A New Experience

Day 303: Although I've been out in rowboats and a fly-fishing pontoon boat on many occasions, it has been over forty years since I paddled a canoe, and I have been giving some thought about getting one for flat-water fishing excursions. I'd also entertained the idea of purchasing a kayak, but since I had never used one, I was hesitant to make the financial commitment. I'd made that mistake with the pontoon boat. It hadn't worked out for me. I am a very small person, and even with the footrests adjusted all the way in, I had to sit slumped in the seat. It was difficult to handle in even the slightest breeze, and on one occasion, I found myself down the length of a small mill pond, struggling to gain an inch at a time to get back to the launch. My inability to load a rowboat onto a roof rack put that option out of the question. A canoe or kayak sounded better than a rubber raft.

Last night, I attended a retirement party at a Park Service colleague's home on Alder Lake. She had canoes and kayaks available for any of us who wished to go out for a paddle, so I seized the opportunity to try out an 11-foot Necky Manitou. Described as "A thoughtfully scaled down rec version of a sea kayak...(which) bridges the gap between stability and performance, delivering rock solid stability and impressive tracking," the Manitou impressed me with its slick glide and maneuverability. I swept across a mile of lake in short order, only drifting sideways when I hit the current in the river channel central in the reservoir. I felt very secure in the cockpit even when a power boat came by and left me to ride its wake (of course I turned the bow into the waves). The return trip was facilitated by a slight tailwind, and as I rowed into the sunset, my thought was, "I've gotta get one of these."