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Trivial Pursuits
 Professor finds focus in kayaking
 Photo by Larry Dixon Photography professor Larry Dixon spent a summer crafting this kayak, which is now on display at Half-Moon Outfitters in Savannah. By Monique Bos Published: Friday, March 10, 2006 Savannah College of Art and Design photography professor Larry Dixon has two passions in life. One, as might be expected, is photography. The other is kayaking. Interestingly enough, one passion led, at least indirectly, to the other. When Dixon arrived at SCAD in the 1990s, he met several other faculty members who were kayak enthusiasts. Steve Bliss, now dean of the School of Communication Arts; printmaking professor Richard Gere; painting professor and assistant rowing coach Steve Knudsen; and foundation studies professor Julie Mueller-Brown all shared a devotion to the sport with him. After experimenting with friends’ kayaks, Dixon went to Sea Kayak Georgia to make his first purchase. “I took three boats down to the back river, and ended up buying the one that didn’t tip over with me in it,” he said. As he tested the boats, a summer storm blew up, obscuring his view of the shore. Rather than discouraging him, that experience hooked Dixon. “It was the most magical place, like a desert because of how isolated and completely open it was,” he said. Similar situations still enthrall him. “I tend to enjoy going out into rough weather because it tests my skills and gives me an adrenaline rush,” he said. Early in his paddling career, he was on the ocean with Bliss and a recent alumnus as a storm blew in. “It was so beautiful and fun in those places that I was normally afraid to go,” Dixon said. At the same time, however, he realized he needed more training and safety preparation to face rough seas. “I ended up having to be rescued three times because I kept falling over,” he explained. After taking a number of classes, he earned his certification about seven years ago as an open-water instructor through the American Canoe Association. This means that while he enjoys the adrenaline rush, he also observes a number of safety precautions. He always carries equipment including a personal floatation device, flares and a first-aid kit, and he is prepared to assist or rescue other kayakers, if necessary. He also pays close attention to the conditions in which he is paddling. “You have to look at the water current, the wind, if you’re in the surf, in terms of safety,” he explained. “If something goes wrong, are you prepared for that?” While he enjoys kayaking on the ocean and around the coastal marshes, Dixon’s interest in the sport has broadened to include two other types of paddling. He joins his 15-year-old daughter, a nationally ranked surfer, in the waves between Tybee and Little Tybee. She rides a surfboard, and he paddles his surf kayak, a 16-foot craft designed to catch waves and ride them toward shore. “For me, it tends to be a lot more physically challenging and abusive,” he said. “In the kayak, you’re stuck in that boat. If you end up underwater, you’re dragged with the wave.” He also enjoys K-1 racing, a competitive sport that requires a different kind of kayak, “really narrow and very, very tippy. The construction makes them go really fast as long as you stay upright.” Dixon also devoted one summer to creating a high-end, strip-built cedar kayak. At the time, a company called Caretta Kayaks, which specialized in hand-crafted wooden kayaks, was located in the building that now houses Boundary Hall. The company provided Dixon with studio space in which to work. The finished product performed beautifully on an ocean trip, but Dixon, who said he owns four or five kayaks of different types at any given time, decided not to keep the kayak he built. “I paddled it from here almost to Florida with a group,” he said. “Then I brought it to Half-Moon Outfitters and stuck it up on a wall to sell. “It was too pretty for me to keep using it,” he added. “I tend to be pretty rough on equipment.” The kayak is available for purchase at Half-Moon Outfitters, 15 E. Broughton St. Interestingly enough, his passion for photography doesn’t often mix with his interest in kayaking, although he does take photographs during many of his camping and kayaking trips to barrier islands along the Georgia coast. However, the intense concentration required to create a good photograph mirrors the sharp focus needed to navigate rough water, and that element in each of his passions is what keeps Dixon hooked. “Even when it’s really chaotic and challenging, it tends to be the time when I’m focusing with the greatest clarity,” he said. “It’s almost a Zen experience, that sort of connection: Everything seems to be working perfectly.” For anyone interested in learning to kayak, Dixon recommends Sea Kayak Georgia, (912) 786-8732, or Savannah Canoe and Kayak, (912) 341-9502. |
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