Canoe the Wild

St. Croix River

Dave’s Favorite Pictures from 2020

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A look back at the 2020 Maine canoe trip season While we had a late start due to Covid restrictions, it ended up being a really great season! During the month of June, Maine landscape photographer Ben Williamson of Downeast Magazine and his brother Zander joined us on a 5 day Allagash canoe trip. Zander caught lots of trout while Ben worked with me on improving my photography skills.   Jeremy Grant of  The Timber Cross joined us in July on an Allagash trip putting a high end video together, we spotted 23 moose and Jeremy captured some real cool drone footage (with a special permit). From late July into September, Canoe the Wild guides were busy on numerous Allagash and St. Croix River canoe trips. Moose hunting season went very well and we have posted some scenic shots below. Bookings are coming in almost daily now and we’re looking forward to what summer 2021 brings. We hope to be back in Eastern Canada on the Bonaventure week long whitewater trip but it not, we’ll enjoy Maine rivers such as the St. Croix River, Allagash Wilderness Waterway, the St. John River and West Branch of the Penobscot Rivers if the interest is there.  Check out our 2021 Canoe the Wild schedule and remember, if a trip doesn’t happen due to Covid, your deposits are refundable. To book a trip, please visit our website or contact Dave Conley for any questions you may have. Hope to see you in 2021

Learning to Paddle, Basic Canoe Paddle Strokes, Episode 1

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Paddling with a partner can be a challenge if you don’t have the basics down. In this series we’ll be showing you some techniques that make tandem paddling fun and exciting.

GETTING STARTED: BASIC CANOE PADDLE STROKES

To start let’s go over some of the basic strokes that make up most of the maneuvers you would use to move your canoe.

FORWARD STROKE

The first and most common is the forward stroke. It’s also the most natural stroke: just place your canoe paddle in the water ahead of you and pull the blade straight back.

J STROKE

The stern partner will tend to overpower the bow a person, so we’ll need to add a stroke to keep the canoe moving in a fairly straight line. To make the J stroke, twist your wrist away from your body and align the blade with the broad side of the canoe. By holding it there for a second or two, the blade becomes a rudder and provides just enough correction to keep canoe on track.

DRAW

A draw is a move that is used to either move the boat sideways or change direction. To form a draw, stretch your paddle out over the water on your side of the canoe and then pull the water toward you –  or draw to your hip.

CROSS DRAW

A cross draw, which is only performed in the bow of a tandem canoe, is done by crossing over to the opposite side. With a stiff forward arm, hold your paddle vertical in the water and your upper arm tucking into your side so as not to tweak a muscle. This is a very effective stroke to turn the canoe from the bow.

STERN PRY

The final stroke we’ll demonstrate today is the stern pry. It could be helpful to think of this as the opposite of the draw, in which you slice the blade of your paddle into the water and against the hull. You then use the gunnel as a fulcrum, twisting and prying the water away from the canoe. When done correctly, the stern pry is one of the most powerful moves in guiding your canoe.

When tandem paddling, both the bow and stern partners have important roles with control and responsibility. We’ll see just how true that is as we take these strokes and combine them into maneuvers to move you through the water with ease.

Dave Conley Master Maine Guide and owner of Canoe the Wild, has been paddling the rivers of Maine (Allagash, St. Croix, Penobscot) and Canada since 1985. During the school year, Dave teaches an outdoor education program at East Grand High School in Danforth, ME, host to the annual East Grand Adventure Race. In the fall, guided moose hunts are offered in northern Maine. Check out our 2020 and 2021 schedule here 

2019 Canoe Trip Highlights

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2019 was a busy summer with 125 taking part in 14 canoe trips on the Allagash, St. Croix, West Penobscot, East Penobscot, NE Mistissibi and Bonaventure Rivers. Many families made up of mostly first timers took part on 3 to 5 day Maine canoe trips. Be sure to check out our 2020 canoe trip schedule and we hope you can join us. Most trips require no previous experience with Canoe the Wild taking care of all the logistics, equipment, meals, and friendly professional guides giving instruction as needed.