CANOEING WITH DAD

Cuz, I'm canoeing with Daddy, And it's just like magic. When he hands me my paddle, get a great big smile on my face. ---Jerry Vandiver

On some lake, somewhere, this weekend there will occur the long-established and age-old tradition of a father taking his son or daughter canoeing for the first time. I've seen it many times at Sly Park Paddle Rentals, where I have run the boathouse during the past several seasons.

Young children will come bouncing down the dock with the excitement and wonder of Christmas Day. They will be followed by a just as excited adventuresome Dad hoping to relive some of his memories from his days at summer camp. While Dad fills out the rental forms, the kids are exploring by looking over the dock at the fish swimming by below. Not before long, the family wiggle into their PFDs and board the canoe. One takes the bow while the other sits on a pad in the hull canoe. Paddles are handed out. They're ready.
Dad, I'm sure, is holding his breath as he pushes off from the dock and as smiles break out among the crew. The lake is calm. The only disturbing it is the bow cutting way through the water.
"Bye," they call out as they paddle away on their new adventure, "We'll see you later."

"Maybe my most indelible canoe memory," the current Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau recalled in an essay in Cottage Life about canoeing with his father the long-serving Prime Minister of Canada (1968–1979, 1980–1984) and celebrated canoeist, "Was one of the rites of passage for the Trudeau boys: When we hit five or six years old, our dad would put us into the canoe and we’d shoot the rapids on the stream that went down into Meech Lake. With much trepidation, we’d sit in the front and go down the drop. I look back on it now and laugh because my father was sterning, and there was nothing I could do from the bow to aim it right—but it was very, very important for us to do it. To get into the bow of a canoe with my father for the first time, to be the bowman for the first time, and to go down this big, scary rapid."

Via Twitter

As one can see, Trudeau has fond memories of canoeing. In 2016 he said, "You elected a paddler as your prime minister."
He routinely shares Twitter pictures of him and his family canoeing and says every year he still tries to get out for at least a few days or so in the summer and take a canoe trip. And to think of it all started with a canoe trip with his dad.

There are so many benefits to canoeing with your kids and families. From spending time outdoors together to learning a skill, canoeing with your children is a great way to get active on the water at any age. Canoeing is something the whole family will enjoy in the many years to come.

Tips For A Successful Canoe Trip With Kids

PFDs, PFDs, PFDs. Everyone should be wearing one. In California, every kid under the age of 13 must be wearing while on the boat. And to be a great example of safety for them, you should have one on as well. How else can I expect my kids to follow that rule if I do not?

Don't plan for a long trip. The first few trips are all about fun. Remember your first trip in a canoe and how it set the stage for your love of the outdoors. Those future trips that the joy will come. But right now, you're helping your kids build a foundation of life on the water and planting a seed of recreating outside. A short trip around the lake is a great way to get your kids paddling. In your float plan include a good lunch/ swimming spot. Breaking up the paddle and tiring the kids out with some good ole fashioned playtime is essential.

Keep calm and paddle on. Most of the time, your little tykes will enjoy sitting up front in the bow, between your legs. Give some instruction on not s to stand up in the canoe and how to paddle but keep it simple. We're having fun. If you crash into the bank. It's OK. Laugh about. Paddling skills will get better throughout the day. And remember, no yelling or scolding.

Plan on getting wet and dirty. It’s scientifically proven fact canoes attract murky water to the bottom of the canoe. What is more fun than mud and water? So wear water shoes and clothes that will be OK to get a bit soggy. That might include your backpack too.

Pack lots of snacks and water bottles. Who doesn't love snacks? But please keep those kids hydrated too.

Sunscreen and hats. It's pretty simple to protect the kids from getting sunburn.

And don't forget the camera. This a one of those memories you might just want to remember for a while.

You don't have to wait for Father's Day to take your kids canoeing. Traditionally summertime into fall is the best time to go.

If you want to go on a canoe or kayak trip at Sly Park contact:
Current Adventures Kayak School and Trips 
PHONE: 530-333-9115 or Toll-Free: 888-452-9254
FAX: 530-333-1291
USPS: Current Adventures, P.O. Box 828, Lotus, CA 95651
info@currentadventures.com
owner Dan Crandall dan@kayaking.com

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CANOECOPIA: BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE

 Canoecopia was held last weekend. This year the annual was conducted as a virtual event due to the ongoing pandemic. Registrants were able to visit virtual exhibitor booths and showrooms, watch demos (more than 80 presentations and seminars), connect with exhibitors, and more. Paddling enthusiasts had text chats and participated in live Q&As with speakers during and after their presentation on topics including destinations, skills, history, conservation efforts, fishing tips, and fitness.

Organizer Darren Bush of Rutabaga Paddlesports wrote on the Canoecopia website, "What a great weekend! We're grateful you all came, and I hope it provided you with information and inspiration. We certainly learned a lot and look forward to integrating a lot of the online features into the in-person show."

I have to agree. I spent a good part of last weekend checking and watching video presentations about kayaking, canoeing, and camping. Some of my favorites included John Chase's tips on loading a kayak for a multi-day trip, Dan York's presentation on the Wild Rivers of the West. York added a few rivers to my bucket list. While paddler Mary Langlie reminded me why I just love to paddle in her talk.

NRS's Danny Mongno was both knowledgeful and entertaining, as he took me through his topics of dressing for the cold, the kayak's forward stroke, and selecting the perfect paddle.

And another highlight for me is tuning into Jerry Vandiver's concert of paddling songs. He is always a favorite of mine. His paddling songs speak to us all about the rivers and lakes we have come to cherish.

But, wait there's more. All the presentations, exhibitor booths, and community boards will be available online through May 16th, so my exploring has only just begun as I explore even more recorded presentations. If you missed out you can still buy a ticket.

Living in California, I've not been able to attend Canoecopia in person. But, this past weekend, I was able to see some new boats, get some valuable information. But most of all was to be inspired to know that there are a lot of men and women who are just as passionate about paddling as I am.

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GOODBYE YELLOW TANDEM

When a man is part of his canoe, he is part of all that canoes have ever known. ---Sigurd Olson

My dad used to say, there are two happy days in life with you in your boat.
The day you buy it and the day when you sell it. Of course, he was right about the day I brought my Perception Prodigy 14.5 tandem home. Back in Minnesota, it opened up my summer with endless possibilities.

I purchased the tandem with the whole idea of taking my daughter's dog Mazie camping while she was working that summer in a Boy Scout camp. I can remember taking several trips that summer. Heading off across the lake to my favorite boat in campsite, Mazie a chocolate Labrador was a great companion. Over the summer, she excelled at becoming a "water dog" with little trouble climbing in and out of the boat and not rocking it too badly.

I can recall taking friends and family boating with it over the years. It was great for family campouts and getting folks on the water for the first time. My kids could bring friends along and paddle to tour the lake without leaving anyone behind. Usually called a divorce boat, the tandem boosted in the courtship of my wife Debbie. It took only a little practice to get our stokes in sequence. It was the only boat we used when crossed the country while moving to California. On a stop in Colorado, we got stuck in a late afternoon thunderstorm while on the lake together. We ended up soak while rushing back to our campsite.

Like that storm, a deluge of memories rolled back through my head as I watched the tandem being loaded onto a couple's vehicle, strap down and tied off before driving away forever after being sold. A bittersweet day indeed.

While many people think of a kayak as a simple mode of transportation for a fun day on the lake or river, for many of us, our canoes and kayaks are connected to our souls. We give them names and almost human personalities. Your boat automatically states a lot about you as a person. In fact, they become a reflection of who we are.

"The first thing you must learn about canoeing is that the canoe is not a lifeless,  inanimate object," wrote paddling guru Bill Mason, "It feels very much alive, alive with the life of the river. Life is transmitted to the canoe by the currents of the air and the water upon which it rides. The behavior and temperament of the canoe is dependent upon the elements: from the slightest breeze to a raging storm, from the smallest ripple to a towering wave, or from a meandering stream to a thundering rapid.”

As you can see, I have plenty of great memories of the camping trips, moonlight paddles and all the fun we had in that kayak. But, the thing is, I've not been using that boat as much in these last couple of years. It was pretty much just sitting on its side inside our garage being unused and forgotten serving only has a hideout for the cat. A sad fate for a vessel of its caliber.

So it's nice to see that the tandem, now has a new home a young couple who will use it more than I did. They studied the boat with glee as I showed the different features of the boat and retold its past adventures with me. They, in turn, told me how they planned to take their dogs along and looked forward to getting it on the area's lakes. For them, to paraphrase Bill Manson, the acquisition of this boat is a way to journey back to what’s left of the natural world and a voyage of discovery.

But I was more than a little sad to see it drive away and know that I would miss it. Afterward, I told a fellow boater that I had sold the tandem, she sent a back a message of condolences, like I lost a dear friend.
"I would be sad if I were you too," she texted, But, you still have the memories. Glad the boat found a really nice home."

A nice home and a better life, where it will be used to have more adventures and make even more memories. As the couple drives out of sight down the road, Jerry Vandiver's song True and Deep serenades inside my soul.

I hope the waters you cross are calm and still and take you to where you seek.
Should the wind start to blow just where it will, May your paddle be true and deep.
I hope the skies above you are always blue and your journey will flow downstream.
Should the current rise up to challenge you, My your paddle be true and deep.

It's was a wish for the young couple of course, but mostly it was for my faithful yellow tandem kayak.

River Song...An Interview with Jerry Vandiver

Kayaking and canoeing seems to be all about gear or location. There are magazine articles and internet posts about everything from what to wear, to where to go and how to paddle. There's great advice out there, but nothing will guide us back and remind us of that special time on the water more than music. However, I have never seen any tips on how to write good old fashion paddling songs. So, I asked singer/songwriter and fellow paddler Jerry Vandiver what it takes to compose an ode to the stream?
The Nashville-based Vandiver has brought his two passions together by creating a collection of paddling songs such as More Than A River, and True and Deep. A concert touring favorite with over 15 million records sold, Vandiver is never far from the lakes and rivers he loves to sing about. Last week, he offered me some inspiration on how to put a song in your next journey.
 

NC: Which is easier going down a Class V waterfall or writing a paddling song?
JV: It's funny in that I've been studying the craft of songwriting about as long as I've studied the craft of paddling.  And the passion for both endeavors is pretty darn equal. But considering that I've gotten myself in a lot of trouble on some hefty rapids, I'd have to go with writing the song as a bit easier.  I will say this, when you finish the run or finish the song, they both equal themselves in fun and a feeling of really accomplishing something.

NC: So then is writing a paddling song more like going up stream or going down river?

JV: Oh, definitely going down river.  You always have to go with the flow.  I have more often than not found that if you let the song take you where it wants to go, it will always come out better than if you fight it with some crazy upstream stroke.

NC: Did  "Dueling Banjos" and the phrase "Paddle faster. I think I hear banjos," add to the difficulty of writing a good paddle song?

JV: Actually, I think it is interesting that we associate music about paddling as being very acoustic in instrumentation, even sometimes to the point of straight out Bluegrass style as in "Dueling Banjos".  There's some spirit of kinship between natural acoustic instruments and the flow and excitement of the water and the great outdoors.  I can't imagine hearing synthesizers and squeaky backwards LPs when singing about paddling.  I'll take Dueling Banjos as inspiration anytime.

NC: How often are you tempted to work "Bootie Beer" into a song?

JV: Until now, I'd never thought of it!  But hmmmmmm.

NC: Okay... You got the start to a great paddling song, but you hit a rock towards the end and it is sinking. It's to late to scrap it.  How do you Duct Tape it back together? 

JV: Pull into the nearest shore, set up camp, brew some "Camp Coffee", watch the sun set and sleep on it.  That's part of going with the flow.  It'll come back and finish itself sometimes when you let it.

NC: Some of us have lost loves. An upset kayak leaves without saying goodbye or a canoe stolen away in the night.  Both never return. Any tips on how to work them into song without making our wives jealous?

JV: Well, if you're lucky the wife will be mourning with you - or at least send you a sympathy card.  But for those that have spouses that don't "get it",  you're only choice is to use the age old phrase, "she really meant nothing to me".  The wife won't believe it, but it might buy you a little more grieving time before you set out to spend the family budget on a new boat.

NC: Has a song just hit you while you are out paddling or do you need a special place like the BWCA?

JV: I've had these songs come at me just about everywhere.  Even walking our dogs down the neighborhood alley.  The important thing is to have those experience to tap into - floating a crystal clear Ozark stream, fighting a headwind in the north woods lakes, rafting a Colorado Canyon or kayaking through a Class III in Tennessee.  Those memories always stay with you and will find their way up with a melody if you let them.  Regardless of where you may be at the time.

NC: Does anything really rhyme with Boofin?

JV: How about "goofin" as in "goofin' off in a swimming hole"?

Find more information on Jerry Vandiver and his music at www.paddlesongs.com