Erik Baard

The waters of New York City and Long Island provide extensive and unique paddling experiences. There are reaches accommodating every ability level, and are suitable for an array of crafts including, touring kayaks, recreational kayaks, stand-up paddleboards, and canoes. A guidebook dedicated to the city would make for a compelling resource for growing demographics of outdoor enthusiasts living in or near the city seeking readily accessible recreation, as well as support environmental improvements, and reduce their impact by exploring locally. This guidebook provides vital information paddlers need to safely and fully experience the rush of paddling around one of the world’s busiest ports.

The East River captures the history of New York's premier waterway. The river, a Native American life source, spawned communities from Brooklyn to Harlem. Its shipyards and docks projected American enterprise around the world. The waterfront, an industrial and commercial dynamo, forged a continent. The dreams of immigrants who arrived and lived on its banks created this nation. The river's strong currents guarded prisons and hospital quarantines while keeping secret legends of gold on its bottom. The sinews of a great city are knitted by more than a score of its tunnels and bridges. Today, a renaissance draws people to this river, the heart of New York.