fishing nearly impossible. I'm not sure, but I think the Park Police may have closed the canoe launch by Route 80 after the last drowning a couple of weeks ago.

When I drove through the parking lot, it appeared the police were blocking off sections of parking and the boat launch in a desperate attempt to control the overcrowding. I'm not sure because the area was too crowded to approach and there was no where to park so I could walk over to see. Just insanity.




Anyway, this whole event reminds me of a joke I heard:

There were two rednecks fishing for catfish on the banks of the Delaware River.

A guy from New York City is thrashing around in the water screaming, "I can't swim! I can't swim!"

One redneck looked at the other and said, "Well, I can't play piano. You don't see me hollering about it.".




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Re: Delaware River of Death - Number 4!
 

See my thread a few posts down. We towed a dead guys boat for probably 5 miles the day he died.

Re: Delaware River of Death - Number 4!
 

I guess the Hudson isn't clean enough to drown in...

Re: Delaware River of Death - Number 4!
 

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I may be wrong about the number being 4.
A quick Google search for "Delaware River Drownings 2013" revealed at least ten incidents:

1) Anthony Del Prete (age 30), Aug. 10, inner tube

2) Shawn Martin (age 29), June 14, Kayak

3) Daven Harrison (age 20), Aug. 10, swimming

4) Christopher Montalvo (age 29), July 9, swimming

5) Michael Maxwell (age 9), July 8, fishing

6) Juan Roberto Salomon Delacruz (age 51), July 21, swimming

7) Donald Shamus (age 21), June 19, kayak (West Branch of Delaware)

8) Mark Griffin (age 52), May 27, unknown

9) Dennis Murphy (age 70), June 13, canoe

10) Gary West (age 38), July 6, rafting (this guy lived in Summit)

11) Unidentified Body, April 14, unknown - found floating in Bristol Township

Re: Delaware River of Death - Number 4!
 

Dont forget about the car that took a plunge into the Delaware last month. Kid drowned locked in his car just north of Riegelsville!!! Horrible way to die, just horrible!!!

Re: Delaware River of Death - Number 4!
 

Ouch! The term Big D now has new meaning for the "D" part. Be careful out there:(

Re: Delaware River of Death - Number 4!
 

Don't condemn the river because some people drown. It's a big river with probably as much shoreline as the jersey coast and how many people drown there. It doesn't have many life guards and not much supervision, it' a place you can be free. Just be careful and use good common sense, because it can be dangerous if you don't, as all bodies of water can and what ever you do don't try to swim across it. I live close to the river and every year people die trying. They under estimate the distance and the currents.

LIFE JACKETS SAVE LIVES.

Re: Delaware River of Death - Number 4!
 

Well Put Phil!!!

Re: Delaware River of Death - Number 4!
 

2 kids drowned in the pennypack this summer as well, everyone needs to be extra careful especially after the rains

Re: Delaware River of Death - Number 4!
 

What about the girl who went off the bridge on her way home from work. Was that lambertville or frenchtown?

Re: Delaware River of Death - Number 4!
 

I believe that was Belvidere.

Re: Delaware River of Death - Number 4!
 

That's the story that was on NJ101.5. Lady jumped off the horse bridge down around Bulls Island somewhere! Unreal!!! Respect the river, respect the power of the water and enjoy what the BIG D has to offer!!!

Re: Delaware River of Death - Number 4!
 

I think most of these drowning's are city folk playing wilderness!! Seriously, it's common cense if u can't swim don't go tubing.. Accidents happen and it sux but realistically most of them just suffer from the dumb!! Another thing.. DONT wear waiters in a canoe/kayak.. The gorge is gunna get my ass 1 day if I don't start wearing my waiter belt..

Re: Delaware River of Death - Number 4!
 

Fact: most drowning victims can swim and swim well. Its called over confidence. I thought they had enough of these signs in the park already. Apparently they don't work because the river off of Kittatinny Point Beach is full of swimmers.

http://www.delpino.es/pix/200909/pro...619-1-zoom.jpg

Re: Delaware River of Death - Number 4!
 

Hense " Suffer from the dumb"

Re: Delaware River of Death - Number 4!
 

Yes, the thing all ten drownings have in common is none of them were wearing a PFD.



A bit off topic, but I have read that falling in the water wearing waders won't cause you to sink. The reason being that when water is both on the inside and the outside of your waders, the weight of the water inside your waders is cancelled out.

When you go to climb out of the water, then the weight of the water will be important.

Here's a Video I found about it. Apparently heavy rubber waders will weight you down, but not because of the water. It's just because they're heavy.


http://youtu.be/2m0_naq0-qc


<iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/2m0_naq0-qc" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Re: Delaware River of Death - Number 4!
 

I hear they are going to implement a flag system similiar to what they use at the Jersey shore to notify swimmers/paddlers about the river conditions. When me and Skunk City made our 4 day trip, we had no idea that the river conditions were such that no one was allowing kayaks or canoes to be rented on Saturday, which is the day that someone drowned. I think a lot of it is that with the economy being what it is, people are vacationing closer to home, which means places such as the Delaware River are being frequented more, and the people arent aware of the conditions and such.