WESTBROOK – The first time I met Bill Baker, Westbrook’s assistant city administrator for business and community relations, I saw a bright yellow kayak hanging in his office. When I started working on a story about the Presumpscot River, he asked if I’d like to kayak on it through Westbrook. I nervously said yes.

I had never been kayaking and my only real glimpse of their action was during the Westbrook Winter Fest in January, when Rob Mitchell and a group of other kayakers paddled over the Saccarappa Falls.

Careening over the falls while there is still snow on the ground seemed like it wouldn’t be too much fun, but Baker promised an easy adventure.

What I got was so much more than that. It was an incredibly serene and beautiful morning float along the waterway, close to the center of town but feeling very far away.

The sport isn’t difficult – it just takes some arm muscle – but the Presumpscot’s current last Friday morning wasn’t very strong and I was able to easily make it the mile or so upstream to Saccarappa Falls from an entry point behind the Warren outdoor swimming pool on Main Street and back.

Cars and pedestrians passed by without even noticing our brightly colored vessels. Ducks, not used to having water visitors, allowed us to get extremely close to them before flying off high overhead. There was little noise; the calm on the water was disrupted only by the paddling and the small waves made by the fish and eels underneath.

Despite the snow, in a wet suit it was very warm. In a previous conversation with Mitchell, I was told that many avid paddlers are on the water for about eight months a year. They don’t mind the rain because of the gear and the fact they’re most likely already wet from cascading down a waterfall or gliding through rapids.

The adventure also offered a different perspective on how Westbrook looks. It’s greener and less city-like. The falls are huge, compared to how they look from Saccarappa Park.

Paddling close to the falls was the only time the current pushed the kayak, and the extra boost was thrilling, not scary, spinning my bright blue vessel around and giving me a push back down the river.

“What a great way to spend a morning,” said Baker as we approached the final turn, the Elms in view ahead with the towering Sappi smokestack, creating a picture-perfect scene.

He was right. It was the perfect, peaceful escape right in the middle of everything.

Kayaker Bill Baker nears the final turn of a paddle last week down the Presumpscot River with American Journal reporter Suzanne Hodgson. Staff photo by Suzanne Hodgson

Watch from above as American Journal reporter Suzanne Hodgson and Bill Baker, assistant city manager of Westbrook, paddle down the Presumpscot River.

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