Butler club makes kayaking a social activity
MUDDY CREEK TWP — When kayaking, you’re most likely to fall into a body of water when entering or exiting the boat. Once it gets out onto the water, a kayak is pretty stable, so long as its captain doesn’t rock the boat.
Rich Thornhill, who has become skilled in a kayak in the 12 or so years since he first bought one, said that in the unlikely event a person does tumble into the water, it’s best to have company with you, because getting back in is as difficult as falling out.
“When I started kayaking with a group, it makes more of a difference,” he said. “You’re socializing with other people.”
Thornhill is not only a longtime member of the Butler Outdoor Club, which hosted a kayak ride Saturday morning, July 19, at Moraine State Park, he also helps the park staff with its Full Moon Paddles, which take place once a month in the summer.
In both roles, Thornhill acts as a guide, leading new and experienced kayakers on tours of Lake Arthur, and sometimes other bodies of water, with the Butler Outdoor Club. Each ride organized by Moraine State Park starts with safety instructions and a demonstration of how to paddle.
After that, the kayaks take off, for what is usually a one- to two-hour trip on the lake — a good amount of time to soak in the environment.
“It’s just calm, it’s just relaxing being in a kayak,” Thornhill said.
About 15 people went on the Butler Outdoor Club’s kayak tour of Lake Arthur Saturday, which began at McDanels Boat Launch on Moraine’s North Shore. For the club’s tours, everyone has to bring their own kayak, but Moraine State Park events supply kayaks to people who register.
Tom Vayansky, president of the Butler Outdoor Club, said it is typical for about 10 to 12 people to attend the group’s kayak trips. The club also hosts hikes, bike rides and camping trips, but because it is a membership-based organization, people who attend almost always have to bring their own equipment.
“If it’s biking, you have to bring your own bike; if it’s kayaking, bring your own kayak; camping, bring your own gear along,” Vayansky said.
He said Saturday was a good day to kayak, because the lake was calm and the weather was partly-cloudy, preventing the sun from constantly beating down on the rowers.
“The weather worked out for us, not too hot,” Vayansky said.
Thornhill said everyone should have a life jacket when kayaking. He also demonstrated the optimal way of rowing — he held the paddle above his head with both hands extended to shoulder-length before extending them in front of him to row in a circular motion. The club’s communications coordinator, Tammy Veloski, said to avoid muscle strain, it is best to push on the side of the oar that is out of the water, rather than pulling back on the side that’s in the water.
“You don’t want to tire yourself out while you’re out here,” Veloski said from her kayak.
Thornhill led the group of kayakers eastward from McDanels Boat Launch, toward Moraine State Park’s cabins. There were a few people at the lake that day fishing from the docks behind the cabins or on boats. Anglers wound their lines in as the kayaks passed them, so they didn’t get tangled in the lines.
Thornhill said he normally doesn’t plan out the routes for the Butler Outdoor Club excursions and just goes to areas of the lake that he hasn’t been to in a while.
Veloski and a few other people kayaking brought waterproof and disposable cameras with them, snapping photos of the scenery in the park as they passed by. One of the kayakers said she captured the image of a green heron before it took off at the site of people.
Veloski said she always recommends people either leave their valuables on the shore, or bring a waterproof bag with them onto the kayak, because there’s a chance they get wet. Sunscreen and water are also must-have items on a hot summer day on the lake.
According to Vayansky, people can also pick up launch permits at the Moraine State Park office, which need to be renewed for each vessel every year.
“You just stick them on the side of your boat,” Vayansky said.
Mike Ciccone, of Wexford, has been a member of the Butler Outdoor Club since 2008 and frequently goes on kayak trips with the group.
After many years of traversing Lake Arthur in a solo vessel, Ciccone said he has seen almost everything there, so the Butler Outdoor Club mainly gives him some company while he rows.
“You get to talk to people and sometimes you get to go to new places,” Ciccone said, “but I’ve pretty much been everywhere in the lake.”
Many of the people who are members of the Butler Outdoor Club are retired and keep up with the club as motivation to continue getting out and about.
Dave Thompson is 83 years old and said he does his best to make it to as many Butler Outdoors Club activities as he can, including its kayak excursions. On Saturday, he said he hopes to keep kayaking for as long as he can.
“It’s just great recreation being outdoors,” Thompson said. “It’s a way to keep in shape.”
He also said, although he is in his 80s, he can keep up in a kayak with everyone else in the club thanks to years of paddling. Thompson said constant activity is one reason he joined the Butler Outdoor Club.
“It’s important as you get older to keep doing things like this because it keeps you active,” Thompson said.
Ciccone said that he enjoys kayaking because it’s another way to engage with nature. He has traveled around the U.S. to be active in hiking and camping trips, and he usually brings his trusty kayak with him — the one he has had since 2001.
“It’s just a different variety,” Ciccone said of kayaking. “I bike. I run. I kayak. It’s just adding more variety to what I do.”
For more information on the Butler Outdoor Club, visit its website at butleroutdoorclub.org. People interested also can join the club’s email list by emailing Vayansky at creekfishing40@gmail.com.
