Anonymous wrote:Some of these posters just keep showing their ignorance.
Swimmers drown all the time.
See "In the Potomac's Grip" if you have a Washington Post subscription.
Or the "Potomac River is Alluring but Deadly" in the Richmond Times Dispatch.
Not point using facts to argue with macho bravado though.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Not hyperbole but reality. It is illegal to swim in the Potomac around DC for a reason. We still Paddle board and canoe but only with life jackets.
Seven persons a year, on average, drown in the area. Nearly all drowning victims are 15 to 25 years old. Most victims had been drinking or using drugs. The Potomac seems so tranquil that people are unaware of danger.
http://npshistory.com/brochures/grfa/info.pdf
Why is Potomac River so dangerous ? In DMV area?
Fast Water
Above Great Falls the
river funnels down to 200 feet, causing the current to speed up tremendously.
Rising Water
Water rises quickly.
Water changing to muddy means danger. In 10 minutes you can be stranded on rocks and islands.
The River's Edge
The rocks are dangerous because of poor footing. Stay a body length from the water.
"Killer Hydraulic"
When water goes over a fall or dam, the current underneath runs faster than the surface. This causes water to curl backward, sucking down floating objects
^ Just stay home if you don't know what you're doing and aren't a strong swimmer.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Not hyperbole but reality. It is illegal to swim in the Potomac around DC for a reason. We still Paddle board and canoe but only with life jackets.
Seven persons a year, on average, drown in the area. Nearly all drowning victims are 15 to 25 years old. Most victims had been drinking or using drugs. The Potomac seems so tranquil that people are unaware of danger.
http://npshistory.com/brochures/grfa/info.pdf
Why is Potomac River so dangerous ? In DMV area?
Fast Water
Above Great Falls the
river funnels down to 200 feet, causing the current to speed up tremendously.
Rising Water
Water rises quickly.
Water changing to muddy means danger. In 10 minutes you can be stranded on rocks and islands.
The River's Edge
The rocks are dangerous because of poor footing. Stay a body length from the water.
"Killer Hydraulic"
When water goes over a fall or dam, the current underneath runs faster than the surface. This causes water to curl backward, sucking down floating objects
^ Just stay home if you don't know what you're doing and aren't a strong swimmer.
I’ve seen canoes fully wrapped around a rock on the Potomac. You can’t out-swim a Potomac river current!
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Not hyperbole but reality. It is illegal to swim in the Potomac around DC for a reason. We still Paddle board and canoe but only with life jackets.
Seven persons a year, on average, drown in the area. Nearly all drowning victims are 15 to 25 years old. Most victims had been drinking or using drugs. The Potomac seems so tranquil that people are unaware of danger.
http://npshistory.com/brochures/grfa/info.pdf
Why is Potomac River so dangerous ? In DMV area?
Fast Water
Above Great Falls the
river funnels down to 200 feet, causing the current to speed up tremendously.
Rising Water
Water rises quickly.
Water changing to muddy means danger. In 10 minutes you can be stranded on rocks and islands.
The River's Edge
The rocks are dangerous because of poor footing. Stay a body length from the water.
"Killer Hydraulic"
When water goes over a fall or dam, the current underneath runs faster than the surface. This causes water to curl backward, sucking down floating objects
^ Just stay home if you don't know what you're doing and aren't a strong swimmer.
Anonymous wrote:Not hyperbole but reality. It is illegal to swim in the Potomac around DC for a reason. We still Paddle board and canoe but only with life jackets.
Seven persons a year, on average, drown in the area. Nearly all drowning victims are 15 to 25 years old. Most victims had been drinking or using drugs. The Potomac seems so tranquil that people are unaware of danger.
http://npshistory.com/brochures/grfa/info.pdf
Why is Potomac River so dangerous ? In DMV area?
Fast Water
Above Great Falls the
river funnels down to 200 feet, causing the current to speed up tremendously.
Rising Water
Water rises quickly.
Water changing to muddy means danger. In 10 minutes you can be stranded on rocks and islands.
The River's Edge
The rocks are dangerous because of poor footing. Stay a body length from the water.
"Killer Hydraulic"
When water goes over a fall or dam, the current underneath runs faster than the surface. This causes water to curl backward, sucking down floating objects
Anonymous wrote:Potomac river swimmer here and the PP who posted the links to people drowning in the Potomac is just the kind of anxious type-A BS the DMV is over run with.
Do I need to list all the news stories about people who have drowned in the ocean? Or in swimming pools? It's many, many more.
Swimming in water is always a little dangerous. Just like you don't go in the ocean if there's a riptide, you don't swim near Great Falls, or where the currents are strong.
I mean this is common sense. People have been swimming in rivers for thousands of years.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:
It's not like it's an automatic death sentence. Sheesh.
It is far more dangerous to drive a car than to swim in the Potomac.
This is true if you actually know how to swim.
No, it’s not. Idiots. I guess being stupid about river safety also makes you bad at math.
What makes you think that swimming in the Potomac is dangerous?
Anonymous wrote:My teens like to swim at Scott's Run, although not strictly legal.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:
It's not like it's an automatic death sentence. Sheesh.
It is far more dangerous to drive a car than to swim in the Potomac.
This is true if you actually know how to swim.
No, it’s not. Idiots. I guess being stupid about river safety also makes you bad at math.
What makes you think that swimming in the Potomac is dangerous?