A while ago we posted a story about kayaking in downtown Pittsburgh, PA. Well if you thought that would be a great experience, imagine kayaking the Hudson River around Manhattan!

We might be late to the proverbial party, but we just found out that…

New York City Downtown Boathouse Offers Free, Yes Free, Kayaking.

The New York City Downtown Boathouse is an all-volunteer organization that offers free walk-up public kayaking, free kayak trips on New York harbor, and free evening kayak classes – all available to the general public.

The Boathouse provides all the equipment and the know-how, so don’t hesitate to take full advantage of this paddling resource even if you’re a kayak novice. All you need to know is how to swim, be sure to wear a life jacket, abide by the Boathouse rules and sign their liability waiver.

All the equipment is paid for by donations from the volunteers, all the labor is provided for free by the volunteers. HINT: If you’re a paddler living in NYC, why not be a volunteer? You actually don’t need to be an expert, they’re looking for all levels of volunteers and they offer training. Click Here for more information on volunteering at the Downtown Boathouse.

This is a great opportunity for anyone interested in learning how to kayak or anyone that just wants to try kayaking to see if they’ll like it (we know you’ll love it!).

Most of the boats are self bailing (meaning you really can’t sink it) one or two person sit-on-top kayaks. Sit on tops are great for sight-seeing trips – and there are few more awesome urban sights in the world than the view of the New York skyline from the water (except maybe from the air, but we’re paddlers not flyers).

When’s The New York City Downtown Boathouse open?

For the 2008 season all locations of the boathouse will be open from May 17th to October 13th.

The Boathouse has three locations:

• Pier 40 at the western end of Houston Street on the river side of the West Side Highway. Hours from 9:00AM to 6:00PM Weekends and Holidays

• Pier 96, Clinton Cove at 56th Street and the Hudson River. Hours from 9:00AM to 6:00PM Weekends and Holidays. Open weekday evenings (June 16 to August 29) from 5PM to 7PM. Wednesday evening classes from 6:00PM to 8:00PM.

• Riverside Park Promenade. Take the 72nd Street stairs into the park and head to the river. Hours from 10:00AM to 5:00PM Weekends and Holidays

What sort of kayaking can you enjoy at the Boathouse?

• Walk-up kayaking is the most popular program. You can take a 20 minute paddle inside the protected embayment in front of the boathouse.

• Three hour trips go out into the Hudson River and lower harbor. The trip destination will depend on the tides and weather. They will usually go 4 or 5 miles. They do require you to have previous kayak experience or go out on their walk-up program several times to gain strength and be familiar with the kayaks.

• Kayak classes are every Wednesday evening. Most of the classes are on the water and cover basic kayak skills and a variety of kayak- related topics.

• Winter pool classes are also held in conjunction with the Riverbank State Park swimming pool.

As with any free service, donations are encouraged. Its the only way to keep these kinds of great opportunities available to everyone and anyone who loves to be on the water or even just thinks they might! Click here to donate to the Boathouse.

And if you live in or near New York City, stop by, take a few strokes out in Hudson and join our growing community of avid paddlers.

Visit the New York City Downtown Boathouse website to find out all the details.

***Does your city or town offer a great paddling opportunity like this one? Send us a note and tell us about it. We’ll post it on the blog and also on our Places to Paddle page.

We ran across this story at Tampa Bay Online about Sean Fitzgibbon, a Florida kayaker, and thought it was worth repeating.

Stories like this really make the point that a disability does not have to keep you off the water. Kayaking and canoeing is something almost everyone can enjoy – even those with physical challenges. Paddling is truly a universal sport.

We wish Sean and his team success and safe passage!

Disability Doesn’t Faze Kayak King

By Stephen Thompson
The Tampa Tribune
Published: May 12, 2008

SEMINOLE – Sean Fitzgibbon was born without a fibula in his right leg, and his right foot was deformed, too.

So on his third birthday, the leg was amputated at the knee. But Fitzgibbon, now a 34-year-old husband and father of two, has learned to cope. He also learned that he didn’t want his disability to squelch his athleticism. And he became a champion among his peers in surfing and kayaking.

Now Fitzgibbon and three of his cohorts want to impart his message of hope and perseverance to all of those who have lost a limb, including troops returning from Iraq.

To that end, they are embarking on a 220-mile kayak trip today to circle the Florida Keys. Thirteen days have been set aside for the voyage, but Fitzgibbon and his friends hope to do it in eight to 10 days.

In addition to raising awareness, they hope to raise money for Extremity Games, an annual extreme amateur sports competition for people who have a limb loss or disability. This year’s contests will be in Michigan from July 24 through 26.

Fitzgibbon loves the Extremity Games concept because it encourages people who feel alone and isolated to come together and show how skillful they’ve become in their sports. “We want to bring a message to amputees: Love life; don’t be a victim of the amputation,” the Seminole resident said.

That call especially needs to be heard by veterans returning from Iraq without an arm or a leg, he said.

Fitzgibbon is more than aware that some amputees can’t afford the help they need. As a full-time prosthetics technician at St. Petersburg Limb & Brace, he often comes across amputees whose health insurance doesn’t cover the full cost of a prosthetic device.

The name of the quartet taking the kayak trip is Team Topahonu. “Topahonu” means “great sea turtle” in Hawaiian. Fitzgibbon earned the nickname there as a surfer because turtles are able to swim after they lose a flipper.

Other team members are Jeff Fabiszewski of Dunedin, whose wife has paralysis of her left side; David Tranor, an Orlando outdoorsman who has helped the disabled with sports such as skiing; and Brian Doehleman, a Largo war veteran whose brother owns Osprey Bay Outdoors, a Clearwater kayaking shop.

Click here for more information about The Extremity Games.

Do you have a story about an amazing paddler you know or know of? Please send it to us using our Contact Page. We’ll post it here on BornToPaddle.com.