Paddle Journal

Submitted by Bill Scherman Sunday, April 9, 2000

Class I & II water.

Put in at Gail Rd in Westfield

Take out at Barcelona Beach not far from the mouth of the creek

After a rainy week, the water was high enough to paddle Chautauqua Creek. The creek was within its banks and its depth varied from 1 to 2 ft.

After the first bend, less than 1/8 mi downstream, we came across a ledge that ran the full width of the creek. It was a big enough drop off that I portaged around it. Mitch had his whitewater boat and went over the ledge with no trouble.

The creek was fast moving class I and occasional class II water. There were no strainers and there were many opportunities to practice our eddy turns. Along the way a large trout jumped out of the water and banged into my boat!

Just past Rt 20 we passed under the first railroad trestle and got out of the boats at a road by the creek. We portaged over the second trestle and took a path down the other side. CAUTION SHOULD BE EXHIBITED HERE. Beneath the trestle is a ledge where the water drops into a turbulent hole. There is a heavy undercut here and a paddler might get stuck under the ledge.

Back in the water, we paddled down to Lake Erie where the waves were whitecapping. The three of us paddled out to the breakers and surfed in on the big waves.

. . . epilogue:

Weather conditions can change quickly. When the guys left the pick-up car at Barcelona, Lake Erie was calm. By the time they paddled down to the mouth of the creek, the lake had changed dramatically. The winds had picked up and waves were 3 to 4 ft high.

EXTREME CAUTION MUST BE EXHIBITED WHEN SURFING IN COLD WATERS.

A dry suit, or at least a wet suit, will help to maintain your body's core temperature. If you get dumped a distance from shore without such precautions, you may not survive.