Take a boat out on the Connecticut River for a day of summer fun

By Janice B eetle Special to The Republican

WHEN MY NOW34-year-old daughter was 2, some friends took us out on their boat on the Connecticut River into an area near the border of Northampton and Hatfield called The Shallows. The water is, in fact, so shallow you’re only up to your knees 20 to 25 feet from shore.

I was amazed at how sandy the soil was under my feet and how clean, clear and refreshing the water was. I’d had the thought that the river water was still unsanitary, as it was declared in the 1970s, but found I had no qualms at all about swimming in it with Sally.

Even though I’m an experienced boater, it somehow took me until the turn of the millennium to realize I could be a boater on the river. Once I gained access, I had a slip at Sportman’s marina in Hadley for 17 years. In this column, I’ll focus on my experience, and in my next piece, I’ll offer additional tips and some information from Luke Brunelle of Brunelle’s Marina of South Hadley.

I learned how to boat when I was 8 but did not see the possibility that I could have my own craft or operate on the river until I was riding my bike on the Manhan Rail Trail and saw people waterskiing in the Oxbow. Suddenly, I desperately wanted a boat. I became obsessed with the thought, and a few months later, my brother Allan gave me his 20-foot Glastron. That was in 2003, and I began my relationship with Sportsman’s marina, upgrading to a Dynasty in 2008 when my parents sold their lake house, and my dad gave me his then21-year-old boat.

I was in awe from the moment I put my boat in the river.

It is still amazingly clean— in good weather—and very amenable to swimming; some days, the water feels silky. I loved anchoring and drifting more than I enjoyed driving around. The sun reflecting off the water and views of the mountains were stunning, as were sunsets.

I also loved taking my grandson Eli and his friend tubing and swimming at Sunset Beach.

In this region, you can boat safely from the Holyoke dam up to the Sunderland Bridge when the water is high, and roughly up to the boat ramp in Hatfield when it is not. Boating on the river is also popular on other stretches of river, but they are outside my realm of knowledge and experience.

You can cruise around on the river in a powerboat as I did.

Or you can ride a jet ski, kayak, canoe, paddle on a board, or row in a scull, as many local college and university crew teams do. (More on kayaking in another column.)

What I learned early on about the river is that it’s a force to be reckoned with, and one must respect it. There is a current—dangerously strong at times, as the river rises, and it’s depth can change radically from day to day.

When there is a storm, water can rise exponentially in hours or overnight, and then both the water quality and the strength of the current are unsafe. I learned this the hard way while going out, oblivious, after a storm.

The water was brown. The current was raging, and there were riptides and debris of all sorts, including large tree trunks, all moving by us in a flash. I turned around, realizing I had no business being on the water and later learned how to determine when the depth is safe. (More on that in the next column.)

The river is also extremely narrow in many areas, which makes boating of all kinds hazardous as well, and there are many boaters who don’t show courtesy or seem to know the rules.

There are so many ways to get hurt on the river if you do not apply caution, respect and common sense. Here are a few safety tips:

• Don’t pull skiers or tubers in narrow stretches; they could easily find themselves in the path of a nearby craft.

• Ensure your passengers remain seated at all times when you are underway.

• Children under 12 must wear a life vest by law and good sense.

More Information

Boating is great fun, but so much can go wrong. If you are new to boating or the river, make sure you:

• Know the rules. Just as there are rules of the road, there are boating rules, and you should know what they are. Access them here.

• Get a map of the river at a local marina. The map shows everything from destination markers and no-wake zones to areas where there are hidden hazards, such as sandbars or rock formations.

• Use local marinas as a resource. If you are not renting a marina slip, it’s a good idea to build a relationship by launching your boat at a marina, rather than a state ramp, or buying accessories at a marina shop. Staff are a wealth of information on river depth or strength of the current—or a hundred other things you will need to know.

• Take a class. Youths from 12 to 15 who will be operating a motorboat unsupervised in Massachusetts must earn a boating certificate, along with people 16 or 17 who will be operating a personal watercraft—or jet ski—unsupervised. Adults, unfortunately, do not need to earn a certificate, but I highly recommend it.

Upcoming Shows at Symphony Hall