OLD MAN RIVER

Sometimes Enraged Susquehanna River at Longlevel

The Long Level Marina is near a location where the Susquehanna River is so wide and deep it is called Lake Clark, formed when the Safe Harbor Dam was built in 1931.  A few years ago my friend Steve and I launched my boat at the marina and headed south toward the dam, a few miles downstream from the marina.  

It was a sunny day made perfect for fishing, but after a few hours we noticed the sky was getting dark a few miles to the north. All of a sudden the wind kicked into high gear, so we fired up the motor and pointed the boat toward the marina.  The wind was unbelievable and almost instantly it seemed like we had been transplanted into a stormy ocean.  

The boat would go over a wave and slam down so hard that the whole bow (front) would go under water.  The bilge pump was speeding to pump water out of the boat but losing the battle.  We were standing in ankle deep water and holding on, praying that we would make it back to the marina.  A large Coast Guard boat passed close by shouting they would help us, but they were  dispatched to rescue people from a boat that had already capsized down near the dam.  Even though the wind didn't let up we kept pressing on and finally had the marina in sight.  

The Susquehanna is the longest river in the continental United States without commercial boat traffic. Because of it's length we learned that wind builds as it travels down the river to cause conditions like we experienced. I have never seen a river develop large white cap waves so quickly. 

On this day the Old Man River instantly turned into the Enraged Man River and gave us new appreciation for a calm, sunny day on the Susquehanna.