Father drowns on family Niagara river dive trip - Ontario, Canada

[DandyDon]

End-of-summer scuba diving trip to Niagara ends in tragedy for family with Reading ties

Michael A. Trump loved to travel with his wife and their two daughters, and their trips often involved hiking back trails, rock climbing and scuba diving.

Trump, 49, and his wife, Kristin, both Reading natives who moved to Ohio in 1995, took their daughters Amanda, 20, and Tricia, 16, to the Niagara region in Ontario, Canada, for an end-of-summer vacation.

"It was a quick trip to do a scuba dive before we took our daughter back to college," Kristin said in a telephone interview Thursday from Ohio.

All master divers, the Trumps were eager to add the Niagara River to their collection of photographs and memories from scuba-diving adventures that include Hawaii and the Caribbean. The conditions seemed perfect when they entered the water at the town of Fort Erie on Saturday afternoon.

Instead, the trip turned tragic after the group encountered difficulties while under water.

The river's current suddenly increased, Kristin said, and she and her older daughter surfaced after being slammed against something under the water. They were rescued by emergency responders. Tricia was already out of the water having been thrown clear of the raging waters.

Police said Michael Trump remained under water. His body was found later.

Kristin, a Holy Name High School graduate who works as a physician in the Akron area where the family resides, said she and Michael were members of the Reading Buccaneers Drum & Bugle Corps — he as an instrumentalist (bugle) and she as a member of the color guard.

Her husband was employed in computer drafting and design with an environmental company that rehabilitates stream beds and wetlands. He was in the process of becoming a Federal Aviation Administration-certified commercial drone pilot.

Michael Trump's parents, Richard and Faye, live in Wyomissing.

Faye Trump said her son "lived his life to the fullest" but at the same time was very safety conscious. She has little doubt he sacrificed his life to make sure his wife and daughters made to it safety.

Michael loved that his family shared his passions, his mother said.

"Everything they did, they did as a family," she said. "He loved life. He wanted to make sure his daughters and especially his wife had opportunities to do everything he loved and they experienced everything he could possibly give them."

 

[rhwestfall]

That is a very challenging section..... Never had an interest is doing it. Much friendlier waters below, still with a 3kt current. That upper section is way above that. Google "Thompson's Hole' for crazy YouTube video.

Thoughts to the family and the diving community here. Not at all what should ever happen...

 

[scubadiver888]

My condolences to the family and friends of diver.

This area of the Niagara River is very fast moving. Low visibility means things come out of nowhere and FAST. The first time I dove the 'easy' part I clipped up knee trying to avoid a 4 foot boulder that came out of nowhere. I only glanced over for a second or two at my buddy. Even with a through dive briefing from someone who REALLY knew the river it was a challenging dive. First lesson, get a local guide with a lot of experience to take you out.

Just two years ago a rescue diver from the Buffalo Police Department lost his life in this area of the river.

If you go to Google Maps for "Lavinia St &, Niagara Blvd, Fort Erie, ON L2A 2C4", go to the north of the parking lot there is an abandoned pier. Looking at a satellite view you can see an angry looking cloud. That is The Washing Machine. Definitely something you want someone VERY familiar with the area to brief you on. This is where the Buffalo Police Department diver lost his life. Even outside the angry cloud, this area is a swirl of water. Currents switch back and change direction. There is a lot of debris and huge boulders all over. You can easily go from 70 feet to 8 feet in a few seconds. It sounds like the family didn't attempt this area of the water.

If you go to "608 Niagara Blvd, Fort Erie, ON L2A 3H1" there is a parking lot. Park on the south side, on the grass and you'll find a trail which takes you down below the International Railway Bridge. You get in the water, go with the current, fin out around 200 yards, almost to the US/Canada border. The water is usually 10 to 15 feet deep. The current is really strong here but if you pay attention, it isn't anywhere near as hard as the Washing Machine. But, again, without a good dive briefing, this could be very dangerous. Get someone familiar with the area to take you out.

The river was fast last year. They have greatly increased the flow of water through the Great Lakes to deal with flooding in Lake Ontario. I suspect this was a contributing factor. Second lesson, consider changes in the water flow when going on a drift dive; did they open the locks downstream more than previous years? Have there been significant rain fall? In the Spring, is melting snow a contributing factor.

The third entry point is at "1293 Niagara Pkwy, Fort Erie, Ontario", just north of Frenchman's Bridge. There is a parking lot here. You go to the north of the parking lot and there is a rough entry point to the water. This area is a lot easier to dive from. Local divers will do this as their first dive in the morning and exit at the park near "2906 Niagara Pkwy Fort Erie, Ontario". Third lesson, start off with a simpler dive to see how the river is running. If this portion of the dive seems a little challenging then maybe you want to avoid doing the harder/faster sections of the river.

The Fourth lesson for river diving, is that where the river narrows is where the current will increase. Looking at a map you can see that the river is much more narrow at the Washing Machine than say Frenchman's Bridge.

@rhwestfall I don't know where "Thompson's Hole" is. Do you have a shore address of where it is near?

Edit: Never mind, just found a reference to Thompson's Hole here on ScubaBoard. That is what I call the Washing Machine.

 

[wgw04024]

I have not been to this location before, after reading the descriptions above, what is the attraction?

 

[rhwestfall]

I have not been to this location before, after reading the descriptions above, what is the attraction?

It is a thrilling ride.... For me, I dive the slower 3it flow along Grand Island. Lots of fish, and occasionally a nice vintage bottle..

 

[scubadiver888]

I have not been to this location before, after reading the descriptions above, what is the attraction?

Part of it is, as @rhwestfall said, a thrilling ride. I like it because it can be challenging. In most drift diving I've done you can look around. There is great visibility, you have depth (so you can stay off the bottom), the current isn't that fast. With diving the upper Niagara River you have to have your A-game. A moment glance to the side or not staying focused on the dive can quickly result in your tumbling end over end, having your mask ripped off, hitting something. You get seriously punished if you don't have really good focus.

That moment when you feel your fin getting grabbed and you are about to tumble end over end. Then you focus, recover and keep going can feel quite satisfying. It can be quite the humbling experience.

 

[BlueTrin]

Found a video of this place.

That looks a bit stressful, he is using a lot of hands as well.

 

[wgw04024]

So after watching that video, i get it, it's exciting. From watching the video, seems like a complete waste of time.

 

[The Chairman]

Yeah, I don't see the attraction either.

 

[scubadiver888]

Found a video of this place.

That looks a bit stressful, he is using a lot of hands as well.

The entry point isn't ideal. There is a good point to enter where a back current will take you south (the main river runs north) and pull you from 10 feet down to 65 feet (I hit 71 feet once). Then it shoots you into the river's main flow and slingshots you north up a hill of zebra mussels. You can either turn left (west) when you go over a ridge of zebra mussel at 8 feet and drop into a trough at 10 feet. You follow the trough west to a grassy area (I think this is where the video started) then drop down to 40 feet to catch a back eddy to the entry point. If you have good air consumption you can do this loop three times but if you want to be safe, you do it twice. Then you get out at the entry point.

Another options is to exit before you do even one loop, when you get to the point you go from 65 feet up to 8 feet, fight the current for 5 feet to go north. Once you get past that one point, the river will grab you and send you north. You then go with the river and exit near the International Railway Bridge down river (or you can get out a little earlier at FEURU (Fort Erie Underwater Recovery Unit) & Scuba Club.

If done right, you don't have to use your hands and grab things. But there have been times I missed the 'right' line through the river and had to use my hands to get over a few boulders rather than hit them.

The challenging part is getting good at finding the right line. When I follow the guy who showed me how to dive the area, we have a fast, smooth and fun dive. He nails it every time. When I do it, I mess up sometimes. I'm at a point where I know what I did wrong one or two seconds after the fact but by that point it is just do the best you can and get out safely. When you do miss a turning point, it is quite stressful. After those days I call it a day and go down river to dive from the International Railway Bridge and exit just past Frenchman's Bridge.

The challenge for the Frenchman's Bridge exit it hitting the exit. Again, the guy who trained me for this dive can get within 6 inches of the exit. I can get within 3 feet.

Doing the Washing Machine (Thompson's Hole) can be quite stressful and you need someone to guide you through it a few times before trying it yourself. Starting at the International Railway Bridge is a little safer, if you have really good buoyancy control. Messing up on that one usually just means missing the exit point and having to crawl through some weeds. BUT if you don't have good buoyancy control or you don't know how to flow with the river (i.e. you try to fight it or muscle through it) then even the International Railway Bridge can be a dangerous drift.

NEVER, EVER, EVER try this drift if you don't have a local guide to buddy with you. I'm okay doing this with a buddy I know well and has been trained by the guy who trained me. I'd never try to guide someone who has never been here yet.