Sassafrass River Kayaking

The family, along with Dave and Lori, spent a nice Sunday yesterday at the River, fishing and kayaking. Dave keeps a couple of kayaks at the house, and I had never been out in one before, but yesterday after an early dinner he and I went out for a short cruise just to get me out in one.

Dave thought it best to start with a simple run along the shoreline, which made sense to me. The River at our house is about a mile wide (although it looks very deceptively narrower in some of the pictures). It seemed reasonable to keep me near the shore in case I got myself into trouble somehow. I was a little concerned as we started out as to how stable the kayaks were, because on a holiday weekend there were a lot of power boats out and the water was not very calm.


It turned out that there really wasn't anything to worry about. The boats seemed to have good initial and final stability (that initial feeling of "tippiness" versus the resistance to tipping beyond a certain point and rolling over), and even without knowing what I was doing and being on choppy water, I never felt like I was in any danger of rolling. As can be seen on the track below, we did a total of a little under a mile and a half as a simple out and back along the south shore.


Dave was in a Perception Acadia 11.5 foot and I was in a Perception Acadia 12.5 foot. The slightly longer boat means more stability, which isn't a bad thing. Paddling was fairly easy, but used almost entirely upper body. The footrests hadn't been adjusted for me and I couldn't use them. I suspect that if I were able to use them there would have been better leverage between upper and lower body and it might not feel so much like I was paddling entirely with my chest and shoulders.

The only trouble I had was in a foot of water. Much to everyone's amusement, as I nosed the boat into the shore to get out, a few big waves from passing boats washed over the stern, partially filling the cockpit and getting me soaked.


As I floundered my way out of the kayak, I managed to spin the boat sideways to the waves and filled the rest of it with water.


So here we are putting the water back where it belongs...


It was a lot of fun, and I can't wait to go out again, especially on a calmer day when we can go across the river and explore some of the smaller coves, creeks and other hidden places.

Goal for 2009 #3 (Canoeing)

Dave and I have periodically discussed the idea of getting out on the Brandywine and doing some canoeing for years now, but it hasn't ever happened. By May 31st, 2010 at the latest, I will pay the $62 to the local outfitter in north Wilmington that will drop you up at Brandywine Picnic Park and pick you up 4 hours later at Thompson's Bridge in Brandywine State Park. $62 is for one canoe (not per person), all equipment, and shuttling to and from. Seems like a bargain, and having been doing some reading on canoeing in Pennsylvania, the Brandywine is baby water that is perfect for a newbie.

I would very much like to knock this goal off sooner rather than later, and hope to find a way to do this before we get completely into winter. In many instances, winter and early spring are the best times to canoe many of the local streams and smaller rivers due to the typically higher water levels than what you would find in summer and early fall. Comments on the Brandywine are that it generally doesn't have an adequate water flow or level in the summer for real canoeing, but that doesn't stop the tour outfitters from "letting the novices grind their canoes down the stream all summer long."