[Kat]

Yup, that's right - it flew. So despite hauling this raft into Ivanhoe at the end of June and not using it (almost 8pm, heavy wind and major skeeters), training on vile hikes all the month of July for Aasgard which left no time for anything else, we finally took a "play day" on Sunday and went up to Lillian to test drive this raft. I got the hang of the Inflatabag about halfway thru inflating the raft. Strangely enough, the boyfriend disappeared during this process and reappeared when it was complete So I stash the raft in some low bushes, and we are getting to cutting a nylon rope to attach to it, as I am changing to water shoes and am zipping my pant legs back on. Suddenly a HUGE gust of wind rips thru and... yup, Mr. Curtis Raft takes his Maiden Flight. Totally airborne, then right into the lake. The boyfriend makes a futile plunge, but that wind gust is major and the raft is quickly gone out of reach. Holee cow! What to do! I slam the other water shoe on and run down to the lake shore. Suddenly, the wind changes direction and the raft is heading back kind of towards us. He runs up to the top of a short cliff, then down. I also jump into the water towards the raft and grab my BD pole. I frantically plunge thru the shoreline towards the raft, which the wind indicates it has every intention of departing again at the earliest moment So, we manage to get it secured. Good news: We managed to enjoy an extremely restful paddle around Lillian after that. Bad news: My Optio S camera is HOSED. I always carry it in my fanny pack, which was on when I leaped in to save the Curtis Raft.

[Backpacker Joe]

Kat baby, great rafting story. Sorry about the camera. Love to see that plunge.....

[gary]

Sorry to hear about your camera. Maybe if you open it all up, and put it near some warm airflow (like on top of a computer monitor) it'll start working again. I have heard of that happening... At least you saved the raft!

[ree]

Wow! What a story! That is dreadful about the camera! I don't know what the raft looks like. Maybe someone will post a picture?

[Kat]

no pics of the plunge obviously lol - but let me tell you I was SERIOUS about saving that Curtis Raft. No way I was leaving the lake without that raft. And losing the camera sucks. It doesn't work after drying out, darn!

[Backpacker Joe]

Same thing happened to me with Thomas Davenportski. I rolled my camera into Iron Cap lake and she was TOAST!@

[justybug]

i thought the optio was the waterproof one? or is that just one specific model, like sd or something? sorry to hear about that! betcha didn't know you were gettting a kite in the deal though...

[Tazz]

great tr Kat it is a classic glad you caught it though sorry about the camera

[marzsit]

next time, pop the battery out of the wet camera immediately. water itself usually won't damage electronics, as long as you don't attempt to turn the device on when wet. my dad saved an old canon sure shot that was submerged in a bucket of rainwater in the backyard for a week, after drying out it worked just fine. i had my first freestanding tent take a leap for eagle lake once.. a dome tent floats pretty well.........

[sooperfly]

Whew! Sorry about yer camera, but glad you got your raft back!

[Brian Curtis]

I'm sorry to hear about your camera. At least we all know you have your priorities straight. When I'm done inflating the raft I put my T-rest and paddles in the boat and put it in the water with a line attached to something on the shore. That allows the water to cool the air in the boat while I'm getting the rest of my stuff ready to go. For Ree, here's another shot that I posted on another thread, but hey any excuse to post this pic...

[Kat]

You know, I'm embarrassed to say I forgot to bring the Thermarest. (Note to self: RTFM before leaving the house). However, the raft seemed to perform well without it, and fortunately the lake water wasn't cold. And, a brief surge of excitement this morning - the camera actually powered on for a second, but gave 2 strange beeps and shut itself off. Oh well... Shopping time....

[Dayhike Mike]

[Tom]

Yes, in the future take the batteries out immediately and put the camera on a food dehydrator for several days. Did the trick for me.

[Kat]

Thanks all for the advice. I did know enough to not turn the camera back on once it was wet. But being the maiden voyage of a fabulous Curtis Raft which begged to be documented on "film", I managed to convince myself it had dried out enough in the hot sun to power it on Stupid, stupid, stupid It may just be the battery that's fried, as it won't hold a charge and I got the camera to stay on for a few more seconds right after I pulled it off the charger - it was asking for time and date set. But all's well that ends well - I still have the Curtis Raft! yippee!