Discussion: Yarra

How can there be enough water in the Yarra to sweep anyone anywhere?

Unfortunately I did not have my camera with me.
But there was quite sufficient water for Geoff to fall in and submerge. I was waiting down stream at the next pinch ready to shout directions to guide him into calmer water but the current was such that any rescue attempt would have seen me having to swim him out. He got himself out by getting into the eddying water behind a large rock and scrambled out.

finally, an event that lives up to it's name

50m further down from there it shallows out.

So did you disinfect him afterward?

No need - the water should be well diluted by the time it gets to Yering Gorge and the Winneke pumping station.

Point taken. Look after the common interest. What was the background anyway? How did Geoff make this impressive move, where and why?

There is a vehicular ford across the Yarra at Millgrove. Our street-o map showed some rocks in the river just below where the ford is. Ford was not marked on the map but Rob had set a control at the ford and the clue description said "ford". A fairly natural conclusion for an orienteer is that this would be a crossing point. Rob said the depth gauge at the ford showed the river to be 60cm deep.
Four of us, at least , had a look at the rocks as a crossing point. Dave M with his younger longer legs jumped across the fast flowing narrow river channel. Geoff tried jumping at a narrow spot upstream, and didn't make it.
Word of Geoff's exploits has spread among the outdoor education community and it has been suggested we teach our orienteers how and where to cross rivers.
The irony is that there was a vehicular bridge approx 100m upstream which the others could have crossed without losing any distance.

I only metioned the 60cm bit after the race.

maybe I should have marked the river as 'uncrossable'
didn't realise I had marked rocks on the map?

Sorry, I was wrong about the rocks. There were some interesting black marks on the map above the ford at that point which I thought might be rocks but when I got there they were just a turning circle. I was really just rationalising why anyone would expect to cross the river at that point.