Waterboys

Never paddle a Canadian canoe against the wind. These sage words of advice were ringing in my ears as we inched our way to the turbulent edge of Garadice Lough. The relatively protected stretch of canal we’d covered from Ballinamore to get here had been demoralising enough – a cold easterly wind had slapped us repeatedly in the face, causing the boat to veer from bank to bank. Conor sat in front cursing my inability to steer with paddling technique alone. Momentarily catching me work my paddle like a crude rudder, he shouted in horror, “Hey! Cut the crap, that just slows us down!” I grumbled from the back that he was paddling like a feverish twit with no sense of rhythm. We weaved our way like two thick, drunken sailors through Leitrim’s pastoral landscape.

Then came the open Lough, where the wind lifted the water up into a violent chop – nasty, high-frequency waves with white spray blowing from their foamy tops. We hugged the shore for shelter but still nearly broached twice before our tenuous grasp on teamwork broke down entirely. The wind threw us broadside against the oncoming shore, sending a few spirit-dampening waves over the side for good measure. We beat a cold and soggy retreat back to the safety of the canal and zig-zagged our way back to Ballinamore, tails firmly tucked between our legs. Perhaps sensing our dismay, two tiny black lambs appeared on the canal bank to cheer us up. They ran along, bouncing and bleating, until the ewe came to see what the racket was about. The twins shot under her woolly mass in search of comfort food, their tails spinning like a pair of joyful propellers. 

Experiencing a place for the first time from the water is truly like discovering an unknown world. It opens up unexpected angles and unusual perspectives, bringing with them these strange moments of newness that radically change our perception of a place, even one we know well from land. Paddling a canoe through the vast liquid maze of interconnected lakes, rivers and canals in Counties Leitrim, Cavan and Fermanagh unveils one long continuous stream of these moments.