Tragedy on the Potomac

[Moonstruck]

A great young person was lost at Great Falls on the Potomac. Shannon Christy was an experienced paddler. She and my niece, Caroline, were best of friends and roommates. They paddled together, and shared life together. Shannon was full of life. She will be missed by many.

Kayaking community mourns Shannon Christy, who drowned in Potomac River - The Washington Post

 

[beachbum29]

Shame. She was very young.

My condolences.

 

[Codger2]

Shannon Christy was an experienced paddler. She and my niece, Caroline, were best of friends and roommates.

I'm really sorry to hear this, Don.

 

[FlyWright]

So sorry to hear this, Don. Our sincere condolences to your niece and her friends.

 

[Moonstruck]

Thanks, guys. Shannon had been around water all her life. She and Caroline had guided rafting trips, and did competitive kayaking. My niece, Caroline, was named for one of our family's ancestors that in about 1835 paddled down the Tennessee River in a long canoe with her widowed father. All their belongings were in the canoe, and they settled in the area around the Hiwassee and Tennessee Rivers. She is buried in a family cemetery on a ridge over looking the Tennessee River.

I have been concerned that the girls seemed to know no fear. They would paddle anywhere. Here is a picture of Caroline paddling in New Zealand.

Seldom would be seen the enthusiasm for life exhibited by those girls.

 

[Hendo78]

Drowning would be one of the worst ways to go IMHO.

Condolences to her friends an family.

Sent from my iPhone using Trawler

 

[healhustler]

Sincere condolences, Don. I'm familiar with Great Falls and its turbulent pools. Anyone (the best included) that got caught in one would find themselves upside down and hammered to unconsciousness quickly. All one can say is that she went doing what she loved, which is more than the great majority of us can say. So sorry.

 

[angus99]

Your niece will have a lot of grief to process in the months ahead. Our sympathies to all who are touched by this tragedy.

 

[Moonstruck]

Your niece will have a lot of grief to process in the months ahead. Our sympathies to all who are touched by this tragedy.

Thanks for the thought. Caroline's mom is in SC with her. My brother, her dad, is home, but not dealing with it very well. He taught Caroline to paddle and was very close to the girls. It's almost like losing a daughter to them.