For most of my 33 years, I’ve been able to stand. At first I was a little wobbly, and there were likely plenty of falls along the way. I say that because there aren’t a whole lot of memories from that early part of my life. As I grew up, my ability to be on two feet came more naturally, and the same can be said about my experience last Thursday.
No, I didn’t go back in time to my first years of life – that would require a time machine, and lately ours hasn’t been working. Instead, I took to the Merrimack River for a little introduction to stand up paddle boarding with local legend Tom Walton.
Walton is more of a trial-and-error kind of guy, someone who wants you to figure it out on your own. He did show me a few of the basic paddle techniques and where to position my feet when we hit the boat launch on the NHTI campus, but I was really on my own, except for the fact Walton was cruising around in his racing kayak and Keith was snapping pictures safely from shore. (He conveniently forgot to bring his swimming trunks and floaties.)
At first, much like when I began my transition to full-time movement as a youngster, getting to balance on the paddle board was a hurdle. Actually, just getting on the paddle board without doing a face plant into the flowing Merrimack was the major obstacle, but once that happened, the whole balance thing really took my full attention.
But like learning to stand or walk, it’s done in stages. So first, I got balanced on my knees and cruised around a little bit. I wanted to get a feel for the board and what it would take to maneuver around the river. A couple loops and a few missed rocks later and I was ready to stand. To get to your feet from a kneeling position requires a balancing act with your hands to keep the board level while you bring your feet underneath you. I nailed it – you know, no big deal.
Besides a little shakiness in the old knees and a few momentary lapses in balance, it was as if I’d done it before. I was paddling around the river like a pro – or at least a minor leaguer. And just as I got the hang of it, Walton brought up the idea of testing out the ol’ racing kayak.
I figured, why not? I had been in my wife’s kayak (albeit a little smaller) a number of times and had no problems. But Walton’s was 18-feet long and quite skinny, with a foot pedal steering system. A much fancier animal than I was used to, but one I was willing to try.
Like the paddle board, there was some definite shakiness at first, as well as an inability to actually get it to go in a straight line, but I chalk that up to the subtle current of the Merrimack – at least that sounds like a good excuse. Then it happened. I was trying to turn to the right, felt the boat tipping one way and made the quick decision to try and correct. Well, in hindsight, that was a bad idea, because that’s when I found myself in the river with an overturned kayak, a paddle in one hand and trying to swim with the other.
Luckily Walton wasn’t far away. “We” got the boat to the edge, he flipped it over and took it back to the launch and I returned to the paddle board for the final leg of my journey. All in all, a successful morning on the water, if I do say so myself. And let’s be honest, would I really say anything else?
