ThePADDLER 34
A chat with …
CASLE PORTNER
Interview : Peter Tranter Photos : Casle Portner
Give a big welcome to Casle Portner , the founder and co-admin of the world ’ s largest Facebook paddling group , ‘ The Church of the Double-Bladed Paddle ’. We ask Casle about her paddling journey and where the idea came from to bring together over 35,000 paddlers across the rivers , lakes and oceans of the planet . Take it away Casle …
Before we start , let our readers know a little about yourself , family , and background , etc . I ’ m an Oregonian . The daughter and granddaughter of teachers , I ’ ve lived all but two years of my life in Oregon . My dad taught at a university in Tennessee for two years when I was a kid , and I have vivid memories of it and want to return .
I ’ ve been married for almost 44 years and have two sons and one grandson . I live in the Cascade foothills and have for 30 years . I ’ m dreaming of moving closer to the coast though . There are not a lot of good paddling waters close enough to me .
Tell us about the start of your paddling journey . I found I didn ’ t like canoeing with my husband much , and he must have agreed because he bought me a kayak 20 years ago next month . Then I had that first year of kayak crazy . Does everyone have that ? I got laid off from a local library in June of that year and paddled every day in July . My first boat was a short wide Old Town Solitude , which was perfect for me . I didn ’ t have money or access to lessons , so this librarian got books and videos . Greg Barton , on VHS , taught me how to get into my kayak . I learned to manoeuvre my boat by picking up trash around the side of the lake . I paddled that short boat as hard and fast as I could for five years and got stronger in mind , body and spirit . Paddling changed everything about me .
What motivated you to start paddling ? The first time I took my birthday kayak out on the water , I thought , “ Oh ! This is what I was meant to do .” It was a eureka moment for me . I ’ d been pretty sedentary , reading my weekends away . Paddling turned me into an explorer and had me going off by myself down rivers , driving around the NW checking out new paddling spots and even driving halfway across the country by myself to paddle a race . I wouldn ’ t have dreamed of doing those things before I had a paddle in my hand . Now paddle travel is all I dream of .
Where ’ s your local paddling spot ? My tiny local reservoir , Silverton Reservoir , is the birthplace of the Church of the Double-Bladed Paddle , and I ’ ve paddled many miles there . The Willamette is my favourite local playground , and I ’ ve paddled almost the length of it over and over .
Do you only kayak recreationally , or do you participate in competitive paddling ? I ’ ve only done a little bit of racing . I was invited to The South Dakota Kayak Challenge twice and paddled a few small local races . I do have a need for speed , so when I ’ m paddling recreationally , I ’ m racing myself if there ’ s no one else around . I very rarely float . If I see someone ahead of me on a river , I will catch up to them . Almost always . So I ’ m competitive that way , but there are limited racing opportunities on the west coast .