Hi Darren. Hope you have had a good summer up your way and avoided the fires. PM me if you come down to Hobart and are keen for a paddle, etc. Having seen numerous paddles disappear over the years (more whilst kayaking than packrafting) I sometimes carry XL hand-paddles (253g) as a backup on high volume rivers such as the Franklin as despite their weight they take up almost no room. On non-technical whitewater I can paddle with them but not on steep or high volume rough water. My thought is to actually lash the hand-paddles to a decent stick as make-shift paddle blades - haven't had to utilise them yet though and hope not to test my theory. 9 out of 10 times from my experience the lost paddles have been found within the next 1km of river (although unlikely to be the situation on the Gordon) but without a spare of some kind to travel that next one kilometre you can obviously end up in a pretty bad situation as Frenchy discovered.
Frenchy - interested to know if you actively discussed lashing the packrafts together side-by-side during your predicament? With a half split-paddle each you can get reasonable control, much increased stability, can support each other emotionally and it keeps both paddlers and gear all together. Have seen it used on high volume rivers with kayaks, inflatables and rafts with some success. That said if individuals aren't comfortable in the conditions you experienced then it may just lead to further danger and it does not mean that I think you did the wrong thing.
It is great to see that more and more major packrafting expeditions involving decent whitewater are taking place in Tassie. The following is not directed to Frenchy but to inexperienced whitewater packrafters contemplating such trips I would like to point out the obvious - that having a group of only two paddlers is extremely limiting in a rescue situation or in setting safety on a rapid and that it significantly increases the risk factor! It also increases rather than decreases the likelihood of losing gear such as a paddle or even an entire packraft. Plans therefore need to me made to allow for dealing with this. A slightly larger group is a lot safer although not always possible. Anyone who undertakes a professional river rescue training course will soon see just how dangerous and limiting having only one rescuer is. I am not implying that no-one should packraft in pairs as many experienced paddlers do successfully whilst others go solo without apparent issue but the risk factor is very real and not to be underestimated. I understand that the nature of many of the trips being done in Tassie does not allow for anything but very small groups making it even more important that everyone in the group is at a level that they can independently not only look after themselves but safely rescue others. Likewise a highly experienced team of two may be a lot safer than an inexperienced team of four. Although packrafting has many similarities with remote area bushwalking it is actually a very different environment and activity and extensive experience in bushwalking may not be enough to keep you safe on a river. My second and last obvious point: ALL rivers in Tassie rise very quickly, flood regularly and are really cold when you swim for a significant distance - packrafters need to plan for and to be able to deal with such.
Safe paddling to all.