Many paddles strokes have been taken on this trip, yet looking back I can’t place the first time I dipped a paddle into the water. Both my parents were avid paddlers, but when I was young they made the move to Canada’s arctic. Over the years they hung up their paddles and embraced winter sports; dog sledding, skiing and kite skiing. We followed in their footsteps; my brother and I traveling the cold desolate parts of the world.
This summer however we left our ski’s behind for a three month canoe trip. Eric and I are the third generation of paddlers; it was my Grandfather, Robert McNair, who introduced paddling to our family, and I want to dedicate this blog to him and his love of the sport. He never taught my brother or I to paddle (sadly he passed away when we were both young) yet he shared his passion with many, spreading the sport through the Northeast States. He was instrumental in introducing white-water slalom racing in the States; running the first slalom in 1953, starting one of the first white-water schools in the United States, and also writing the canoe guide book: “Basic River Canoeing”.
An engineer by trade, he applied his knowledge of fluid dynamics to paddling. His paddling partner was also his partner in life; my Grandmother, Edie McNair, who can still be found in a canoe. Together they won the National Canoe Slalom Championships three times in the early 60’s. In the recent years he has been nominated for the White Water Hall of fame.
By Sarah McNair-Landry
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