22-Feb-2003 -- Jamaica has 4 official confluences, but only one of them is on land. My buddy Jay and I were heading to Jamaica for a week of travel and adventure and one of our plans was to attempt one of the water confluences. We spent a few days traveling and chilling out on some of the more populated, touristy beaches until we finally made it to Black River.

Black River is a small Jamaican town that usually does not see too many tourists. We made a few friends, and decided to do the river tour. We met a 75-year-old man named Mr. Two who has been giving river tours for 60 years. He took us in his boat up the river. We saw mangroves, alligators, and numerous birds. He also showed us a lifesaving award he received from the Queen of England for saving some people who were in "imminent danger of drowning". We decided he was the guy for us and proposed our adventure to him.

It was difficult to explain the concept of the confluence, but with the help of some maps, he agreed to take us out. We decided to meet the next day at 10:00 am.

The next day at 10:00 am the seas were VERY rough. A strong wind had picked up and even the fishermen were not going out onto the water. Mr. Two told us that there was just no way that we would be able to make it out. That was not a major disappointment for us considering his boat was probably 60 years old too.

We then found another couple of guys who agreed to take us out in their boat. Their names were Ricky and Garfield, and they ran a small river tour company. Garfield agreed to take us out in his Boston Whaler and we got set. I took out the GPS, and we were off.

The seas were rough, but no match for the small boat. We crested waves, got soaked, and watched 10 km of coastline pass by.

We then came to a point where the depth of the water greatly increased. As a result the waves went from being 4 feet high to being 4 metre high rollers. It became apparent that we were no longer having fun and that it was now dangerous. We had no lifejackets, and so we all decided to turn back just 5 km shy of the confluence. I quickly snapped a few photos. The ride back was hectic with even more splashing, and soaking. There was one high point though when we saw two beautiful dolphins crest the water and swim past us.

On return to port we gave Garfield a 100J ($2.00 US) bonus for risking his life, and once again stood on dry land.

I am sure we thoroughly confused the locals, but we did give them a story to talk about.

Note: If anyone else is interested in attempting this confluence, I would say that it is very do-able in calmer seas. Please find Mr. Two. He is a really nice man and everyone in Black River says that he knows the sea best of all.