Duke Sophomore Kayakers Head into Rapids to Save Swimmer

In the days following Hurricane Isabel, the Potomac River flowed at close to 200,000 cubic feet per seconds - so fast that Maryland officials posted warning signs prohibiting access to the river.

But Duke sophomores Frank Jackson and Chris Skelton and two of their friends decided to kayak the river anyway.

One man is grateful they did. That man is a Czechoslovakian native who ignored the warnings and tried to swim the river. Fortunately for him, he was not the only person breaking the law that day.

It was the lure of a wild ride that brought Jackson, a former kayaking instructor from Bethesda, Md., and Skelton, who learned to kayak at summer camp at age 11, to the Potomac. What they found upon arriving was intimidating. "There were 50-foot trees running down the river and tons of debris," Jackson said.

On their first run through a section of the river called Mather Gorge, the students heard shouts of "help," then spotted arms flailing in the water. Jackson immediately headed toward the commotion - and into the rapids.

"It was just my natural instinct to paddle out there and try to pick him up," Jackson said. "I thought this guy was a kayaker, but when I got out there I saw that he had no helmet or life jacket on. He could barely speak English."

With the man clinging to his kayak, Jackson tried to paddle through six-foot waves to shore. "Frank had a really small boat; it barely fit him," said Skelton, who was trailing behind. "And when you throw an extra 180 pounds on top of it, it becomes impossible to paddle. ' Frank's boat was basically turned vertical."

At the end of the gorge, the river widened, with a channel on one side and a rocky cliff on the other. "I was trying to paddle to the left to get to the channel," Jackson said, "but the rapids were taking me to the rocks."

Right before Jackson's kayak hit the rocks, it flipped, sucking both him and the swimmer underwater. "I thought Frank was dead," said Skelton, a fraternity brother of Jackson's from Long Beach, Calif.

When Jackson resurfaced, he saw that the swimmer was holding onto the kayak about 20 yards downstream. The swimmer eventually made his way to an island in the river.

Jackson took shelter on a nearby rock. "I was out of breath and couldn't stop coughing up water," he said.

It wasn't long before a helicopter patrolling the area spotted them and called for help. The rescuers found Jackson, Skelton and the swimmer in an area of the river called Old Angler's Inn. "These two boats came racing in like they were the Navy Seals," Skelton said. "It was really cool."

Jackson and the swimmer were rushed to the hospital. "Frank's foot was gushing blood," Skelton said. In the ambulance, the swimmer asked Jackson for his phone number. He plans to treat Jackson to dinner.

The park ranger gave the swimmer a citation for illegally swimming in the Potomac.

But Jackson's trespasses were overlooked. Recalled Jackson, "The fire and rescue guy yelled, 'You can't arrest this guy! He's a hero!'"

Written by Duke first-year student Shadee Malaklou