[Paddlewise] By luck, we didn't drown

We got away with it back in '57. We had no idea at the time. We were
launching on the Parker River behind Plum Island when a duck hunter came in
with his little runabout after being out on the Merrimac river in
Massachusetts. He was scared pretty bad-said it was really rough out there.
We said hot dog---LET'S GO!! My father had no problem with it. His plan was
to meet us back there the next day. Our plan was to paddle across the river
and camp on an island. We always wanted to go there because for years
previously we would spot eagles on that island using our spotting scopes
from a meadow near the little Newburyport airport on the west side of the
river in the winter.

 

It was Thanksgiving and the river was cold and the wind was blowing hard
from the north and the tide was running out to sea at max ebb. We were
dressed in hiking clothes. I think we had orange horse collar pfds. We had a
heavy load of gear. We used my canoe, which I had recanvased a year earlier.
Off we go. Leaving the Parker river inlet, we turned north into an
aggressive north wind and waves about a foot high. The waves were exciting
because they each cleared the peak of the bow and then poured a cigar
thickness of water over both gunwales down the entire length of the canoe.
We recognized that we would sink if that kept up with no answer on our
part-We bailed about as much of the time as we paddled-grinding, ferrying,
upwind and up the ebbing tidal current. There were no other boats on the
river that late afternoon. We had to go two miles straight line to the
island on the east side of the river. It took two hours of no rest hard
paddling and bailing.

 

The hunters were out in the marshes along both sides of the river and they
seemed a long way away from us. We would hear a distant gun shot,
immediately followed by other blasts up and down both sides of the river-as
if the hunters were talking to each other, even though miles apart. I'm sure
no one saw us out there. If we had capsized or sunk, we would have quickly
drowned and washed out to sea without a trace.

Remember all that crap about filing trip plans so they know where to look
for you if you don't show up on time. They would have started looking for us
about 20 hours later when my father was supposed to meet us. Cold water boot
camp- 1 minute breathing, 10 minutes functional and 1 hour until death by
hypothermia. Yep. We'd have been dead for at least 19 hours before they even
started looking for us. Love that Boot camp crap.

 

Full moon that night and bitter cold. Frost on the tent next morning. Next
morning, heavy overcast, wind still blowing same direction and tide blasting
out to sea again. Waves as they were before. We surfed all the way back to
the Parker River. Didn't capsize and the crossing this time took only half
an hour. We were ripping!! What I can still see in mind's eye today, about
half way across a large flock of Canadian geese flew over us, also headed
toward the Plum Island refuge. In the middle of the flock, not too high up
because of the heavy overcast, there was one white-fronted goose. Not
normally seen in the east-common in the central flyway in Illinois and down
the Mississippi River. We were greatly excited, but still didn't capsize
when using our field glasses.

 

My father was waiting for us as planned. I am certain that he had no idea of
the risk he allowed us to take. I had no idea either until running class 5
white water on the Gauley river in West Virginia in about 1977- dressed in
layers of wool as they instructed back then. Capsized about six times in 5
miles and was mildly hypothermic by the end of the run. Bought a wetsuit
after that. Didn't blow my roll. Accidently punched a rock, but my hand was
somewhat numb from the cold water, so the hand didn't hurt too bad. Another
paddler broke his boat in half and walked out on the railroad tracks. A
third paddler swam so often he was too exhausted to paddle-walked out also.
Drawing water of the bottom of the reservoir in September made a really cold
river for us. It was race day for the West Virginia White Water association.
I spent a couple hours warming up in the committee tent after that.

 

That day back in '57, God gave us a pass. Guess he had other plans.

 

Chuck Sutherland
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