Wow. I fell out of a raft and went through a class 5 rapid and the way you articulate such an experience is spot on! After I was finally pulled into another raft, the navigator said to me, “gawd damn, you just went through a class 5 rapid.” I didn’t even know what that meant at the time😂

I was 23 at the time and thought it over for me in that moment. But just like you said, the instructions of laying on my back with legs out and arms folded across my chest kicked in! Even in that scenario, I was still being pulled down and I immediately knew I was at the mercy of the river. I’ll never forget coming face to face with a giant bolder under the water and thankfully, the river pushed me around the bolder instead slamming me into it. I imagine had that happened, I would have been postage stamped.

Thanks for a great article!