now this is a story
all about how
our boat got flipped
turned upside down
and i'd like to take a minute
just sit right there
i'll tell you how we flipped into the potomac river
"We both have pretty good upper body strength, right? We'll be fine." I hesitantly nodded my approval before Sonia stepped into our canoe. The second she turned her back I vigorously shook my head. I have as much upper body strength as I do chances of becoming a supermodel in the next week. But I felt pretty positive that I could handle a canoe paddle. This is kid's play, right?
Sonia and I met at Fletcher's Cove on a recent Sunday afternoon. It's sort of in the middle of nowhere in DC. After exploring Hains Point a few days prior - another getaway-within-the-city, I was less surprised by the serenity and placidity at Fletcher's, but I was still so overjoyed by it. I've spent my three years in DC becoming a regular at various bars and restaurants and getting to know the city on a gastronomical, occasionally tourist-style level. But this summer has been about finding the spots that fill my soul more than my stomach, as cheesy as that sounds.
But back to my novice canoeing attempt. Did I mention this was my first time canoeing, kayaking, or generally boating? I failed to tell Sonia, either, until we were already out on the water.
Fletcher's is on a narrow strait of the Potomac River. It's mostly calm, but even the slightest bit of wind makes for a workout when you're rowing against it. We started off rowing with the wind, aiming to head down about to a nondescript point we could see in the distance before turning back. We chatted the whole way, stopping mid-sentence to let a plane pass overhead, before picking up where we had left off once it passed.
When we reached our turnaround point, we lifted our oars for a minute to enjoy the quiet. It's really beautiful out there - dense trees and foliage lining both sides of the river, other canoes and kayaks gliding across the water. We watched a buck, a doe, and their little fawn graze, admiring their coloring and gentle movements.
We headed back rowing down the center of the river, using all of our strength to stay on course. The wind would take us allllll the way to the left. We'd get back to the center with concentrated effort, and the wind would push us alllll the way to the right. On one of those trips alllll the way to the right, we beached on a rock. We used our paddles to push off, we shifted our weight side to side. Sonia moved to the middle of the boat to shimmy us off. Finally, I stepped out onto the rocks, pushed the boat away and leaped back into the boat, stomach first.
Having overcome that obstacle, all we had to do was turn ourselves 90 degrees and head straight, and we'd be at the dock in no time. We both leaned left and paddled with all our might, willing and forcing the boat to turn. A fierce gust of wind came from our right sides, and with a singular all-of-our-strength into the oars paddle, we capsized.
We didn't have time to think, remove our shoes (don't wear flip-flops!), or stabilize before we were thrown into the legendary not-so-clean Potomac waters. The second I hit the water, my hand went into my life vest, where I'd tucked a change purse with my cell phone, keys, cash, and credit card. I pulled it up and over my head into the air before I'd even emerged for a breath.
By the time we resurfaced, we were laughing so hard the water droplets might have been tears, and I'd lost a shoe that Sonia had grabbed, and the paddles were floating 10 feet away. For a good 30 minutes, we tried to swim the canoe back - me on my back butterfly kicking with my change purse held sky high (my phone!), Sonia with all four of our shoes stuffed into her life jacket, helping me guide the boat.
We did eventually make it back, with the help of a small-boat fisherman (and a giant catfish that nestled against my leg - cue me screaming and jumping up and down on rocks in the water). Sonia waved to the guy assisting on the dock as we rowed in, "It's a nice day for a swim, huh?" And his eyes went wide. "So YOU TWO are the ones that fell in!"
Yep, that's us! I can't wait to canoe again. But before I do, maybe I should do some push-ups.
all about how
our boat got flipped
turned upside down
and i'd like to take a minute
just sit right there
i'll tell you how we flipped into the potomac river
"We both have pretty good upper body strength, right? We'll be fine." I hesitantly nodded my approval before Sonia stepped into our canoe. The second she turned her back I vigorously shook my head. I have as much upper body strength as I do chances of becoming a supermodel in the next week. But I felt pretty positive that I could handle a canoe paddle. This is kid's play, right?
Sonia and I met at Fletcher's Cove on a recent Sunday afternoon. It's sort of in the middle of nowhere in DC. After exploring Hains Point a few days prior - another getaway-within-the-city, I was less surprised by the serenity and placidity at Fletcher's, but I was still so overjoyed by it. I've spent my three years in DC becoming a regular at various bars and restaurants and getting to know the city on a gastronomical, occasionally tourist-style level. But this summer has been about finding the spots that fill my soul more than my stomach, as cheesy as that sounds.
But back to my novice canoeing attempt. Did I mention this was my first time canoeing, kayaking, or generally boating? I failed to tell Sonia, either, until we were already out on the water.
Fletcher's is on a narrow strait of the Potomac River. It's mostly calm, but even the slightest bit of wind makes for a workout when you're rowing against it. We started off rowing with the wind, aiming to head down about to a nondescript point we could see in the distance before turning back. We chatted the whole way, stopping mid-sentence to let a plane pass overhead, before picking up where we had left off once it passed.
When we reached our turnaround point, we lifted our oars for a minute to enjoy the quiet. It's really beautiful out there - dense trees and foliage lining both sides of the river, other canoes and kayaks gliding across the water. We watched a buck, a doe, and their little fawn graze, admiring their coloring and gentle movements.
We headed back rowing down the center of the river, using all of our strength to stay on course. The wind would take us allllll the way to the left. We'd get back to the center with concentrated effort, and the wind would push us alllll the way to the right. On one of those trips alllll the way to the right, we beached on a rock. We used our paddles to push off, we shifted our weight side to side. Sonia moved to the middle of the boat to shimmy us off. Finally, I stepped out onto the rocks, pushed the boat away and leaped back into the boat, stomach first.
Having overcome that obstacle, all we had to do was turn ourselves 90 degrees and head straight, and we'd be at the dock in no time. We both leaned left and paddled with all our might, willing and forcing the boat to turn. A fierce gust of wind came from our right sides, and with a singular all-of-our-strength into the oars paddle, we capsized.
We didn't have time to think, remove our shoes (don't wear flip-flops!), or stabilize before we were thrown into the legendary not-so-clean Potomac waters. The second I hit the water, my hand went into my life vest, where I'd tucked a change purse with my cell phone, keys, cash, and credit card. I pulled it up and over my head into the air before I'd even emerged for a breath.
By the time we resurfaced, we were laughing so hard the water droplets might have been tears, and I'd lost a shoe that Sonia had grabbed, and the paddles were floating 10 feet away. For a good 30 minutes, we tried to swim the canoe back - me on my back butterfly kicking with my change purse held sky high (my phone!), Sonia with all four of our shoes stuffed into her life jacket, helping me guide the boat.
We did eventually make it back, with the help of a small-boat fisherman (and a giant catfish that nestled against my leg - cue me screaming and jumping up and down on rocks in the water). Sonia waved to the guy assisting on the dock as we rowed in, "It's a nice day for a swim, huh?" And his eyes went wide. "So YOU TWO are the ones that fell in!"
Yep, that's us! I can't wait to canoe again. But before I do, maybe I should do some push-ups.
if you go...
canoe rates: $14/hour $28/day
the wait: at 3:30pm on a sunday, we waited a brief 30-minutes. they'll call you when they have a boat
I've never been canoeing either - so your adventure as a novice yourself makes me feel like I could do it without worry. :)
ReplyDeleteYou absolutely could do it, Aubrey! And worst case you end up with a pretty hilarious story of capsizing ;)
DeleteI'm actually heading out this weekend to canoe and I'm pretty stoked about it. ^_^
Delete