FEATURES Safety comes first, rafters warned

Press, 17 December 1985, Page 13

FEATURES Safety comes first, rafters warned

Shooting dangerous white water rapids in a raft beckons growing numbers of adventurous thrill-seek-ers to give it a go. And the main overseer of New Zealand’s flourishing white water rafting industry, Captain Steve Ponsford, of the Ministry of Transport marine division, feels that rafting is safe enough. He was responding to recent criticisms by two American rafting experts about New Zealand’s safety measures. Captain Ponsford, who is the division’s principal nautical surveyor, says that in spite of minimal . legal regulation of the industry’s safety aspects there are ways of keeping the rafting companies to acceptable safety standards. “A company that is not sticking to the minimum safety standards we require is not going to survive for very long,” he says. “We have only to make it publicly known that this company should be avoided by customers, tell other Government departments not to deal with the company, and liaise with the company ourselves, to bring it round to improved safety standards.” The Tourist and Publicity Department could refuse to handle any bookings with such a company, Captain Ponsford adds. The Lands and Survey Department can refuse it access across Crown land to a river. Any company that is not registered with the marine division is not recommended to these other departments. “The public and other rafting companies are among the best monitors of each company's safety practices. We have also carried out a survey of all companies and keep in regular liaison with them.” During the 11-year history of commercial rafting in New Zealand only seven of about 600,000 people who have both shot the rapids and paddled down quieter rivers, have drowned, Captain Ponsford says. “This compares very well with the higher number of fatalities in other dangerous sports. The two Motu River drownings of 1982, attributed to excessively high river levels, occurred before the marine division got involved with the industry. “In a similar Rangitikei River (Manawatu) drowning in 1983 the inexperienced guide was prosecuted by the police but found not guilty by a jury. He was pestered by his customers to go rafting in particularly dangerous conditions. “In 1979, an elderly rafter was drowned in the Shotover River near Queenstown, and two people were drowned in the Mohaka River, Hawke’s Bay, in 1984 after they were washed into deep rock crevices gouged out by the river. The second fatality was caused by congestion of rafts, and it has since been agreed that that particular rapid must be shot by one raft at a time.

“Another person was drowned in the Wairoa River, Bay of Plenty, after his foot got caught in some reinforcing steel on the river bottom. His head was under the water

for about five minutes until the river drained away after the dam upstream was closed. “Most injuries have been caused by rafters getting knocked by paddles and helmets, which is why they are carefully briefed about using their paddles. The injury record in white water rafting also compares favourably with injuries in sports such as mountaineering and ski-ing.” The marine division became involved with the industry’s safety measures after the Motu River drownings, Captain Ponsford says. “We were approached by the dozen companies operating then and helped them form the New Zealand Professional Rafting Association. Out of this came the first commercial code of practice for rafting. “During the following boom 198384 season the number of rafting companies grew to 33. There was much back-biting among them over who should be in the association and who should not. Some of the older companies criticised the safety standards of the new companies.” At the end of this season the division carried out its survey of

all companies. “It was my opinion then and still is, that the industry is in a good shape,” Captain Ponsford says. “It probably has a higher safety standard than the rafting companies in the United States and Canada had at the same stage of their development. “In mid-1984, the association disbanded so the marine division came up with an amended safety code of practice which is very closely followed by every one of the 43 commercial rafting companies in New Zealand. If the Minister of Transport deemed it necessary he could recommend the introduction of specific regulations under the 1952 Shipping and Seamen Act.” Both the Labour Government and its predecessor have been opposed to introducing mandatory regulations “because of the kind of sport rafting is,” he adds. “As long as the industry is being run by responsible people the Government does not regard its intervention with specific regulations is necessary.”

TESSA WARD

Two rafting operators, Maurice Spence, of the Rakaia River Raft-

speaks to Ministry of Trans-

port administrators and rafting operators about criticisms made of New Zealand’s safety measures on dangerous white-water rivers.

ing Company, and Michael Miles, of Value Tours, Ltd, both say that some rafting companies may not always follow maximum safety guidelines. They also say that while they would accept greater regulation of safety practices this would be difficult and expensive for the Government to police. Rafting companies have sprung up recently which the marine division may not know about and it

can’t know all that is going on within the companies, Mr Miles says.

“I think people wanting to go rafting should try to find out which are the most reputable companies before they choose who to shoot the rapids with. Of course most peoples’ decisions are dictated by the price charged.

“By dealing with only the reputable companies an inexperienced person is safe enough rafting on a class five river such as the Rangitata. Because of the rigorous nature of the sport I would certainly recommend that the rafters are physically fit.” Rafters’ physical fitness is needed to manage the raft properly with vigorous paddling, Mr Spence says.

Captain Ponsford says that each rafter is assessed for fitness by the companies as well as thoroughly drilled on what to expect and how to deal with dangers during the trip. “I should point out that physical fitness is not generally assessed by mountaineering or skiing guides. None of. the rafter drownings have resulted from a

lack of physical fitness.”

If a rafter is not a swimmer he is more inclined to panic if he is thrown off the raft into, the water, Mr Spence says. The rafting guide’s first responsibility is to those left in the raft rather than/the person who has fallen out, Captain Ponsford says.

“All the rafters are briefed that if someone does fall out, the first thing they should do is try to grab him or extend a paddle to him to hang on to. The person in the water has also been carefully instructed what to do to get back onto the raft or . the riverbank.”

If the guide falls out of the raft it is not a particularly dangerous situation for the rafters left in the raft, Mr Miles says. The use of two guides : on each raft would be an advantage on rivers like the Rangitata River but not a necessity, Mr Spence says. No serious injuries have so far resulted from having only one guide on a raft, Captain Ponsford says.

“We insist on a convoy of two rafts for class five rivers. On most of the rivers there is a spell of quiet water before the raft reaches

the rapids and the rafters use-this to get more acquainted with safety procedure,” Captain Ponsford adds. “A guide overboard is not going to get separated from the raft for ever more. Both the United States and Canada have a similar approach to this safety aspect.” Each rafting company generally determines what 1 river levels and conditions are safe enough to operate on, Mr Spence says. “As the experience of my company grows we are able to cope with the higher river levels, and to interpret the river and weather reports better to gauge what the river will do”

Captain Pqnsford says that rafting companies operating on the Shotover, Kawarau, Rangitikei, and Mohakaßivers had agreed that over a certain river level the river should be considered closed to rafting. , 1 “With the advent of popular winter rafting there have been some operators who have not fullyunderstood the requirements for providing cold and wet weather protection gear to prevent exposure. During the last winter there have been exposure incidents which have had a detrimental

effect on those companies that are providing the right gear.” d Self-bailing rafts, recommended by some experts, are not suitable for all rivers and their advantages are not proven, Captain Ponsford says. Rafting equipment has become safer over the years, Mr Miles adds.

Another raft operator, Mr Robert Eymann, of Kawarau Rafts, Ltd, would like to be able to import rafting equipment which he 1 regards as more safe than the New' Zealand equipment. In reply,..Captain Ponsford says that New’Zealandl rafting equipment is among the safest in the world.

Mr Spence would like to see more promotion of rafting as an outdoor experience, with the white water part treated as a bonus. “There are many quieter rivers to enjoy that offer lower class rapids as a good training ground for people later to tackle the class five rapids. I feel that the professionalism of rafting; companies is growing, with the boom and accompanying fast buck now over, and each company pushing for. greater safety and credibility.”