Kayaking Update, Nan Melville, Photographer

Just an update on the fireworks of July 4th on the East River!

We had professional photograph, Nan Melville, kayak with us at the fireworks. The Long Island City Community Boathouse posted a link to one of the photographs that she took of us while the fireworks were in progress. Amazing! (There's a few more photographs here.)

From the LIC Community Boathouse website, a little more regarding the event:

In addition to the boathouse volunteers, we hosted harbor guests. One was Tim Gamble, a longtime officer at the pioneering Dowtown Boathouse (they really got the free paddling movement going in NYC!) and recent co-founder of the Red Hook Boaters, a great paddling group affiliated through the Gowanus Dredgers Canoe Club. Another notable was Craig Kandell, who is a volunteer illustrator for the boathouse and a marathon swimmer with the Manhattan Island Foundation.

Some revelers stayed on the highground of the eco-arts and recreation center that John and Erik are assembling with Plaxall's help. After all, that's also where the food was. BBQ for carnivores and vegans alike. Other ventured out onto the East River aboard our kayaks!

It was spectacular. The waters were swept over with washes of color than rarely paused. The skyline began to bow to the fireworks as the flashes outshown lighted towers and smoke blanketed and smothered them. Several paddlers remarked that they'd never felt so near to fireworks this grand.

The LIC Community Boathouse is fortunate to have a launch on Anable Basin, which is literally yards north of the Coast Guard's holiday restricted zone. With lights, marine radios, and close coordination, we safely paddled out to see the show in a wide gap between the anchored pleasure craft. We scurried back before the traditional post-fireworks horn blowing was done. We also kept steady communication with the fireboats, police boats, and Coast Guard runabouts that were amply deployed.

I'm very happy to have found the Boathouse through my friend, John. I expect to be volunteering a lot to not only get the opportunity to ride the waters of New York, but to help the NYC community reconnect to our waterfronts. We are looking for sponsors for boats and if you feel like donating money or time or boats, please feel free.

Oh, and don't forget to come on over and kayak with us, too!