Paddlers: Dam’s new opening currently no cakewalk
Paddling from Kings Mills in Whitefield to Alna’s Head Tide Dam Sunday, Woolwich’s Catherine Kimball got out of a kayak and the Sheepscot River just before the dam. Fellow Penobscot Paddle and Chowder Society member Reid Anderson of Dresden, an intermediate canoeist, kept going and passed though the wider opening that was part of Atlantic Salmon Federation’s makeover of the century-old, town-owned dam that once powered a lumber mill.
“Some would call it sporty. It was fast,” Anderson said of his passage through the dam.
Atlantic Salmon Federation had projected opening the new platform over the new opening that weekend. “The work is going along smoothly just more time-intensive than had (been) estimated,” ASF’s Maranda Nemeth wrote in a Friday, Dec. 13 email response to questions. “The crew will likely wrap up next week.”
The platform was not why the two paddlers came Sunday. “It’s 40F and it’s a beautiful day. When you get that in December, you want to go out,” Anderson explained. He and Kimball added, they are interested to see what it will be like to get out at the dam in February. Until the project, paddlers there at that time of year have been met with icy shelves, they said.
“That will be the real test” of some of the improvements, Anderson said, smiling in sunglasses, a helmet and other outdoor wear as he looked back toward the river.
Anderson said he wouldn’t recommend beginning paddlers attempt the new opening. Neither would canoeist and Third Selectman Greg Shute.
“I have canoed through the dam and I would say that anyone considering paddling through the opening should have an honest understanding of their paddling ability,” Shute wrote in a Dec. 11 email response to questions. “It is vital that canoeists or kayakers be able to make an informed risk assessment of the current water conditions and their own ability. This time of year the cold temperatures bring a heightened need for making conservative decisions on the water.
“Depending on the river levels, it could require advanced paddle skills to perform the maneuvers needed to safely paddle through the dam. Beginners shouldn’t paddle through the dam at high water levels,” Shute added.
