Posts Tagged ‘kayaking’

Ramblings

Tuesday, July 14th, 2009

My business is aimed at those who view a kayak as access to the rest of the world; access to adventure and exploration. My greatest customers are like children who see my boats and imagine where they can go. That is the essence of AquaScapes, we provide you with a vessel that puts you in touch with that childlike sense of the vastness of the world, a vessel that allows you to touch that childlike wonder in the midst of a world that continually grows smaller and smaller.

Think about what you may experience in 14 miles on this small river in Southern Indiana. Look at it through the eyes of your children and imagine an otter popping its head out of the blue water while it fishes or plays. What an experience and this is such a tiny portion of the water of the world that can be explored with a boat and paddle.

Although a river is forever changing, forever reshaping itself, sometimes it reshapes us. Hand a paddle to a 12-year-old city girl and you give her a chance to build her own destiny for a little while. What an impact this can have on her self-esteem and her sense of the world around her. It can be life changing.

I am just an outfitter but sometimes at the end of the day I feel like a doorman standing before a door that doesn’t open into just another room, but opens to a whole new world. Those are the moments I cherish.

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Canuding?!?

Thursday, February 12th, 2009

This is a new one for me. Over Christmas we headed for the warmer waters of Ft. Myers. Of course I wanted to kayak all eight of the days we were down there and I pretty much got my wish. The Great Calusa Blueway Canoe and Kayak Trail runs all around the barrier islands and we spent a lot of time exploring.

One afternoon we dropped the boats in on Lover’s Key and kayaked out to the Gulf. We had put in on the interior of the key and headed for the pass to the Gulf side. When the keys opened up to the gulf Stacy my father-in-law asked which direction we wanted to go. I chose to head up the shoreline to our left.

We paddled up the shoreline, the waves pushing us in towards shore, looking at people and boats. It was obvious this was a resort area; people wearing obnoxiously large sunglasses with gold embossed logos sat on wooden umbrella’ed lounge chairs watching their kids play in the water.

Soon this scenic vista ended when gnarled branches barred access from the landside of the key. A little later I saw people spaced in areas that had been cleared, it looked like everyone was in their own little cubicle. We were back to folding beach chairs and towels. This strip was surrounded by water and boats were moored offshore with lines stretching from branches. Where we could see to through the trees, kayaks and canoes were pulled up onto shore. Stacy confirmed that the only access to the island was by boat.

Then I noticed a large older gentleman standing with his back to me. I did a double take as I noticed that it was really hard to see his swimsuit. I had seen a guy yesterday running around in a thong and I thought maybe this guy was wearing a thong. Ahead of me another kayaker was bearing down. His eyes were straightforward and as he came beside me, without looking my direction (beach direction) he simply stated, “Don’t look to closely, its what you think”, and then he was gone. Of course I looked back at the fat guy with the great tan right as he turned to face me. Well he wasn’t wearing a thong, that’s for sure.

After we passed naked Wilford Brimmley (think oatmeal and mail order diabetic supplies), I noticed everyone was naked on this section of the beach. They were standing around talking, butt-naked, as if it was just natural for them to have family get-togethers in the buff. I think the most clothing anyone had on was a Santa’s hat and it looked as if many had come in canoes. I wondered if any had wicker-speckled butts. Hmmmm, Canuding; a new sport.

This wasn’t the kind of wildlife we were expecting.

Sorry, no pictures.

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Kayaking with Manatees

Thursday, September 18th, 2008

Not only am I your humble kayak rental and trip planner, I moonlight as a writer. My most recent submission has been published in Wavelength Magazine, a national magazine that typically includes articles on kayaking our West Coast and Canada. Wavelength has an annual warm water issue each fall and this fall’s issue includes an article about the Great Calusa Blueway around Ft. Myers/Sanibel area of Florida and my article is a close encounter around that same area.

Baby checking me out.

Baby checking me out.

Currently the issue is available in its entirety online at www.Wavelengthmagazine.com and soon individual articles will be available. When this is available I will update the link to my article.

This website is a great website for all kinds of kayaking information. Every edition is available for FREE as a .pdf download. Check it out.

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Patoka River 7.5 mile trip

Thursday, September 18th, 2008

By this time of the year the Patoka River has become a brown stagnant trickle, however, this year’s extraordinary amount of rain filled the Patoka Reservoir to the point where, as of this writing, the lake is still at least 5 feet above summer pool. The Corp of Engineers has the dam releasing water at the rate of 295 CFS to bring the level down before winter. Subsequently, the Patoka is flowing very well. At the tailwater, fishing from any of the sidewalks other than the two highest will require standing in about a foot of water. For kayakers and canoeists this water level means a pretty good 7.5-mile route is available.

The trip from a paddler’s point of view is enjoyable, along with the flowing water, flowers are blooming along the banks almost the entire trip and wildlife is abundant. When I went on September 9, there were few snags or log jams and the only major obstacle was a road that was submerged around mile 3. The road created a small waterfall with a drop of about 14 inches. The water level wasn’t high enough for me to run the fall, I tried and ended up doing the butt scootin’ boogy to finish. Usually the road is above water and it is an easy 9-foot portage from one side to the other.

From the recreational paddler’s point of view (a recreational paddler would be someone that gets on the water only a couple times during the year with friends and looks forward to moments on the trip when they can pop a top and falling in the water is a highlight of the trip) this trip may be a little boring, the muddy banks and private property don’t allow for many places to stop and picnic, however, this is a good fishing trip.

Around the 4th mile of the trip, trotlines began popping up and for about a mile there was a trotline about every 50 feet or so. This led me to believe that catfish must be abundant and locals verified this assumption. In fishing the river I usually catch crappy, pumpkinseed, and bass as well as bluegill. They congregate around submerged root wads, stream entrances, and the couple of bridges on the trip. I have also seen gar and supposedly there are paddlefish (illegal to take).

In a few weeks if they continue to release water from the reservoir, this trip will be highlighted by the fall colors of the hardwood lined banks of the Patoka. The maples are already turning and this trip will become stunningly beautiful when all of the trees’ leaves have turned.



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