The haunting tremolo of a loon calling for her mate breaks the silence of the morning mist over Lower St. Regis Lake. As the sun burns through the clouds, long, narrow canoes begin to appear through the mist, gliding on the still waters. Paddles silently slice through the water, and as the images become clearer, one can make out the beautiful craftsmanship of the wooden canoes.
Thus begins the morning this past weekend at the annual gathering of wooden canoe enthusiasts attending the Wooden Canoe Heritage Association Assembly at Paul Smith’s College in the scenic New York Adirondacks.
This year, 350 people attended from all over the United States and Canada, and they brought with them almost as many beautiful boats. Displayed on the Great Lawn of the college overlooking Lower St. Regis Lake were a wide variety of classic boats, including wood-canvas canoes, birch bark, sailing canoes, stripper canoes and kayaks. Some were newly constructed, and some were careful restorations of boats originally build more than 100 years ago.
This year the Wooden Canoe Heritage Association celebrated its 35th Annual Assembly, with a focus on the builders of tomorrow’s classic boats. For four days, canoe enthusiasts learned boat-building and restoration techniques, became inspired during evening presentations and panel discussions, and shared their own special canoe building and paddling experiences.
As a family event, the assembly offered a wide variety of classes and activities for everyone, including a robust schedule of activities and crafts for kids. This year’s sessions included a guided tour of historic White Pine Camp, numerous paddling excursions on the pristine Adirondack Lakes, a bird walk, paddling skill workshops, seat caning, and a construction tent with ongoing demonstrations of canoe-building techniques. Evening programs focused on the skills, the vision and the stories of a variety of talented boat-builders, followed by songs and stories told around the lakeside campfire.
A highlight of the event occurred as 70 beautiful boats lined up in the lake and proceeded to parade past onlookers as the announcer described a bit of history of each boat during the annual Paddle-By. Paddles were raised to the applause of the audience.
As the Assembly wrapped up, last-minute photos and hugs were shared as friends, old and new, packed up their canoes and belongings before their trip home. They left with new skills that will help to carry on the tradition of wooden canoe building and paddling. They took with them memories of new outdoor experiences, learning and laughter, as the calls of the loons sent them off with a final tremolo beckoning them to return next year.
For more info and photos see:
Wooden Canoe Heritage Association: www.wcha.org
Canoe Photo Blog by Jim and Betsy Wilson: http://www.letscapturethemoment.com/events/wooden-canoe-assembly/
Wooden Canoe Heritage Association 2014 Assembly from Above the World Films on Vimeo.
