Two men were rescued Sunday after their boat dangled over the dam at Pepper Branch Park for nearly three hours.
Warren County residents Greg Cherry, 46, and Gary Cherry, 49, were the boaters rescued after their motor failed as they approached the dam and the swift current nearly swept them over the edge.
“When the boat almost went over, it was pretty scary,” admitted Gary. “Then we started to think about what we’d do in a worst-case scenario. We thought we might go over.”
Added Greg, “We were ready to get wet.”
The brothers said they were enjoying a good day fishing when their motor went out close to the dam. With the Barren Fork River raging due to recent rains, they didn’t have time to take corrective action before getting swept onto the dam. Half of their boat went over the edge, with the brothers huddled on the side that was stuck on the dam.
Emergency responders converged on the scene with the first course of action to throw the Cherrys a safety line from atop the nearly railroad trestle. Once the rope was attached, it helped stabilize the boat.
The Warren County Rescue Squad made the first attempt to reach the men by water, but that attempt was nearly disastrous. The Rescue Squad boat briefly experienced trouble with its motor and was nearly swept over the dam.
Future rescue attempts were treated with much more caution. TWRA and the swift water rescue team from White County were both called to provide additional resources.
While rescue personnel were determining their best plan of attack, the crowd of onlookers began to grow to well over 100 people. Opinions were tossed around about the best way to proceed.
There was widespread speculation:
• The men should try to walk along the top of the dam to safety.
• They should try to slide down the dam on their butts and swim to shore.
• They should let the boat go over the dam and then pull the men from the water.
In the end, rescue personnel did none of the above.
A large TWRA patrol boat was used to anchor the rescue. It floated next to one of the support beams holding the railroad bridge and was able to stay out of the direct current.
A smaller boat from the Warren County Rescue Squad was tied to the large TWRA boat and the small boat gradually made its way to the stranded brothers. Once the two boats were able to make contact, the men leapt to safety as the crowd let out a cheer.
Once they were safely back on shore, the Cherrys said their first inclination was to jump in the water and try to swim to safety, but rescue personnel repeatedly told them not to leave the boat. They blamed the 33-year-old motor for causing the ordeal.
“We have an old boat and an old motor,” said Gary. “But I wasn’t worried about any of our gear or my cellphone. I was just worried about getting out of there.”
TWRA wildlife officer Joey Wray was on hand to monitor the rescue and he said jumping in the water would have been a bad idea for two reasons.
“If they go over the dam, there’s always the chance the current will be so strong it will hold them under water and they won’t be able to reach the surface,” said Wray. “The other problem is you don’t know how long they could last in the water with as cold as it’s been.”
The White County swift water rescue team was positioned below the dam in a raft in the event anyone plunged over. After the Cherrys were out of their boat, it was turned loose and allowed to go over the dam.
Like the log ride at Dollywood, the boat slid down the dam and made a big splash in the river. It did not overturn and it appeared like all the supplies remained on board. The swift water rescue team grabbed the boat and took it to shore.
Rescue personnel with McMinnville Police Department, McMinnville Fire Department, Warren County Ambulance Service, Warren County Rescue Squad, White County Rescue Squad and TWRA all responded to the incident.
The ordeal lasted nearly three hours with the men finally rescued around 4:30 p.m. No one was injured.