Passion for paddling
Hooper brings green awareness to river recreation
HAMPTON - There's not much you need to take with you for a day of paddling on the Kennebecasis sun protection and drinking water, plus your life jacket and paddle, of course.
But Rafe Hooper would like you to bring something back.
As owner of Osprey Adventures, a new canoe and kayak outfitter in Hampton, he challenges his clients to bring back any litter encountered during their paddle. The reward for five pieces of litter (not generated by the paddler) is a 10 per cent discount on the next outing.
"I look at the river and marsh system as something we need to preserve," he said.
The jewel in Osprey Adventures' crown is a nearly eight metre (26.5-foot) voyageur canoe, built by Steve Jones of Great Spirit Canoes in Oromocto First Nation using canoe forms from the original Chestnut canoe factory. Fredericton brothers Harry and Henry Chestnut patented the wood and canvas canoe design in 1905 and launched an international business with dozens of models.
Hooper's chestnut-brown voyageur canoe, with its distinctive raised and rounded bow and stern, seats 10. He had it built slightly longer than usual to give passengers more room and had the seats mounted lower to add even more stability to the flat-bottomed, metre-wide craft.
With a Canadian flag mounted at its stern, the voyageur canoe made its maiden voyage on the Kennebecasis June 21, after a traditional native sweetgrass ceremony during the grand opening of the Lighthouse Park River Centre in Hampton. The next day it was out on the river again as Hooper led a tour into nearby Beamer Creek, where the tree canopy closes over the shaded, meandering waterway. A voyageur canoe trip makes a great family outing or workplace team-building experience, Hooper explained.
No prior paddling instruction is required for voyageur excursions, available for groups of five to nine people. Water and a snack are provided, along with discussion of local history, wildlife and the river system ecology.
Upstairs in the red community building are washrooms and a meeting hall. The adjacent park includes interpretative panels, a floating wharf and boat launch.
Osprey Adventures grew from a dream to reality rather quickly, said Hooper. "They called for proposals at the end of February and by the end of March I found out I could go in," he said of the winter announcement the river centre would include a canoe and kayak outfitter. He secured craft and equipment and began Osprey Adventures along with his wife Maureen, who handles the finances.
Clients are asked to sign a waiver and are fitted with suitable life vests and paddles. There are a variety of canoes and several single and double kayaks available to rent out by the day or half day.
Hooper provides guided tours of the river system and paddlers may see bald eagles, osprey, owls, herons, ducks, deer and other riverside dwellers. Full-day guided tours include a meal and snack while water and a light snack are provided for half-day trips. Guided canoe excursions are available for groups of four to eight people and kayak excursions are offered for groups of four to six.
Paddlers can also choose a self-guided adventure and are provided basic safety instruction and a map of Hampton-area waterways, which include the Kennebecasis, Passeakeag Creek upriver and Beamer Creek downriver.
As he explains the handling of a kayak paddle to clients, Hooper's passion for paddling is apparent. He explains the difference between the top and bottom of the paddles and gives advice on grip and angle to provide an effective yet comfortable paddling experience.
"My background is in marathon canoeing," said Hooper, explaining he has hosted canoe races in Hampton for almost three decades.
Unlike the sturdy wood canoes or even the fibreglass kayaks he rents out for river adventurers, racing canoes are "light, sleek racing crafts" made of carbon fibre. A 5.6 metre (18.5-foot) racing canoe may weigh only 11.3 kilograms (25 pounds) and paddles of the same material weigh only 170 grams (six ounces).
"It's heaven," he said of streaking across the water in the light, high-tech craft. Marathon canoe racing covers distances greater than 10 km.
Even Hooper's volunteer time is devoted to paddling. He's in his fifth year as coach of Breasts Ahoy, a team of cancer survivors who paddle in the annual Saint John Dragon Boat Festival, a fundraising project of St. Joseph's Hospital Foundation.
This year's Aug. 23 festival at Renforth Wharf aims to raise $250,000 to expand the hospital's extended day surgery program, helping reduce waiting times for patients from Sussex to St. Stephen.
Hooper feels lucky to literally "get in on the ground level" of the Hampton River Centre project, which has been in the works for about four years. The Hampton river centre is the fourth on the "lower river passage" of the St. John River and its tributaries. The other centres are at Gagetown, Oromocto and Westfield.
Co-ordinated by the St. John River Society, the Lower River Passage project is a sustainable tourism initiative involving river-linked communities from Saint John up to Fredericton. It's objectives are to build tourism infrastructure, foster new tourism services and market the environmental, heritage and cultural experiences offered in the region.
Community partners look after the infrastructure end of the initiative and the river society provides support services such as branding and logo development, brochures, tradeshows, technical services and development of consistent interpretive signage throughout the "passage."
The society manages a website about the Lower River Passage at www.stjohnriver.org/lower_river_passage.htm
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