Canoe Journey Journal

The Canoe Family held perhaps its final practice on Wednesday afternoon in 80 degree weather.

The session was chaotic but lighthearted. Nearly 30 Canoe Family members turned out to pull, the largest crowd in months. A TV crew from Germany was also on hand to film (see the post below), which added to the confusion. Anthony Adams skippered Noo-Kayet, the Port Gamble S’Klallam’s broad-bottomed, cedar-strip canoe, on three trips through Port Gamble Bay as the film crew shot from a support boat.

I joined the third trip and so did a shirtless German cameraman, who installed himself in the front of the canoe. He conducted a few interviews at point-blank range with pullers in the front, then slithered his way to the back and wedged his burly torso between myself and the neighboring puller so he could talk with Adams.

The film crew couldn’t help but be distraction, but they were good natured and the Canoe Family put on a good show.

After three short trips in the bay, Laura Price took over as skipper and guided a large crew of pullers north toward Coon Bay as the sun slid toward the Olympics. The crew pulled hard despite the lingering heat. After months of practice, the mouth of Hood Canal and the strait beyond appeared enticingly close in the slanting sunlight.