Wayne County Life

Kayakers leave Newark at twilight

   NEWARK (MAY 4 12) -- A group of three expert kayakers, covering 30 miles of the Erie Canal each day, paddled through Palmyra, Newark and into Lyons on Friday afternoon.
   Part of New York's Spare Seat Kayak Expedition that is promoting kayaking adventures along the state's inland waterways, the group stopped at the Newark port landing to pick up a passenger, Roger Straub of the Erie Canal Association, and an additional kayak manned by Newark Code Enforcement Officer Mark Peake.
   Members of the Newark community welcomed the kayakers at the Newark Country Club for dinner, and the adventurers stayed in the village overnight ayt the Vintage Gardens Bed and Breakfast before continuing their trek along the Erie Canal Saturday.
   The prime rowers are Glenn Charles (a Brit) and Richard Haprham, who came through Newark with Rosie Fuller in one of the seats -- she is the editor for the British magaine, Adventure Travels. 
   When the kayaks have finished their 500-mile expedition, they will have made the trip from Buffalo to Albany on the Erie Canal, then move south on the Hudson River to Manhattan.

From left, Glenn Charles, Richard Harpham, Rosie Fuller and an unknown kayaker talk with Newark's Mark Peake (back to camera) as they pulled up to the Newark northside docks on Friday afternoon.

Newark resident Jaden Addyman, 5, raced the first kayak to the dock. He won; the kayakers were tired.

   All along the way, the group is making strategic stops to talk up the delights of the Empire State's historic inland waterways. Charles is documenting the trip through an almost-daily blog, with photos taken by the team highlighting many of the beautiful spots along the way.

Kayaker Richard Harpham and Newark resident Roger Straub disembark from the port of Newark on the way to Lyons Dry Docks

   In each community, the group is picking up one or two passegengers for the spare seat available in each kayak. A support team shadows the route, with a videographer/photographer/press guy in tow. When the two kayaks came into Newark, they were trailed by a third kayak, with Mark DeCracken of Trailworks manning an oar.
   Because the Erie Canal has just opened for navigation, only one boat came into Newark on Friday afternoon, and it docked for the night. The next canal travelers were the kayakers, who safekept their kayaks in Lyons for the night.
 

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