NYCkayaker City of Water Day reflections

[Erik Baard]

Ahoy'all,

I didn't see any celebration of our community's success on "City of Water
Day" here, though it's richly deserved. The joy and effectiveness of the
gathering is a testament to the care and enthusiasm given to it by Carter
Craft, Ray Fusco, Roland Lewis, Jennifer Stark-Hernandez, the Metropolitan
Waterfront Alliance team, safety boat crews, and boating group coordinators.


All of us who paddled the East River thank LIC Community Boathouse
volunteers Ted Gruber, Monica Schroeder, and John McGarvey in particular for
their great work, where our boathouse was the kayak source. Staten
Island/Yonkers paddler (and list regular!) Steve Blumling attended to the
needs of the Urban Divers and other Harlem River people, who encountered
logistical problems.

Some terrific photos of the event can be seen here:


http://paddleandknit.blogspot.com/



http://picasaweb.google.com/mainyo72/CityOfWaterDay

http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?Uc=652r6on3.3c9jhe8j&Uy=h1uuku&Upost_signin=Slideshow.jsp%3Fmode%3Dfromshare&Ux=0&UV=165553855445_547697010211&mode=fromshare&conn_speed=1

The LIC Community Boathouse sent 30 paddlers in about 20 boats. A special
treat was being able to provide one boat to Damian Griffin Sr. and Jr. from
the Bronx River Alliance, our role model for the nascent Newtown Creek
Alliance. Thanks to the pace set by East River C.R.E.W. we got to leave a
bit early in perfect conditions. Our friend, Matthew McGregor-Mento joined
us a bit later, launching from the Stuyvesant Cove beach at East 20th
Street. The formation was tight (thanks to having ample marine radios --
Carter kindly lent us one to boot), and our safety boat performed perfectly
under the guidance of Trevor Harris of Rocking the Boat, keeping enough
distance to let us enjoy ourselves while darting about to head off
threatening traffic.

We were sad to not have the giant Urban Divers canoe with us; it's always a
festive addition, and the crew always includes both excited newcomers and
vital contributors to our estuary's recovery. Floating the Apple, however,
made good use of the day to remind officials of what a great launch Dumbo
Cove could be. We hope for equal success in future years at the beach on the
Manhattan side of the Brooklyn Bridge.

There was plenty of time to chat while paddling, pose for silly photos
(without getting pushed into the Brooklyn Bridge waterfall!) and just enjoy
the gentle play of the water. We pulled into the the southern Brooklyn
waterfall to gather for our crossing, do a final wrist band/boat band
inventory, and enjoy ourselves. A NYPD Harbor Unit boat was there, and we
chatted with the crew, who had a great sense of humor and
were surprisingly supportive regarding the waterfall dunking of a few weeks
back.

I didn't realize that our group was leading the landings at Governors Island
until Roland called out to me as the first kayaker to reach the dock (Monica
and I took point and sped ahead to case the joint, to smooth our group's
dock off-loading). We were directed up to our plot of grass, and terrific
volunteers helped carry the boats. After our boathouse's paddlers hauled
their craft onto the grass we ate watermelon with such a lust that it nearly
insulted the Sabbath. I returned to the dock and can proudly say I carried
boats for every kayak boathouse that day! The highlight in that was a
surprise kiss on the cheek from Pat Slavin of Yonkers. I worked the dock for
the public paddling program, which Rob Buchanan and his Floating the Apple
colleagues generously and cheerfully took up as a rowing event when kayakers
had to start leaving.

The return trip home was a breeze...literally. We had both current and wind
pushing us home. Once or twice we had bouncy waters, especially at
what might be called the Spider East. That mosh pit of Buttermilk Channel,
Upper Bay, East River, and Hudson River currents seemed to be a bit over
from its usual position, and cow licked up by the wind. Re-entering the
embayment containing the southern Brooklyn waterfall was a challenge, though
it was glassy only a couple of hours before. Katie DeRoberts told me that
the western approach to Governors Island was choppy, so maybe the
not-so-itsy-bitsy spider crawled to Brooklyn?  :)

We spread out a bit more than I would like once we reached Williamsburg, but
traffic was nil and we were hugging familiar shores, in good part drifting
with the calm flood. Matthew headed back over to Manhattan and Trevor saw us
to our pier at Anable Cove.

My suggestions for the future:

1) Aspire toward an overnight stay. As Jerry Blackstone put it, "I felt like
Cinderella at the ball, always watching the clock and worrying that my kayak
would turn into a pumpkin!" When Roland suggested Governors Island as an
annual confluence point for all the harbor, to succeed the 2007 5-Boro
Harbor Ramble, I immediately thought it would be overnight. That's partly
because of the Clearwater-like possibilities and partly because the tidal
currents wouldn't allow for extended mingling.

2) Have more exciting shirts. I mean, the bright orange excited my retina,
but we have a wealth of artistic water mavens: Christina Sun would be
perfect and Harry Spitz's reliefs and sculptures could also be adapted, for
example. As much his antics might drive me nuts sometimes, Phil Riley (aka
"Duke") could also design an attractive and funky shirt derived
from/inspired by traditional nautical motifs.

3) Have the speeches at the top of the hill, in the shade, rather than
fighting to get people to stand in the sun on asphalt.

4) Worry less about food. We're all adults and can feed ourselves, plus
vendors (including more free samples) might come in.

5) Allow major boathouse on each "thread" to cooperatively choose their own
overall paddle leader in the months before the event, instead of appointing
people the night before. This is more of a factor on the Hudson River, where
there are several large organizations. And this is not an insult to the
chosen thread leaders; it's simply true that a leader chosen from within the
ranks and elevated by consensus will have easier authority when all are
deployed.

6) Question the CG's demand of individual names of paddlers. Leaders, sure,
and total numbers, sure. But each paddler's name? The system as it stood was
far more labor intensive than necessary. I do understand, however, the need
for waivers in advance. The CG can draw a list from the waivers.

It was a wonderful day!

-- 
Erik Baard

www.licboathouse.org
www.naturecalendar.com