: It's not fun to
: be scared out of your mind ...

I would rather beg to differ here. The whole point of lead climbing, white
water paddling and quite a lot of other sports is to get a serious adrenaline
rush from subjective fear whilst controlling the actual objective risks very
carefully. That's why WW paddlers will paddle things with a very high chance
of swimming, but have companions to provide safety cover in case of mishap.
Although I have to say the most scared I've been recently was on the sea...

I swam twelve times on my first W/W river (which was at a much higher level
than was really suited to a beginners' trip, even though it was only grade
II with a few bits of III), and was definitely hooked. After some pool
sessions and learning to roll, my next trip was fairly sustained grade III,
and also the highest I have ever paddled this river (I've paddled it lots
of times since hoping for another flood ...). Despite two or three portages,
I swam thirteen times on that trip and took a big bruise to my thigh from
hitting a rock on one swim.

Now I am really quite confident about my W/W swimming, I can enjoy the
adrenaline rush with comparatively little objective danger, and, more to the
point, I can assess the risks of a particular rapid pretty well. I do still
walk round things, but sometimes the swim looks less hassle than the portage
and I'll go for it anyway. Nowadays I often stay upright, but if I'm not
scared stiff at least once on a trip, I need to get out more on harder
rivers :-)

Andy