Passaic River Paddle

 Tuesday night members and friends of Madison Ave. went on a paddle on the Passaic River around part of Paterson. Eric White and I have been teaching kids in the River of God School of Paddling and decided to offer some adult paddles as well. Although hot and the river low we had a wonderful time enjoying the beauty of God's creation and the river. We saw a snowy egret, Great Blue Heron and other water birds as well as a giant turtle. We paddled over and through the fish weir that was built by Native Americans before the founding of Paterson.

 Here is Diane & Xiomara Robinson with Colin Barrett in the background as we approach the Lincoln Ave. Bridge. We put in by the Hawthorne ballfields just upriver from here.

 My friend Richard Naramore and his son Thomas joined us from Jersey City paddling their canoe. There is now a Passaic River Blueway that includes 90 miles of river that can be paddled from above Lincoln Park  to the Newark Bay. For more information check the website of the Lower Passaic Watershed Alliance.
.

 Go Xiomara!

 The river was low but we made it though and once we were past the Fair Lawn Ave. Bridge there was plenty of water.

 Gary & Malcolm Carter stop for a short break.   Look at us below....this is right off of the 10th Ave. Circle. A whole different view of Paterson. Below are a few short videos.

 Heres a final group picture. In addition to those mentioned above we had James Barrett, Dominick Pettway  Eric White & myself.  Come join us sometime for a new way to experience God's creation in Paterson.

Blackburn Challenge

 July 15 I paddled the Blackburn Challenge. I drove up on Friday to spend time with my brother Robert & family. He was also my shore support and cheering section on Saturday.

 There were many different kinds of boats in this race. Above is a "work boat". There were also whaling boats, dorys, shells, surfskis, OC6, stand up paddle boards and of course kayaks of all kinds.

 Here I am getting in at the start. We all lines up a bit upriver with staggered starts for the different classes over an hour

 Here is the first and last lighthouses with many more in between. The Blackburn Challenge is a 20 mile (19.44 by my GPS) in mostly open water around Cape Ann, MA.


The finish line is under the "greasy pole" to the right. During some festival it gets greased and folks try to walk to the end before falling off.
I averaged 4.3 mph and finished in just under
4 1/2 hours. It was great conditions and a great experience with nearly 250 boats and about 350 people.

Michigan Challenge

 The last week of June Ben and I paddled a portion of The Michigan Challenge: The Manistee 150 from Grayling MI to Manistee, about 158 miles. Emily drove us to Grayling and I actually got a little fly fishing in on the river the night before we began.  The river is very beautiful, small, shallow and  bendy at the beginning.

 Toby began at Lake Huron and paddled up the AuSable River and portaged over to Grayling.
He was waiting just below the bridge when we started Wednesday morning and we paddled together for the day and into the next. My Spring Run, which is a sea kayak, did well in some of the tight turns and easily rode over many submerged trees.

My good friends Jon &; Mae DeBruyn from Traverse City had been tracking us and surprised us on Thursday afternoon by meeting us at one of the bridges to cheer us on. The second night we camped  on the Tippy Dam Pond and were treated to a beautiful sunset.

Sara's big fish

 After another night in Traverse City we rested on the long ride home. Ben did a video of our entire trip.
Just press HERE to see it