Jesse W. Sharp, a 28 year old bachelor from Ocoee, Tennessee attempted to ride over the brink of the Horseshoe Falls in a 3.6m long plastic kayak on June 5, 1990.
Sharp, unemployed at the time, was an experienced white water kayaker. Three people who accompanied Sharp to Niagara Falls to video-tape his trip told police that Mr. Sharp had been planning the trip for years. They also told police that Sharp was attempting to go over the Falls in the kayak to advance his career in stunting.
Sharp’s idea was to gain enough speed in his kayak to project himself over the falls and the pummeling water that would surely claim his life. He would then traverse the rapids below the falls, ending up four miles downstream in Lewiston. So confident was Jesse about making the trip that he parked his car at Artpark in Lewiston and made dinner reservations for that evening.
Powerhouse operators, noticing what was about to unfold, diverted water from the river in an attempt to ground the kayaker.
But to no avail, Jesse Sharp was determined, and simply skirted around the rocks in his kayak. Just as Sharp reached the brink of the falls he raised his paddle above his head and then, at 1:45 pm, the kayak plummeted over the brink and vanished into the raging waters below.
Sharp did not wear a protective helmet so his face would be visible on film. He also didn’t wear a life jacket, believing it would interfere with his ability to escape in the event that he was caught underneath the Falls. After “shooting the falls”, he intended to continue down river through the rapids to Lewiston, New York to the restaurant where he’d made his dinner reservation. His body has never been recovered.
Oh well, I’m sure this at least qualified Jesse for a Darwin Award! Especially as he was a bachelor, presumably leaving none of his genes behind.
~~oo0oo~~
Going one ‘better’ in 2003, Kirk Raymond Jones (b.1962) became the first person to survive going over Horseshoe Falls without any safety equipment or any craft, just in his clothes. Not leaving well enough alone, Jones went over Niagara Falls again fourteen years later in a 3m diameter plastic ball – and died. No mention of kids, only his 2m pet snake Misty, which went with him over the falls. That, and the fact that his family didn’t want his body when it was found months later, make it likely he’s also a Darwin Award candidate.
Bewilderbeast Droppings 