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< March April 2002
	Hotline

Flagships

In the wake of Sept. 11, don’t be surprised if you see red, white and blue boats alongside you in the river this spring. Showing patriotism through paddling, Dagger recently churned out a kayak decorated in the U.S. flag, and Star Inflatables did the same with a 14-foot self-bailing raft. "We’ve had a lot of interest from outfitters," says Star owner Wayne Dull, "but none of them know if they want to order a fleet of them yet." Though Dagger has dabbled with the flag décor before, orders for the boats have blossomed since September. The most recent addition: a GTX kayak, giving the stars and stripes some surf power. "The guys in molding have played around with it for awhile," says Dagger’s John Woodruff, "but we’ve molded about a dozen or so since Sept. 11. There’s been a fair amount of orders for them." Woodruff adds that though sales have been brisk for the boats following Sept. 11, stars and stripes aren’t the only flag scheme to come out of the company’s ovens. "We get all sorts," he says. "We’ve done the Canadian flag, the British flag and others."

Sea Smarts

Proving once again that book smarts don’t always equal street smarts—or in this case sea smarts—a Cambridge University professor who capsized his sea kayak off the coast of Britain was wise enough to have his cell phone, but the place he chose to call for a rescue was Dubai, 4,000 miles away. According to an article in the London Times, Dr. Mark Ashton-Smith was in the midst of a four-day solo paddle around the Isle of Wight this past August when his boat capsized in heavy seas. Clinging to his overturned boat, and to his cell phone, the only person he could think of to call for help was his father, who was training British troops in the Middle-eastern nation. The elder Smith called the English Coast Guard, who sent a helicopter to rescue his son from their base a mere mile from the capsized paddler’s location. Once he was winched to safety, the psychology PHD confessed, "I just didn’t think to call 999 (the marine emergency number)."

Canoe Coverage (Thankfully)

What do an Old Town Canoe and the hamlet of Maple Corner, Vt., have in common? Thirteen naked men. Needing improvements to the Maple Corner Community Center, including a new septic system and handicap access ramps, a group of Maple Corner’s more secure male residents chose to raise funds by creating a nearly nude calendar. Each month features a different model strutting, er, his stuff with strategically placed props. Mr. April, local canoe and fishing outfitter Don Heise, sits in a rowing canoe holding a stuffed pike over his privates. The cover shot, featured in USA Today and on The Today Show, captures all 13 men standing in a lake buck-naked, holding a canoe at waist level. According to Mr. August, Dick Jenney, the calendar was inspired by the popular 1998 film, The Full Monty, in which a group of unemployed men perform a strip tease to earn money. The $15 calendar, he adds, has been a bonanza, far exceeding expectations. "People are just looking for something completely silly," he says. "We thought we’d sell between 500 and 2,000, but we’ve sold 25,000 all over the world. I guess the Center will have a gold-plated septic system."

Water Trails Conference

Paddlers flocked to Casco Bay in September to take part in Water Trails for the New Millennium, a conference co-sponsored by North American Water Trails and the Maine Island Trail Association. The conference was fifth in an ongoing series focused on building, using, maintaining, managing and expanding recreational water trails in North America. The bi-annual event featured a screening of the Best of the Waterwalker Film Festival, a compilation of award-winning outdoor films held as a memorial to Canadian paddler Bill Mason. The inaugural Blue Ribbons of Discovery Award was presented to the Washington Trails Association to honor its Lakes to Locks program. A conference surprise was the lifetime achievement award, given to David R. Getchell, Sr., for his commitment to waterway preservation. An array of representatives from state, local, private, and nonprofit organizations took advantage of the event. "A lot of water trails are community-based," says North American Water Trails Executive Director Al Staats. "It’s almost always a public-private partnership." Info: www.watertrails.org or www.crca.ca.

--cpa