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Kayaking for women
When T rish Arnold bought her kayak, she made
sure there would be room up front for H eidi, her
Pomeranian cocker spaniel mix.
“H eidi is the captain of my kayak,” Arnold says.
T hough kayaking is Arnold’s passion, she says she came to
the sport by way of what could have been a very tragic accident.
T wo weeks after the Wrightsville Beach triathlon in which
she competed as a cyclist, Arnold says she was out on a training
ride when a cyclist beside her hit a pothole. H is front tire hit her
back tire.
“I ended up in the hospital in surgery,” she says. “My whole
left side was in a cast. I decided then, after I recovered from it,
that I wasn’t going to return to cycling like that. I needed to find
another sport.”
In search of another form of exercise that would still keep her in
touch with nature, Arnold turned to the kayak.
T oday, she and H eidi go out around Banks Channel as often as
they can, preferably in the morning and with friends. She even
purchased a spare kayak so that she can take friends with her who
may not have a kayak of their own.
L iving in Wilmington, Arnold stores her kayaks at a friend’s
home on H arbor Island along with native, Kim Myer, who has been
friends with Arnold since the ‘80s.
Myer says she’s always been into watersports. H er passion
was once windsurfing, but through the years she says kayaking
was a natural progression.
Aside from the upper body and core workout for which Myer
and Arnold strive to keep in shape, Arnold says it’s the morning
kayak rides that are a great start to the day.
“I enjoy seeing nature,” Myer says. “A lot of the women I
know that kayak a lot enjoy just being amongst the dolphins.”
Arnold explains, “It’s different to be out on a kayak than to be
out on a motor boat because you’re more in touch with wildlife
and nature.”
T hough most of the pair’s expeditions are confined to the
Intracoastal Waterway, Myer says she also likes to explore the
marshes.
“You never know exactly where it’s going to end,” she says,
“or where it’s going to take you.”
T rish A rnold and her dog,
Heidi, paddle Banks Channel
with their friend, Kim Myer.
Canoe evolution
What’s the latest news on the old
faithful mode of paddle transportation?
N ative A mericans made them out of birch
bark. L ater they were wooden strip built.
A s synthetic materials like plastics made
their way into the crafting of canoes, makers began
using polyethylene — a heavier plastic — R oyalex,
fiberglass, carbon fiber and K evlar.
“R eally,” C hris T ryon, co-owner of H ook, L ine
and Paddle says, “the change has just been materials
to make them either stronger or lighter.”
But overall, T ryon says, the original design has
remained pretty standard.
T he wider the midsection of the boat, the more
stable. T he longer the boat from the bow to stern,
the faster. A nd the more rocker, or curvature of the
keel line, the more agile.
U nless you’ll be taking your canoe into white
waters or big rivers, a standard 14 to 17-foot boat
with less rocker will do for the local water bodies
and most all occasions.
“T he canoe,” T ryon says, “is the all-around
catch-all. T hey’re pretty versatile. Y ou can hunt out
of them, fish out of them, camp out of them.”
H e suggests venturing out into the northeast C ape
Fear R iver and meandering the creeks along with
the Black R iver where, during this time of year, the
changing red and golden foliage is ever present.
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