Floating Flotilla

July 3rd was hot and sunny – a perfect day to lead 25 boats down the Delaware River for the Musconetcong Watershed Association.

The river was running just above 3’ at the Riegelsville gage and after completing a complex car shuttle we set out down the river by 10am.

There were only 2 canoes in the flotilla, the rest were solo kayaks. This trip also included 4 teenage paddlers and at least a few among the group had little or no experience paddling in moving water. We only had one unplanned swimmer, one of the teens went over the rock shelf (sideways) at Raubsville and found himself floating downriver on his back. We performed the river rescue and the kid had a fine ‘baptism.’

It was a great relief to find not one jetski on this stretch of the river and only a few motor boats, and those were unusually courteous operators as far as honoring the ‘no wake zone.’

On my way back downriver to Yardley I was amazed by how many people were out on the river in all manner of watercraft, from tubes to pontoon boats. It’s clearly a “staycation” kind of summer.