Rowing Boats on the Ridge

Rowing Boats on the Ridge
Now suppose we live at a place where the most beautiful pool for rowing is found on a river just upstream of a large rapid or waterfall. The obvious danger would require some precautions and preparation. We would want to know exactly how fast we could row and exactly what the strength of the current was. Throw in a spare set of oars and an assurance that the current wasn't going to increase while we were out there and if our rowing speed is well above that of the current, we could set off and boat around in reasonable safety, always keeping well away from the waterfall.
Ridge soaring on a paraglider is analogous to rowing on a river just upstream of a waterfall and is probably the first soaring experience for most pilots. From our gliders we cannot see the waterfall nor can we hear the white water although we know where it is likely to be. When things go wrong and when people hear of another pilot killed or seriously injured after being "blown over the back" they take it as yet more proof that paragliding is an unsafe sport, but is it? How many pilots know exactly what their own top speed is? How many bother to get a forecast before taking off? Are these the same people who would attempt to cross the Zambezi River in an untried and untested canoe just upstream of the Victoria Falls?