Mount Morris kayak club has fun, exercise and conversation

Tiffany Skerrett grew up in Williamson and learned kayaking as a girl scout.

Skerrett, 35, had left town after high school but is not only back in town: Last year, she bought the house in which she grew up.

This commitment down memory lane now extends to kayaking. As a youth, she used kayaking to escape.

“We camped every year in the Adirondacks,” she says. “We would go to a small lake, and I would paddle out to the lake and I would rest my feet on top of the kayak. I would take a nap or catch some sun and let the lake take me wherever.

“I would relax and have me-time. It’s something I enjoyed doing. Sometimes I would go out with a book and read.”

After a 15-year hiatus from kayaking, she is back at it. The Williamson Central School District main office secretary joined the Mt. Morris Central School District Kayak Club on a pair of trips this summer.

Kayaking is quite a different experience now for Skerrett. No more alone time, but that’s how she prefers it these days.

“I need to do something to get out of the house,” she says. “I love to kayak. I used to kayak as a kid. But I don’t like to do it on my own as an adult anymore. It makes it go faster when you have conversation. Everybody has been really wonderful in the group that I have met so far.”

The club, which is roughly 140 strong and open to employees of other school districts, opened its season with a May 29 excursion to Irondequoit Creek. The group met at LaSalle’s Landing Park, launched near the bay, then headed for the creek.

“It was a beautiful day to be out on the water so there was a lot of kayak, canoe and paddleboard traffic that day at this popular location,” says Mt. Morris Wellness Coordinator Sarah Williams. “Irondequoit Creek is perfect for beginners or anyone who needs to rent equipment because there is a kayak launch, the water is typically very calm, and there is a rental facility on-site.”

June 11 was an outing on Canandaigua Lake led by Mt. Morris ESOL teacher Sarah VanLare. Despite the big numbers for the club, usually a handful of people make the trips. That gives kayakers an opportunity to meet new people without being too overwhelmed.

“You get to know other people because they are from different school districts and different areas,” VanLare says. “It’s fun to meet new people and explore new waterways or show off waterways that I have explored to a new person.”

She has been kayaking for more than a decade.

“I love the outdoors, and we used to go hiking a lot and ride on the motorboat,” VanLare says. “When I tried kayaking, I found it very relaxing and fun to explore. You can get to certain places with a kayak that you can’t on a motorboat.”

There were trips scheduled in July and August to Conesus Lake and the Erie Canal.

Victor Senior High School English teacher Laura Avissato is familiar with kayaking. Before coming to Victor, she lived in Milwaukee and paddled on the Milwaukee River.

“Having spent childhood summers on Cayuga Lake, I’ve always felt drawn to being on the water, but there is something about the serenity of paddling — no motor sound and a slower pace — that allows me to better appreciate the beauty of a setting,” she says. “After renting kayaks on vacations, I invested in my own to be able to better explore the places I’ve lived.”