From the Helm
by John Ohrt, Commodore
Over the years I have come to realize that boating can take you places you would not ordinarily go, and through boating you can experience things that most people miss. Things like
  • Standing at the Rockslide with the canyon walls of Santa Elena rising a thousand feet straight up
  • A summer sunset horizon to horizon rainbow on the Brazos
  • Deep piles of leaves in the Neches River bottomland
  • The amazing petroglyphs on the Pecos
  • Laying up under the canoes while a hill country thunder boomer passes overhead
  • Sitting in an eddy at the top of Tablesaw (or some other rapid) craning your neck to see what happened to the first guy down
  • A great blue heron at dawn on the Colorado
  • The sun shining through the wings of a roseate spoonbill at Armand's Bayou
Things like that.
There is a lot of boating out there with a lot of places to see and a lot of things to do.
When I joined the HCC, one of my reasons was to go to those places and to do those things. Over the years I have been lucky enough to do some of them, although my "to do" list seems to stay full. Along the way I have met some great people, which, in retrospect, has been the best part. I have gotten a great deal out of my membership in the HCC over the years, and I am looking forward to another year of paddling. There are going to be lots of good trips. lots of good times, and lots of opportunity for special experiences.
Get out there and boat.