Freedom on the Water

By Christin Healey

For me, freedom is everything. The freedom to roam, the freedom to adventure to all of the great and wondrous places. The freedom to explore every nook and cranny of this crazy beautiful place we call home. The freedom to create your own experiences and discover a spot, a view, an angle that would otherwise be out of reach.

When I got my first Oru three years ago, I spent what seemed like an eternity on my living room floor trying to assemble my new adventure rig. I fumbled with everything and wondered how I would ever go from this moment, to gliding gracefully through uncharted waters. A few more practice assemblies though, and I felt like a seasoned pro ready to take on the high seas - or at least a few alpine lakes that were dancing around in my head.

I will never forget my first time taking my new boat out. It was in Banff, Canada, on Moraine Lake. It was late July so sunrise was a little before 5am, but the shores were still filling fast with people eager to capture the incredible beauty of this spot and take in the first rays of light as they hit the mountains. I slung the Oru over my shoulder and headed confidently towards the aqua waters of my objective. In a matter of minutes, I was ready to launch, the boat setup drawing almost as much of a crowd as the mountains (I would later learn this would happen 100% of the time I would assemble it).

As the white haul slipped into the impossibly blue water, the sun bursting over the horizon, illuminating the peaks in that rosy red alpenglow, I felt that unmistakable sense of freedom. Hours before the dozens of tourists would rent their canoes and paddle about, I was the only one around, the buzz of conversation fading faster and faster as I paddled away, towards an experience that was far different than most will ever have visiting this iconic locale. When I arrived at the other side, I docked my boat, reclined on a rock just starting to warm by the morning sun, and took in all that goodness that comes from a moment in the wild.

Since then, I have taken many different Orus both all over the world, and on equally memorable experiences in my backyard. They have glided across secret glacial lagoons in Iceland, cut through narrow passageways in Hawaii to tucked away waterfalls and deep swimming holes, skimmed across shallow rocks on the shores of Norwegian fishing villages, floated on lazy sunset paddles in the Florida Keys, gone on expeditions in the Everglades, gliding past gators and docking on little wooden stands in the middle of the brackish waters, and countless times cutting through waters in Colorado during that magic light, with those closest to me. I’ve made new friends that I’m still close with today, hauled my two labs in the front of the Beach, and introduced people to a new experiences in familiar places thanks to the freedom to roam a little further. For me, there really is nothing better than that freedom.

So get out there friends - I’ll see you on the water!