Nature’s Beauty Dazzles Adventurers

With the largest number of participants to date, the Bainbridge College Canoe and Kayak Club set out for Spring Creek on a hot but beautiful morning to enjoy the sights along the water.

Club sponsors, Dr. Eric Dueno and David Sarrette, led the group of 12 on the club’s second adventure of the semester. They will lead another trek Oct. 30 with the destination of Silver Lake. The Sept. 25 trip rivaled the beauty of scenery and animals that were seen during the August trip on the Wakulla River in Florida.

That inaugural adventure for the semester was declared by Sarrette as one of the best ever. “The wildlife encounter we experienced was awesome. After putting in we came across a family of manatees lying on the bottom of the 4-foot deep crystal clear water. None of the students had ever seen this endangered species. They were all amazed.”

Sarrette said that the two biggest manatees were as large as their canoes. During the leisurely time they took to observe the manatees, the baby approached Sarrette’s kayak and nudged its head against the kayak several times.

The adventurous group looks forward to their turn at Silver Lake Oct. 30. Last year’s group described that experience as “laid back” and “amazing.” They saw ospreys and other birds and fish that flipped out of the water, while they stayed alert to observe alligators and avoid hornets’ nests hanging in the trees. The students also commented how amazing it was to be gliding over trees on Silver Lake, which was created on flooded land.

Students who went to Spring Creek were Caleb Adkins, Shendora Butler, Tory Cannon, Bobby Grubbs, Doug Harris, Melissa Heard, LePlacia Herring, Richard Lawrence, Herman Peterson, John Provence, Emily Ray, and Elaine Smith.