Opinionated Soloists Galt vs Roberts.

[Guest]

Nah... there's still some that prefer the canoe over the yak.

I had dinner with a friend from HS the other day and I was telling her about boats. Her beau was pushing the yak, but she was all about the canoe. Why you may ask?

She wasn't convinced she could carry a beer cooler with a yak.

I really wish I could have showed her Memequay's picture of a 20 footer filled with ice and beer. That would have sealed the deal.

 

[Alan Gage]

Great reads, thanks for posting them.

Alan

 

[Steve in Idaho]

I love it when you get all historical, Glenn!

 

[Bardy Jones]

Hi all, just found this thread, brings back such amazing memories. The 19ft Lotus Heron! What a canoe! Did the Wilderness Waterway in that, a mystical dream canoe for that. There was mention of tumblehome in Galt boats: let not the Mirage be forgotten! An amazing craft with tumblehome AND a recurved stern. I sat in a current once with a Mirage and it moved upstream without being paddled. Hopefully taking my BJX (#1) out for an adventure this weekend!

 

[Bardy Jones]

And just to weigh in on the Galt VS Roberts issue. I was a very close friend of Mike’s and a friend of Harry’s, loved em both. I saw Harry kneeling on multiple occasions, he had no trouble with that, but he thought “sit and switch” to be more efficient.

Mike was his own worst enemy, he fought with people who wanted to help him all the time. My first impression of him was he was an opinionated blowhard, but then I got to know him. He was so passionate about the “solo mystic” and the purity of it he failed to grasp reality sometimes.

 

[yellowcanoe]

Hi all, just found this thread, brings back such amazing memories. The 19ft Lotus Heron! What a canoe! Did the Wilderness Waterway in that, a mystical dream canoe for that. There was mention of tumblehome in Galt boats: let not the Mirage be forgotten! An amazing craft with tumblehome AND a recurved stern. I sat in a current once with a Mirage and it moved upstream without being paddled. Hopefully taking my BJX (#1) out for an adventure this weekend!

It's a real pleasure to have you on board here. You are also a piece of canoe history. I paddled a BJX for an hour or so at a Freestyle event and wondered.... just HOW did you navigate mangrove tunnels with that go ahead beauty?

 

[Bardy Jones]

It's a real pleasure to have you on board here. You are also a piece of canoe history. I paddled a BJX for an hour or so at a Freestyle event and wondered.... just HOW did you navigate mangrove tunnels with that go ahead beauty?

LOL, lean a lot, go quickly so you have speed to make those paddle moves work, trust your skill and be ready to grab a mangrove! Those tunnels were a really fun test of our skills.

And yeah, we got wet once in a while. If you don’t, you are not risking enough.

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

Hi all, just found this thread, brings back such amazing memories. The 19ft Lotus Heron! What a canoe! Did the Wilderness Waterway in that, a mystical dream canoe for that. There was mention of tumblehome in Galt boats: let not the Mirage be forgotten! An amazing craft with tumblehome AND a recurved stern. I sat in a current once with a Mirage and it moved upstream without being paddled. Hopefully taking my BJX (#1) out for an adventure this weekend!

Welcome to site membership, Bardy!

I have often written about you and Mike Galt on this site.

We met once. On the day after Katerina Witt won the figure skating gold medal at the 1984 Olympics, which was February 18, 1984, and which I recall watching in my motel in Coral Gables, Florida, I hired Bardy to take me down the Turner River from the Tamiami Trail to Chokoloskee Bay and back up. We had a Lotus Dandy and Lotus BJX from his Coral Gables canoe shop. At the end of the trip I bought a Lutra paddle from Bardy, and then went up to Tampa and bought a black BJX blem that Mike Galt was holding for me, which I still have.

I've just fixed the links to some of the pictures in my earlier post in this old thread, and here are two more of Bardy from the solo canoeist gatherings in 1981 and 1982 (courtesy of Dave Curtis's hemlockcanoe.com).

Bardy Jones slow waltzing a Lotus BJX (Bardy Jones Express), which Mike Galt named after him:



Bardy contemplating a Lutra S blade paddle in a Blackhawk Proem:

 

[stevet]

Well as long as we're diggin up the past (a thoroughly enjoyable activity) here's a couple more tidbits.....

Harry did kneel....in a Lotus Caper!


Mike and his cigarette


Harry and his pipe
He stayed at my house during the first session at which FreeStyle folks began the process of being certified as ACA instructors. On the the day before the event I took him down our local river and he asked me to write a report on it for Paddler Magazine which I did. Harry was SUCH a good writer that I was amazed and humbled by the fact he didn't change a word of my submission. As mentioned earlier, The View from Piety Hill column in CanoeSport Journal was always hilarious and much anticipated.

And just for the memories....as a lover of Mike's boats and owner of several....here's my better half showing me which way she wanted to
go while paddling our Lotus Egret at the Conclave event in Illinois sometime in the 80's.


Harry and MIke were opinionated, occasionally crusty, ubiquitous at 80"s events, and loved by many of us. Miss 'em both! A lot!

Last note: not sure who to credit for the photos...don't think I took all of them, but it's been many moons and the old gray matter just ain't what she used to be. Not trying to appropriate anyone's work....do think the Harry in Caper was by CEW but not certain. Apologies as necessary to the photographers.

 

[yellowcanoe]

That BJX had the most elegant flotation tanks.. love the old pix Glenn and SteveT! Carole was not the duck in that pic. First time I ever met her she was in the Peter and the Wolf Revue in the Adirondacks..

 

[stevet]

That was soo much fun!

 

[Woodpuppy]

Would be really cool if one/some of y’all would put the memories to paper and get a book out.

I was in Tampa from ‘86-‘93, 6th grade through high school. Had no idea about solo canoes at the time.