Paddling Barnegat Bay at Island Beach State Park, NJ.

I'm in my 30's now, but first picked up a paddle at age 12, and was baptized into paddling on Cedar Creek in the Pine Barrens of NJ on a canoe trip with my 7th grade class and teacher, Don Novak. This is my first recollection of a phenomenon I call SynchronicitY. In my canoe on Cedar Creek, I felt connected to the natural order of the universe, and in tune with something much larger than myself with a feeling of freedom, exhilaration and peace. The experience lasted no more than a moment but is as vivid to me today as it was then. This would commence my passion for paddling and an awareness of a strong communion with nature.

I later started, and continue to enjoy, yearly whitewater rafting trips. Although I've rafted mostly the more technical Northeastern Rivers such as the Cheat, Upper Hudson, Gauley, Yough, and Big Sandy, I've also ventured out west to paddle the big water of the Snake River in Hell's Canyon for a few days. Words and pictures cannot even give this experience justice. I realize I've always had an affinity for water and especially the ocean. I was raised and continue to live at the NJ Shore in Ocean County and as a child can always remember a fascination with the vast sea of wonderment and the power of the Great Atlantic. I have seen her many moods over the years from her peaceful tide of tranquility to her tumultuous surf of wrath and rage during the many hurricanes I've experienced. Some recreational paddling in Hawaii and the Islands of the Carribbean just fueled my attraction for sea kayaking and inspired me to eventually buy one. Since I live less than 5 miles from the beach, I have been "going with the flow" and riding the many moods of The Great Atlantic and surrounding areas ever since.

"Life is like a river. Wisdom is knowing when to paddle and when to float"

-WWRivrRat

Here are two of my web pages:

Tao of Paddling
http://home.comcast.net/~wwrivrrat/tao.htm

NJ Paddle Zone
http://home.comcast.net/~wwrivrrat/padzone.htm