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Inner City Whitewater Jessie Stone's kayaking camp hits its line

Amaris Martinez and Ashlie Aviles, both 13, don lifejackets and spray skirts in preparation to kayak the Farmington River in upstate Connecticut. Ordinarily, a couple of kids kayaking wouldn’t be worthy of comment. But these teens are from Harlem–and until a week ago had never seen, much less sat in, a kayak. Today, thanks to Jessie Stone, they join 12 other kids from inner-city New York in the culmination of a program that has taken them from city streets to whitewater in one week.

Amaris eyes her perched kayak, and the four-foot drop to the river with trepidation. A seal launch will be the latest challenge she’s faced this week. Chinatown sisters Diana and Annie Wu are the last to put on their lifejackets–procrastinating as long as possible. "These girls had never been in water–not even a pool–before Monday," says Stone. "Now, they’re waterbabies."

The teens were chosen from Upward Bound (high school youth on a college track) and Stone’s next task was to line up some help, instructors who shared her altruistic nature. "Jessie called and I wanted to help," says Eric Jackson, Men’s Freestyle World Champion. "I think it’s a great program. Kayaking is a real adventure." Other instructors shared the same sentiment: Hayden and Margie Glatte of the Sundance Kayak School in Oregon; Anna Levesque, World Freestyle bronze medallist; Eric Stiller, owner of Manhattan Kayak Co.; and Bob Taylor, event coordinator for American Whitewater.

On Monday, Aug. 12, the group met for the first time for a pool session. By Tuesday afternoon, the kids were comfortable enough in their boats to try bigger water in their own backyard—the Hudson. "We were so scared," Ashlie admits. "We thought there were dead bodies and everything. But when we got in the water, it felt so good–especially when boaters passed by and waved to us." Thursday at Gilgo Beach on Long Island got the students accustomed to larger waves and moving water.

Today, the kids are ready for the final test. After each successful catapult into the river, Stone and her team review proper techniques. They guide the new paddlers through both docile and churning water, confidence growing with each riffle. Two hours and several miles later, 14 city kids feel a new kind of power. "It’s all about building confidence," Stone says. The look in the Wu sisters’ eyes as they emerge from the last big rapid says this and more—and it’s a confidence they’re likely to take back to the city.

—Malerie Yolen-Cohen