How often have we heard the phrase, "Where did the years go?" It wasn't until I set up this web log to begin writing about PaddleWays adventures that I suddenly realized that it's been ten years since the business was founded. What a decade it's been!
A BRIEF HISTORY OF PADDLEWAYS
PaddleWays has its origins in a lifelong love affair with water. My interest in boats developed out of practical considerations. I needed a means for exploration.
I grew up near the Connecticut River, in Bradford, Vermont. As a young teen, I often spent the early spring days playing in floodwaters that had crested the riverbanks. Our first "boat" was born when a friend and I lashed a plank to a pair of 50-gallon drums and floated out onto the swollen river. An idea was born. That idea eventually took the form of a raft, a wooden platform supported by six steel drums, sixteen feet long and seven feet wide. Think of it as a dock that is not attached to shore - set adrift on the river with two wide-eyed teens aboard.
"Foxy Lady," as we named our raft, was fitted with a homemade charcoal stove at the bow, supply boxes for food and clothing, and a tent that was pitched on deck for sleeping at night. Each spring for three years, my friend and I took our raft on a week-long trek down the Connecticut River. We would haul the craft to a location just downstream of the Rygate, Vermont dam, leaving it for a day with all of our supplies. We'd then continue on to Littleton, New Hampshire and the Ammonoosuc River where we'd launch our canoe (also named for a Hendrix tune, "Wild Thing"). After twenty miles of whitewater paddling, we'd reach the confluence with the Connecticut River and rejoin the raft. From there, we'd shove off for a week of drifting downstream through the rural farming communities along the Vermont, New Hampshire border.
Years later, I moved to the "big city" of Burlington, on the shores of Lake Champlain. There, in the backyard, were hundreds of miles of new shoreline to explore. While my first forays onto the broad lake were in my trusty canoe, I soon learned that the open waters of Lake Champlain requred a vessel better adapted to wind and waves. It was then that I discovered the sea kayak.
The kayak met all of my criteria for lake exploration. Easy to transport, light, suitable for solo travel, secure storage for gear, and aesthetically pleasing. I was ready to paddle the miles, but I also knew that open water paddling has its inherent dangers. I set out to find other paddlers who had discovered the sea kayak. That quest led to the formation of the Champlain Kayak Club in 1991.
The Champlain Kayak Club grew steadily from three initial members to an affiliation of hundreds of area paddlers. In those early years, I spent much of the time that I was not on the water writing and editing articles for the club's quarterly newsletter, Blazing Paddles. Our weekly Wednesday night paddles were well attended and we also organized several weekend and overnight paddles throughout the year. It was great fun and I made many lifelong friends in the process.
By 1996 virtually all of my non-working hours were devoted to the Champlain Kayak Club. It was a natural progression to begin entertaining the idea, "Wouldn't it be great to make my living by doing something that I love?" I answered yes to that question and PaddleWays was born.
Ten years have passed. I have had the great pleasure of paddling with thousands of PaddleWays guests. We've shared many miles, many laughs, and many challenges along the way. With those memories and experiences to guide me, I'm looking forward to the next ten years of adventure and I hope to see you along the way.
Kevin Rose, Founder/Owner
PaddleWays, Inc.
For the past nine years PaddleWays has held its Maine Kayak Navigation class over the weekend following Labor Day. The class has always been one of our most popular offerings. For the 2006 season, a June 8th trip has been added.