That is the question. Flipping the boat could be a lot of fun, but it could also be unsettling, it depends on what kind of paddler you are, where you flip and whether the flip was on purpose or not. I remember the first time I flipped in a raft, I was 12 years old and it was my first time rafting, I was on a boat with oars, me and the other kids called it the superman boat, because the guide was actually doing all the work for us. The ride was going fine, and the guide actually let us guide some of the way. I remember running a rapid close to a bridge and suddenly being under water. I was the first one out of the water, followed by the guide and my fellow raft companions.

I was excited about it and exhilarated with adrenaline, but my best friend was not. She was under water for about 3 seconds and came up crying, thinking she would die. She said she had a flash black and could see her whole life (all 12 years of it) rushing before her eyes. She looked terrified. The guide unflipped the boat and we kept on rafting. By the end of the trip, I had a big smile on my face, and hers was frowny. I loved the experience and she will probably never do it again. After that little anecdote, you must be wondering: How do YOU know if you want to flip the boat?

The answer to that question is simple: you don’t (usually) know if you really want to flip. My best friend (I was telling y’all about) was a “wild” ridder and wanted to flip, but didn’t enjoyed it when it happened. Some wild ridders freak out when the boat flips, and some mild ridders that would never imagine they would enjoy flipping the boat, actually love it. There is only one way to know if you’ll enjoy flipping: by flipping the boat. That is why for a lot of guides it is hard to know if they can purposely flip the boat or not, to give the costumers an adventurous ride. Usually it’s safer not to flip the raft, or flip it in calm water. In the Ocoee River there are some spots where you might flip depending on your angle or how fast or slow you are going, and how much weight there is on the boat, but the best flip is the unintentional flip, the one that happens when no one is expecting it.

Sometimes you want to flip so bad, you do everything right to flip, but it just doesn’t happen. Sometimes you are trying hard not to flip the boat, some weird water rocket physics goes on and you end up flipping. The River will decide your fate, so just let the water gods challenge your emotional control or let you smoothly ride above the water. In the end, the question “to flip or not to flip” doesn’t really depend on you (though your participation in paddling or not paddling might decide that for you), the river gods will do what the river gods decide to do, so, just have fun in either case and accept your fate, which ever it might be. Remember, keep trying to do what you want: to flip, or not to flip. Best-case scenario? You’ll fail both attempts.

By: Laura de Leers