Kayaking the Hudson: A treacherous trip | Forensic Files

we're on the mighty Hudson River right now about 50 Mi south of us New York City it's a beautiful River you know
I've been doing this for 15 years and I remember coming out here and the river being dirty and a lot of people having
you know people today oh you kayak on the Hudson River and it's uh you know it's a commercial Waterway it's it's
surrounded by a lot of population on its Shores but uh it's clean and it's safe and um it's a it's a great place to
kayak it really is what do you know about the weather out here on the Hudson on April 19th of this year of 2015 so I
know that after the incident I saw that the water temperature was 46° I saw that
there was a pretty strong wind out of the South about 14 to 17 miles an hour so that would have created some some
pretty good waves out here what size waves uh they could be anywhere from 2 to 4 feet probably with that wind and
the tide going out easily 2 feet the wind is blowing me the currents are taking me and these waves these are
nothing these are just inches high right not two to four feet no not at all these
this is typical what we experience on our tours um and again that's why it's so dangerous um when the wind gets stronger
and the waves get bigger perhaps that day when they went over the river was navigable but on the way back it was
worse correct correct yeah the the Hudson's notorious for that changing conditions it changes like that yes and
you can get in danger very quickly here absolutely

"48 Hours" correspondent Peter Van Sant gets a tour of the Hudson River by kayak from Bill Garrison, a kayaking expert and owner of Mountain Valley Guides. Garrison talks about the likely conditions on the river the night Vincent Viafore's kayak capsized.

Brief Summary

Kayaking on the Hudson River is safe but conditions can change rapidly, posing risks.

Key points

Kayaking on the Hudson River. After 15 years, the river is now clean and safe for kayaking.
Dangerous Conditions. The Hudson River can change conditions rapidly, posing risks to kayakers.

Episode highlights

Kayaking on the Hudson RiverAfter 15 years, the river is now clean and safe for kayaking.“It's a great place to kayak!”0:33Sep 12, 2015

Episode quotes

The Hudson's notorious for changing conditions.

Discussing the unpredictable nature of the river.

1:31WatchSep 12, 2015

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