Learn How To Paddle A Canoe Or Kayak
A Springfield Republican event for women.
Lake workshop makes good fun for the ladies
06/15/2003
By MICHAEL McAULIFFE
Staff writer
HUNTINGTON - Last June, Tina M. Peloquin and Heather L. Gagnon took to Littleville Lake - literally.
The longtime friends capsized their canoe in the first edition of the "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun!" paddling workshop at the reservoir. So this year, the pair returned and spent their day on the lake rather than in it.
Though the pair brought towels and extra clothes, there turned out to be no need for them.
"It's so calm," Peloquin, a Holyoke resident, said after getting off the lake. "It was really a lot of fun."
"We were in control of the boat this time," she added.
"We went out there and totally did it on own own," said Gagnon, who lives in Southampton.
The workshop, sponsored by The Republican, provided women with a chance to get outdoors, have fun with friends and learn how to canoe or kayak. The cost was $20 per person, which included a T-shirt and lunch. Members of the Westfield River Canoe Club and the staff of Wilderness Experiences of Southwick provided instruction.
The workshop was first held last year.
There was a morning session and an afternoon session, and the event drew women from teen-agers to senior citizens. Each session could accommodate 50 females, and there was not enough room for all those who wanted to participate.
D. Louise Fowles of Montgomery and her daughter, Northampton resident Erika L. Wolbach, each went out on the lake in a kayak. Each enjoyed the experience, and Fowles said she never once felt she would tip over, even though her first kayaking experience was less than a month ago.
"I thought it went really well," she said.
Kathleen Ahern of West Springfield and longtime friend Mary L. Austin of Ludlow planned to canoe together in the afternoon session, rather than each going solo in a kayak.
"It looks like a lot of fun," Austin said.
"I want to try it, but not alone," Ahern said. "In the safety of a group."
"I want to get all the basics," she added, "to be out there safely." Michael McAuliffe can be reached at mmcauliffe@repub.com