Morgantown Dominion Post
23 September 2008
By J. Miles Layton
Every time Jamie Watkins pulls his long, thin oars through the water, he moves closer to fulfilling a dream he has had since he was a little boy. Stroke by stroke, Watkins is rowing a skiff nearly 1,200 miles from Grafton to Cairo, Ill.
Jamie Watkins (above, left) and Christian Stegmann row their skiff on the Monongahela River. - Ron Rittenhouse/The Dominion Post photo
“I think he is a little bit crazy,” said his wife, Alison, as she waited and watched for her husband to paddle up the Monongahela River on Monday. “But, this is an awesome experience for him. It is something that he has always wanted to do. He doesn’t want to live life thinking he didn’t give it a try.”
Moments later, Alison could see Jamie and his friend, Christian Stegmann, intently rowing their skiff toward Hazel Ruby McQuain Park for a quick chat with The Dominion Post. The wind was in the men’s faces and the water was a bit choppy. It had taken the team more than an hour to row from Uffington to the park.
With any luck, they will be in Illinois by mid October. The two men tied the skiff to the dock and stretched their bodies. They had been rowing for many hours using an apparatus common to skulling. Despite the struggle to keep the skiff moving at a fare pace of four to five miles an hour, neither man was breathing hard.
“I’ve wanted to do this ever since I was a kid,” said Watkins, 46, of Boston. “I got the idea from grandfather [William] who canoed from where he lived in Grafton to Cairo in 1904.”
Watkins and Stegmann met on a skiing trip in Argentina.
Stegmann said, “When Jamie said he wanted to canoe from Grafton to Illinois, I thought it was a good idea.”
The men started their voyage at about 7 a.m. Sunday in Grafton about 40 miles away.
“So far, we haven’t seen any snakes, but a lot of birds, and some brown mammal that popped its head up out of the water,” Watkins said. “It was a bit foggy this morning, but overall the weather has been good to us.”
Watkins forehead was moist with sweat. Tiny blisters had formed on the men’s hands and feet.
“After a few days, our bodies will adjust,” said Stegmann, 51, of Germany.
While it was only about 3 p.m. when the pair stopped for a quick break, they hoped to be many miles away in Point Marion, Pa., before dark where they would stay with friends.
Bill Stewart (left), Hildebrand Locks control operator, talks to Watkins and Stegmann as the locks lower. - Ron Rittenhouse/The Dominion Post photo
Watkins said he will take the same route that his grandfather took to get to the World’s Fair in St. Louis more than a hundred years ago. The men will row up the Monongahela River to the Ohio River, and take the Ohio River to Cairo, where the Ohio becomes the Mississippi River. Watkins’ grandfather stopped rowing in Cairo and took a larger boat to St. Louis.
Along the way, Watkins and Stegmann will pass small river towns like Pomeroy, Ohio, and Point Pleasant learn to maneuver in the wake of coal barges and navigate through the locks.
Like his grandfather, Watkins will ship the boat back when the journey ends in about three weeks.
Watkins said he prepared for the voyage by doing a lot of rowing in the Charles River and at Cape Cod. Stegmann said he has done a lot of rowing over the years, so he was ready to move when the opportunity presented itself.
Both men were in high spirits and optimistic about the days to come.
“Once we get into a routine, it’ll get easier,” Stegmann said.