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| November 2007 |
A Quiet Note from Quietwater |
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Quietwater Paddling Notes
Greetings!
Fall is changing over to winter here in sunny southern Wisconsin. Only a few stubborn leaves remain on some oak trees that don't know any better. Snow flakes float around once in a while now too. For paddlers in Wisconsin that can only mean one thing - time to break out the gloves! As you'll read in this month's "pleasant places" article, in other parts of the country, November means short-sleeve paddling in perfect conditions...without gloves. Thanks to Richard McFadden, a solo canoe paddler from Arkansas, for his contribution on paddling Lake Ouachita. For those of you who didn't get a look in the October 25th issue of Time magazine, paddlesports received a very nice two page article. Wenonah Canoe was mentioned in several places. First magazine articles, then Hollywood, who knows where this will end... There is a link to the article on the Quietwater blog. I think it is kind of neat to see paddling get a bit of national spotlight. October found us back out on the water starting work on our third movie/DVD - this one on "paddling the tandem canoe". We spent a Friday at the south shore beach of Devils Lake State Park near Baraboo, WI. The next day we were on the Wisconsin River putting in at the Honey Creek landing near Ferry Bluff near Sauk Prairie, WI. (read more...) |
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The Particulars of Paddles
Whether you do the single blade thing or prefer two of those water-slicing pieces of plastic or wood, one thing is clear: boaters need paddles. Long before there was a paddlesports category of recreation, people depended on paddles for transportation and work. We all know there is a big history behind paddling, from the Native Americans who pretty much invented them, to the fabled voyageurs who romanticized them, on up to the Eric Sevareids* of the world who made them popular in the 1930's and 40's. read more...(you'll have to go all the way to page 5 to read about Eric S. |
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Pleasant Places to Paddle
Each month in this newsletter, we are trying to feature a "pleasant place
to paddle". So far, things are turning out nicely. This month, Rich McFadden contributes an article on paddling Lake Ouachita in central Arkansas. In upcoming months we've got articles from a canoe lover in the UK (John K that's you!), a paddler in Vermont (Eric D that's you!), and a kayaker hidden away in northern Wisconsin(Gigi that's you!).
Rich, our writer this month, is a member of the Arkansas Canoe Club, a large and quite active group of paddlers you'll find in central Arkansas. Just about any given weekend of the year finds members of that group out enjoying water. I still tend to favor Idaho as the best kept secret in the US, but Rich makes a very convincing argument that there are some wonderful corners of Arkansas that we should all travel to and paddle in. Here is his article:
- Paddling Lake Ouachita by Richard McFadden
"...Picture in your mind a tablecloth and how it bunches up forming hills and valleys as you push both sides to the middle. That gives you an idea of what happened when two continental plates pushed together to form the Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas and Oklahoma. In their heyday they were as tall as the Rocky Mountains.read more.... |
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 Quietwater Films DVDs
Paddling boats of just about any shape or form is near and dear to us. We think it's a great way to spend time outdoors with family, friends, or by yourself, soaking up what nature has to offer.
We have also observed that, like most other things in life, there is a learning curve to paddling and boating. Our goal with the movies/DVDs we're making is to offer up a bit of specific knowledge and some tips and hints, that we hope will lead to more paddling enjoyment. Here is our website where you can read more about the DVDs we have made and watch some video clips taken from the DVDs as well. If they look like something you want, you can also purchase them from our website.
If you think we missed something and you would like to see more about this missing topic, please email us a description of that topic and we will try to video an answer and post it up on the site, so that everyone can benefit from your question!
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| Our goal is a once a month newsletter. We will not sell your email address to anyone else. We just hope that you like what you read here and pass it on to others that you think might enjoy Quietwater content!
If you want to write an article about your own pleasant place to paddle, all you need to do is write it using the software of your choice. You can send it in directly in email or as an attachment (doc, txt or rtf). Send along a few pictures of your spot as well. You get credit for the article, the rights to it remain yours, but obviously we will post it on the Quietwater Films website and publish it in the email newsletter. You can link to it or otherwise use it as you see fit. If needed, we will edit for spelling and grammar and send you a pre-release copy for your approval before the newsletter goes out.
Next month, I hope to have our first pleasant places article from overseas. Hopefully, John Kelly from Song of the Paddle (www.songofthepaddle.co.uk) will compose for us an ode to British paddling. We'll also have a look at Canoe and Kayak clubs that you can join. Turns out there's a big social aspect to paddling and you'll find alot of that in a canoe or kayak club.
Enjoy your Quiet times on the water -
Jeff Bach
Quietwater Films
Madison, WI., USA
608-432-0198
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