Smith Creek Lake Canoe
Janet and Bob plan to join the Twin Rivers Paddle Club kayaking trip on March 29 to the Three Sisters Swamp, a portion of the Black River, about 30 miles south west from Wilmington. We could not decide between taking our tandem canoe or two solo kayaks. The March 29 trip includes 1.5 miles of narrow passages wiggling between cypress knees in the swamp; and 8 miles of straight down stream paddling on the Black River.
All three boats are about 15 feet long. The canoe is easier to enter and exit, which will be better in the swamp when we may need to leave the boat to get around obstacles. The kayaks are faster, which will be better on the river. Bob has not paddled the canoe in about a year. Janet has never been in a canoe.
So, in late March, Bob re-arranged the flotation bags in the canoe to change it from solo to tandem. Then we went to Smith Creek Park Lake for a practice paddle.
At first, both of us were a little shaky. But it only took a few minutes for us to get comfortable. Janet in the bow showed her usual wonderful balance on the water by paddling smoothly and confidently. Bob sat in the stern and served as the guide and rudder.
The wind was up somewhat, so Bob displayed his usual precaution for staying out of trouble. We paddled straight up from the east end towards the west end of the lake, staying close to the southern shore, and going directly into the wind. We wanted to avoid getting broad side to the wind, which can cause more trouble in a canoe than a kayak. Being close to the shore would make it easy to walk out of the lake if we capsized. We also wanted to have the wind at our backs when we turned around to paddle back to the put-in, which was also our take-out.
Everything went well with no problems. After we disembarked, we shared opinions. Even though we could handle the canoe, we both felt that we will be more comfortable in our kayaks. So, Bob stored the canoe in the equipment shed until our next adventure calling for an open boat.
