Why I Paddle

Why Paddle? A reflection on my paddling journey.

A neighbor recently asked me why I paddle as often as I do. “Because I can”, although accurate, didn’t seem to be an appropriate answer. Recent months and years of paddling have served as an escape from the chaos of current events and spending time with friends outdoors. It wasn’t always like this. This is my paddling journey.

When my Dad brought home our first canoe in 1980, it was an introduction to the call of the river for me and a return to my Dad’s counselor days at Camp Lupton near Woodstock, Virginia. On Dad’s rare weekends off, we would explore the Tar River and look for fossil exposures in Edgecombe County. We would try to go on the river once or twice a month. In high school I remember seeing the occasional special on television that featured whitewater paddlers in canoes and kayaks.The classic movie, “The Cockleshell Heroes” also caught my attention. A number of friends accompanied me on trips down the river in high school. We had some fun adventures out in the woods and on the river. That was my first exposure to trip planning and the logistics of paddling downriver.

 I still remember the first time I saw a whitewater kayak in Great Outdoor Provision Company in Cameron Village. That first kayak was a shiny new Perception Dancer: Cutting edge, durable, rotomolded plastic. Some years later in 1986 I was fortunate enough to find the Outing Club at NC State and got my first exposure to whitewater kayaking with a Sunday afternoon roll session at the campus pool. I was hooked and in it for the adventure. CCC Paddler trip reports, Bob Benner and William Nealy provided inspiration for further adventures on the Cape Fear, the Haw, the James at Richmond and, ultimately, the New River Gorge during Bridge Day. I had the first recorded decent of the campus bookstore fountain my senior year. The bookstore and fountain are no longer there, but somewhere there is a photo of me in that fountain. In the summer, trips to Atlantic Beach for kayak surf sessions provided a humbling, exciting and sometimes painful education for me. Just say “No!” to the High Brace.

I purchased my first kayak in 1987; a Perception Spirit, from River Runners Emporium in Durham. It was like a modern Green Boat without much rocker, flatter deck and a small cockpit opening. In 1988 I discovered what would be a constant theme in my paddling career; racing or preparing for races. I won the Mens K1 Kibler Valley Race that year. I discovered slalom in the spring of 1989 at the Salmon Slalom in Connecticut. That summer the finals of The Slalom Worlds from Savage River, Maryland were televised and I was absolutely fascinated by the skill level of the paddlers. Cindy and I honeymooned in western NC in 1989 and she was a good sport about receiving a kayak as a wedding gift. Not one of my best decisions, but it set the stage for us ending up in Bryson City after she retired from the Navy in 2017. Our honeymoon story is one for her to tell.

The next four years were spent paddling in Washington State. While stationed out there with the Navy, I was fortunate to hook up with the owner of a fledgling rafting company, now Olympic Outdoor Center, in Poulsbo, Washington. On my rare weekends off I was a safety boater for raft and inflatable kayak trips on rivers of the Olympic Peninsula. I learned all about those rivers and how different they were from my east coast roots. I list the Elwha River as one of my all-time favorite rivers. It is clear, cold and transitions from steep creek to braided stream as it works its way down to the Strait of Juan De Fuca. You can surf a river wave in the morning and surf an ocean wave after lunch without ever leaving your kayak. When the rivers weren’t running, we’d head to the coast and kayak surf. La Push was a terrific playground with a wide variety of waves in the horseshoe shaped bay.  About this time Dagger Kayaks came onto the scene and I acquired my faithful Response, which I only retired a few years ago. It was a sporty change from the old Spirit. I did not race during that time, but rather used paddling as a welcome relief from long days and nights on ships. Another blessing of paddling with Olympic Outdoor Center was my introduction to Sea Kayaking and the world of multi-day excursions. The Navy taught me all about tides, currents and navigating.

After leaving active duty but married to an active-duty spouse, I spent a year in Monterey California and was able to get back into racing. Northern and Central California offer amazing paddling opportunities and weekend kayak festivals were at the height of their popularity. The format was late Saturday morning downriver race, Saturday evening rodeo, Sunday morning slalom. All three events were often in the same kayak. I was never much for rodeo, but had a great time in slalom and downriver.  I soon learned that I was probably not going to be any kind of star in the racing world with our career choices, but was determined to make the most of the experience. The explosion of the playboating scene in the mid-90s marked the beginning of the long boat hibernation that most kayakers of today do not fully appreciate.   I also discovered Santa Cruz, California as a kayak surf spot, the beauty of a point break and the hostility that some board surfers have towards kayakers.

Back on the east coast for several years, I entered every race I could find, including the Neuse River Rally, the Penn Cup Series and Kibler Valley races. Since we lived near the beach in Norfolk, daily morning flatwater training sessions on the Lafayette River were the norm. Surf sessions at Virginia Beach filled the times between events. I got to attend the 96 Olympic Slalom races on the Ocoee with my kayak shop friend from Poulsbo who happened to be friends with the Shipley family. Seeing Olympians tackle the slalom course on the Ocoee was amazing.

The Navy moved us to the Netherlands in 1997. Although we were a day’s drive away from some of Europe’s premier whitewater, my high school Spanish was not going to cut it in a sport where communication is imperative.  I was hesitant to try to join a whitewater kayak trip where I didn’t speak the local language. Looking back, that was a mistake. However, all was not lost and I explored many of the canals around Rotterdam and Delft in my sea kayak and worked out at a local lake. I also began training and planning for a unique opportunity to retrace the paddling route of the Cockleshell Heroes with one of my long time Navy buddies. The Cockleshell Hero adventure was an exciting 3 day, 2 night paddle up the tidal Gironde River in France from Phare de Sint Nicholas to Bordeaux in a Folboat. Before we left Europe, I did a two-day downriver sea kayak run on the Rhine River from Mainz to Koblenz. Eddy turns in a 17 ft sea kayak are amazing! Those are stories for another time.

Back in the US in the fall of 2000 in New England again, I enjoyed the New England Downriver Racing Series in the spring of 2001.  The camaraderie and rivalries that came with seeing the same group of racers every weekend was a great experience. I did several open water races in my sea kayak including around Jamestown Island, Rhode Island and the Paddle For The Bay Race at Virginia Beach around Cape Henry.

I would be remiss if I did not mention September 11, 2001. I was paddling that morning; first surfing at Second Beach and then around Coaster’s Harbor Island, RI (Naval Station Newport). It was a beautiful morning, as everyone says. Eleven months later I found myself in Norfolk, flatwater paddling again, trying to stay fit with a back injury that would not get repaired until 2004.

Two years in Washington DC allowed me the opportunity to paddle with Team River Runner and put my back injury in perspective compared to what so many others faced. I was also able to paddle at the Lock 6 gates on the Potomac where many elite slalom paddlers cut their teeth. The Potomac Downriver Race, through Mather Gorge and the Harpers Ferry Downriver race were part of my return to competition.  The Penn Cup Series was still a draw, but the K1 Plastic division was no where near what it had been in previous years as long boats had all but disappeared from the market.

We started coming back to western NC for Week of Rivers in 2007. That’s when I really got taken in by the area and started getting familiar with the Nantahala and Tuckasegee Rivers, not knowing how much a part of my life they would become. I participated in some of the citizen slalom races and the annual Southeastern Nationals on the Nantahala. Cindy’s duty assignments in Memphis, Norfolk, Washington DC and finally Memphis again rounded out my journey. A second round with Team River Runner while in Washington DC, this time in an incredibly active flatwater chapter at Fort Belvoir, VA got me formally into the instruction world. I have since enjoyed teaching and the relationships I have formed within CCC, especially those I teach with. I am the proud source of the phrase, “You Wombled it.” – Being perfectly setup to do something a bit risky, but choosing the more prudent alternative.

Which brings us to now. We’ve lived in Bryson City since 2017 and I am able to paddle pretty much whenever I want to with a wide variety of paddlers. The friendships I have made and grown since we’ve lived here longer than anywhere before are one of the things that I cherish the most. I am not actively racing slalom anymore, but I enjoy judging gates whenever the Nantahala Racing Club has an event and playing around in the gates in my river runner. The Green Race brought back long boats, but that is well above my skill level and acceptable risk threshold.  The new long boats are also mainstays of the Southeastern Nationals. I may borrow one in the future to have a go at it just for old times sake. There is nothing quite like arriving at Nantahala Falls totally smoked, lungs burning, finish line visible, with the hardest rapid of the day in front of you. I love it when I receive a “Let’s go paddling” text.

During the 2020 chaos and lockdowns I found relief, exercise and peace at Surfer’s Rapid on the Nantahala. A nice surf wave has always been attractive to me and I currently have this one dialed inat a variety of levels.  Park and play, beautiful scenery, easy eddy service and plenty of smiling faces coming by in peak season make it a wonderful place. On off days you can go for hours without seeing anyone. I managed to do a 90-minute uninterrupted ride this fall.

I recently returned to the ocean for the first time in three years and spent a couple of hours playing in the surf. It was a refreshing change of venue. I had some good rides, enjoyed reading the surf and was reminded of the power of the ocean when I had a wave break on me after I misjudged it. Rookie mistake, Womble. Thanks for coming out an entertaining us today.

To answer the original question, I would have to say because it gives me life. Why do you paddle?

See you on the river.

Tom