My Maiden Voyage

April can be a nasty month here in New England.  It's not unusual to get snow and plenty of rain.  A storm can come up quickly and the temperatures drop to freezing in what seems like a blink of the eye.  I remember one particular April quite well.  

It was 1988 and my friend and I had been discussing the possibility of buying kayaks.  We decided it was time to graduate from the rubber canoe we used the previous summer. Blowing it up and having it deflate in the middle of a lake was just not our idea of a good time.  

We took a ride to Ipswich, MA in late March and stopped at the first small boat shop we saw.  We were bundled up in our winter coats and my friend insisted on trying out one of the kayaks in the canal that ran by the shop.  Not me!  The thought of sticking my butt in the bottom of that little boat and paddling around in that frigid water was not my idea of a good time.  I figured if he didn't fall in, came back unscathed, and said he liked it, that was good enough for me.  I'd place my order and by the time my boat came in it would be a tad warmer like at the end of June and I'd be ready to go.  Little did I know the shipment would arrive within  a week.  

We picked up our boats the last weekend in March.  It was cold, wet, and windy, and although I knew my friend would be itching to try out his new toy, and I would participate in this endeavor however reluctant I might feel, it would not be today.  You must remember that my only experience with any kind of boating was our inflatable canoe (a far cry from a kayak).  The canoe was relatively stabile, but we didn't risk being too far from shore for fear it would suddenly and quickly loose air and, we weren't about to  blaze  new trails for fear of puncturing the bottom or sides and find ourselves stranded in the middle of nowhere.

When we bought our kayaks, the owner of the shop stressed these particular boats were quite stabile and not likely to flip,  His grandchildren used them for surfing the waves at the beach and he certainly would not have put them in danger.  It was still a concern and as the big day drew near, I could feel the apprehension all through my body.  Was it the new adventure, the fact that winter wasn't that far behind, or a combination of both.  I'm not really sure.  What I knew was there was no way I could postpone the inevitable, and so, on the first weekend in April I found myself sitting in my kayak, pushing off from the shore, and venturing on my maiden voyage.  My friend was in his boat following close behind and I prayed that when we reached our destination the ice would be off the pond.

The spot we chose for our launch was in a secluded area in a wildlife refuge about twenty minutes from where we lived.  There were no houses nearby and not a living soul in sight.  The sun was out and it was a rather nice day, albeit a little brisk.  As we headed downstream, the water was calm and seemed to gently push us along with little paddling required.  We saw a small inlet and decided to venture in where we were greeted by a not so friendly honking and flapping of a Canada goose who had made her nest a little past the entrance.  We high-tailed it out of there before she had a chance to attack and gently glided back into the stream.  This wasn't bad at all, I thought.  It was a beautiful spot, so peaceful and serene.  The apprehension was gone.  This was a great idea!

The stream meandered through the marsh in a multitude of narrow "S" turns.  In some places the stream was as wide as the width of my paddle.  It happened so slowly that neither one of us was aware that the stream was getting wider and the current a little stronger as water poured in from little rivulets along the way.  What we noticed first was the scenery.  Leafless branches spread their arms across our path grabbing at us, their  unsuspecting prey, while gnarled fingers, hidden beneath the marshland, reached out and scraped across the bottom of our boats.  We were concentrating so hard on moving beyond this tangle of trees that we never noticed the change in temperature or the darkening sky filled with black ominous clouds about to pour their wrath on us.

I turned a corner and looming in my path was a huge, lifeless, sinister looking tree jutting across the stream.  Unable to avoid it, I though I could use my paddle to push myself out of its grasp.  It was too late.  Something grabbed me from below and before I could react I was ejected into the icy water.  As the shock wore off, I realized my boat had found a life of its own and was now at least a hundred yards downstream from where I was stranded, my paddle in hot pursuit.  Thankfully I was wearing a life jacket.  

It was difficult swimming and extremely tiring between the weight of my wet clothing and the swiftness of the current, but I finally reached a patch of marsh.  As I tried to stand, I could feel myself being pulled down into the muck as if being sucked into quicksand.  I could see my friend returning with my boat in tow.  I removed my vest and sweater and yelled to him to throw me his shirt.  I don't ever remember being so cold.  I got back into my boat and hoped we had enough time to get back to the truck before the rain began.  

If going downstream had been difficult, going upstream was near impossible.  It seemed as though we were making no progress at all and it took all our strength to make any headway against the now angry current.  Apparently it had rained further upstream and the water was finding its way down to greet us.  Finally we saw the spot where we had entered the stream and just beyond that the road.  What a relief!

We got the boats into the back of the truck, fired her up, and turned on the heat.  Just as we started for home the heavens open and we were caught in a torrential downpour.  It was a very long and silent trip home.  I was looking forward to a very hot bath followed by a hot cup of herbal tea.  

Later that evening as we sat on the sofa recounting the days events, my friend asked me when I thought I'd like to go back out in the boats.  I think it was supposed to be a joke.  I gave him a quick response.  What's the weather for tomorrow?  

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Kayaking is a lot of fun and great exercise.  Not only do you get to enjoy the fresh air, the great scenery, and the many birds and other animals living in their natural habitat, but you have the means to go to places that would be inaccessible by any other way.

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