An app to rent boats and an inspiring program to build kayaks on Lake Champlain in Vermont

An app to rent boats and an inspiring program to build kayaks on Lake Champlain in Vermont

GetMyBoat lets beginners navigate the water, while youngsters paddle their handmade kayaks up and down Lake Champlain



IF THE ONLY THING TO HAVE A BOAT IS TO HAVE A FRIEND WITH A BOAT, THEN MEET YOUR NEW FRIEND. PEOPLE FIND YOU, THEY SEND A REQUEST. YOU ADD TO THIS REQUEST YOU HAVE A TIME AND DATE. I GET YOUR INFORMATION. YOU GET MY INFORMATION. WE HIT BASE, MAKE A PLAN TO MEET AND GO FROM THERE. GO ANYWHERE YOU WANT. WHEN YOU WANT ON THE BOA YOU WANT. THIS IS THE PRINCIPLE BEHIND GET MY BOAT AND A WEBSITE THAT ALLOWS YOU TO RENT A BOAT YOURSELF OR CHARTER A BOAT WITH A CAPTAIN IN EVERY STATE AND OVER 180 COUNTRIES. FOUNDED IN 2013, THE COMPANY’S MARKETING MANAGER VAL STROEVE SAYS IT STARTED AS A MOMENT OF INSPIRATION FOR THE CO-FOUNDERS. THEY WERE ON THE WATER AND THEY SAW ALL THESE BOATS SITTING IN UNUSED MARINAS AND DOCKS AND THEY THOUGHT ABOUT, YOU KNOW, HOW MORE PEOPLE CAN GET ON THE WATER JUST EASIER AND MORE AFFORDABLE WAYS THAN OWNING A BOAT, EVEN FOR CAPTAINS LIKE DAVID BARTLES, WHO OPERATES HIS 26-FOOT PRO LINE IN QUINCY. IT’S THE KIND OF PEER TO PEER EXPERIENCE THAT HAS BEEN A DAWN FOR BUSINESS AND HELPS OFFSET ITS OWN BROWSING COSTS. PANDEMIC HIT MEXICO. MY EMAIL BOX JUST EXPLODED WITH DEMAND HAS GROWED FROM 12 PREVIOUS CHARTERS HERE TO 30 CHARTERS NEXT YEAR. SO IT ALL TAKEN OFF. IT WAS AMAZING. LAST YEAR HE DID 785 CHARTERS AND HE IS ON PACE TO DO EVEN MORE THIS SEASON. HE SAYS HE GETS TOURISTS AND LOCALS, MANY OF WHICH ARE NEW TO THE WATER. AND THEY CAME OUT INTO BOSTON HARBOR FOR, I DON’T EVEN KNOW, BOSTON HARBOR HEAD ISLANDS. IT’S LIKE ALL MY LIFE, YOU KNOW, THESE ISLANDS HERE, IT’S LIKE, WELL, WE GOT 32 HISTORICAL TOURS OF A FISHING PORT. IT DOES EVERYTHING BUT THE SUNSET CRUISE IS A SUCCESS. COUPLES REALLY ENJOY SUNSET CRUISES, AND ONCE THEY HAVE TWO PEOPLE ON BOARD, THEY SPREAD THE WORD TO THEIR FRIENDS THEN I TAKE THEM BACK. AND NOW I’M GOING OUT TWO OR THREE COUPLES DOING THE SAME THING AND COME HERE AND JUST ENJOY OUR SUNSET OR A DAY LIKE TODAY. COME HERE, TAKE A MOORING, SIT DOWN, RELAX AND FLOAT FOR A TIME. GET MY BOAT LISTINGS RANGE FROM MOTOR BOATS TO PADDLEBOARDS EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN. THE LARGE MAJORITY OF PEOPLE CHARTER A BOAT WITH A CAPTAIN. AND PRICES VARY DEPENDING ON THE VESSEL AND YOUR TIME ON THE WATER. BIT LIKE AN AIRBNB FOR BOATS AND GET MY BOAT IS NOT A MEMBERSHIP CLUB. THERE IS NO ENTRY OR ANNUAL FEES. WE RENT WHAT YOU WANT WHEN YOU WANT. SO IF IT’S JUST ONCE FOR A SUMMER, OR IF IT’S TEN TIMES A SUMMER, IT REALLY ALLOWS PEOPLE TO FIND OPTIONS STATEWIDE OR IN THE LOCAL AREA AND DO WHAT ‘THEY WANT. WHEN THEY WANT IT. AND FOR CAPTAINS LIKE DAVID BARTLETT, KELS AND OTHERS, IT HAS FINANCIAL AND ALMOST REGIONAL REWARDS. SHARING LOVE OF WATER, LOVE OF SAILING, FISHING GIVING PEOPLE A LITTLE HISTORY. YOU KNOW, LESSONS FROM THAT, AND THEN A FEW LITTLE FACTS ABOUT FORT WARREN AND BOSTON. AS THEY ARE JUST GREAT PEOPLE JUST, YOU KNOW, THEY LIGHT UP. AN OLD PROVERB SAYS, RENT A CHILD A KAYAK AND SHE WILL PADDLE FOR A DAY, TEACH THEM HOW TO BUILD ONE AND SHE WILL BE HOT FOR LIFE. OKAY, IT’S NOT A REAL PROVERB, BUT FOR NEARLY 30 YEARS, NICK PATCH HAS LIVED THIS PHILOSOPHY. I WAS IN BOAT BUILDING, BOAT RESTORATION AND REPAIR. I WAS JUST LOOKING FOR A CAREER CHANGE. THIS CHANGE. LANDED IT AT THE LAKE CHAMPLAIN MARITIME MUSEUM IN VERGENNES, VERMONT. HERE IS OUR DISCOVERY KAYAK BUILDING AND EXPEDITION PROGRAM IN CHAMPLAIN, FOR AGES 13 TO 17. COME TO THE MUSEUM FOR THREE WEEKS AND BUILD THEIR OWN SEA KAYAKS. ONCE THE CRAFTS ARE AT SEA, IT NEEDS TO BACK THAT RAIN BACK. REALLY TIGHT, AND THEN IT WILL BE LESS SAND. AND IN TIME, THEY ARE BAPTIZED IN LAKE CHAMPLAIN, WHERE STUDENTS ARE CHALLENGED TO Sink OR FLOAT IN AN AMBITIOUS TEST ON THE WATER. THEY GO ABOUT 180 MILES, STARTING FROM WHITEHALL IN NEW YORK, WHICH IS SOUTH OF LAKE CHAMPLAIN. THEN THEY TRAVEL NORTH TO THE CANADIAN BORDER. PADDLING ON THE LAKE. IT’S GOOD. IT’S A GOOD WAY TO LEARN. OVER THE YEARS, MANY STUDENTS HAVE DOCUMENTED THIS 15-DAY TRIP IN PHOTOS AND VIDEO JOURNALS LIKE THIS. YOU MEET NEW PEOPLE. THEY ARE LIKE STRANGERS AT THE BEGINNING. AND THEN THEY ARE LIKE YOUR BEST FRIENDS. THIS IS AN EXPERIENCE YOU CAN’T PUT A PRICE ON. AND THANKS TO THE DEDICATED WORK OF VOLUNTEERS AND WITH THE FINANCIAL SUPPORT OF DONORS AND FOUNDATIONS. NOW PATCH IS NOT MANDATORY. WE HAVE DEVELOPED PAY WHAT YOU CAN. PEOPLE WHO REGISTER HAVE THE OPTION TO PAY FULL PRICE TO PAY MORE OR PAY AS LOW AS ZERO. IT ALLOWS US TO OFFER THIS PROGRAM TO A REALLY ECONOMICALLY DIVERSIFIED POPULATION. NO PROOF OF INCOME IS REQUIRED TO GET SUPPORT, AND THIS HONOR SYSTEM WORKS. IT’S TWO YEARS NOW. SOME OF THIS DURING THE PANDEMIC. BUT OUR REVENUES HAVE NOT DECLINED AS REGARDS THIS PROGRAM. IN 2021, THE DISCOVERY KIDS WERE NOT THE ONLY PEOPLE PADDLING THE LENGTH OF LAKE CHAMPLAIN. UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT STUDENT JORDAN RALL TOOK THESE WATERS WITH A SMALL CREW TO FILM HIS EPIC DOCUMENTARY, SHORT NO OTHER LAKE. LAKE CHAMPLAIN IS ABOUT 120 MILES LONG AND HAS SPENT TWO WEEKS PADDLING THE ENTIRE LENGTH OF IT. RALL SAYS THE FILM IS NOT JUST ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES FACING THE LAKE, BUT ABOUT BUILDING A RELATIONSHIP WITH A PLACE HE HAS NEGLECTED FOR YEARS. THIS MEANS NOT ONLY VISITING ALL THESE DIFFERENT LOCATIONS ON THE LAKE, BUT ALSO TALKING TO ALL THE DIFFERENT PEOPLE WHO CALL THIS PLACE HOME. AND SO I TALKED WITH FARMERS. I TALKED WITH THE ABENAKI COMMUNITY AND I TALKED WITH SCIENTISTS. I CHALLENGE PEOPLE TO GET OUT OF THIS IF THEY CAN, BECAUSE IT CAN REALLY CHANGE YOUR PERSPECTIVE ON THE PLACE YOU CALL HOME. THE TITLE OF THE DOCUMENTARY JORDAN, NO OTHER LAKE WAS ORIGINALLY A TRIBUTE TO LAKE CHAMPLAIN’S UNIQUE CHARACTER, BUT IT’S ALSO A RECOGNITION THAT THE LAKE IS AN IRRPLACEABLE RESOURCE THAT MUST BE PROTECTED FOR GENERATIONS. AND BACK TO GET MY BOAT. DAVID BARTELS HAS WORKED 20 YEARS AS A MARINE TECHNICIAN SO HAVING HAVING AS A CAPTAIN JUST I

An app to rent boats and an inspiring program to build kayaks on Lake Champlain in Vermont

GetMyBoat lets beginners navigate the water, while youngsters paddle their handmade kayaks up and down Lake Champlain

Board a boat wherever you want, whenever you want with Get My Boat, an application and a web platform that allows you to book a boat like an Airbnb. Peer-to-peer has taken to the sea! Champlain Discovery is a program based at the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum where campers build their own kayaks and then paddle them along Lake Champlain from Whitehall, New York to the Canadian border. The program is “need-blind” so campers pay what they can for the experience. No Other Lake is a documentary directed by University of Vermont student Jordan Rowell and filmmaker Duane Peterson III. Rowell paddled the full length of the lake in 2021 while frequently stopping to interview experts whose lives depend on or are affected by changes in the lake’s natural ecology.

Embark on a boat where you want, when you want with get my boat, an application and a web platform that allows you to book a boat like an Airbnb. Peer-to-peer has taken to the sea!

Discovery of Champlain is a program based on Lake Champlain Maritime Museum where campers build their own kayaks and then paddle them along Lake Champlain from Whitehall, New York, to the Canadian border. The program is “need-blind,” so campers pay what they can for the experience.

No other lake is a documentary directed by University of Vermont student Jordan Rowell and filmmaker Duane Peterson III. Rowell paddled the full length of the lake in 2021 while frequently stopping to interview experts whose lives depend on or are affected by changes in the lake’s natural ecology.

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