May
12 , 2004
“For
she is a Pirate Queen, tra-la…”
(With apologies to Gilbert and Sullivan)
She follows a rousing pirate tradition. There was Grace O’Malley
who was personally pardoned by Queen Elizabeth. There were Anne
Bonney and Mary Read, who ran with the mediocre but literally
colorful pirate Calico Jack, who was such a fine entertainer
that towns pleaded to be “looted” by him and his
card-playing entourage.
And now, Dawn Keller has burst upon the Pamlico County kayak
community with "Pirate Queen Paddling". Though she
is tough enough to be a pirate queen, no pardoning is necessary
for this young seafarer.
The Pirate
Queen Paddler |
Here is how she got that way.
When but a slip
Dawn
Keller |
of a girl,
her Cherokee/Celtic mother and German father, a renowned tracker
and hunter, would give her a topographical map of her back yard,
which just happened to be Linville Gorge, point to a distant feature
and tell her, “We will meet you there in seven days”.
How refreshing in the age of video games.
In the rare moment she became unsure of her location, she would
call Dad on a walkie-talkie and he needed only for her to describe
what she saw around her to pinpoint her position.
As an adult
she has instructed for Outward Bound and taught wilderness survival
for the military. With a masters degree in indigenous literature,
an ECU teaching position, EMT certification, including wilderness
EMT and state Search and Rescue, she makes those previous pirates
Grace, Anne, and Mary look like underachievers.
Now add to all that the Water-Tribe Challenge Races
she paddles. In the last one, just this April, she became one
of six people ever to finish a class-2 race of over 300 miles
of open water from north of Tampa to south of Key Largo. The
six foot waves, circling sharks, and salt-water crocs would
have sent poor Calico Jack running to Mama.
Her next sponsored expedition will find her in a 19-foot kayak
plying the Pacific from the US border, down the Baja coast,
rounding the very tip into the Sea Of Cortez. Want to come along?
Sorry, its strictly solo. Maybe in 2005 when she paddles in
Papua New Guinea?
Dawn's
Pirate Queen van and trailer pulls a flotilla of kayaks. |
In between
those extreme adventures, Dawn Keller is now providing guided
trips on our local waters. Her new business is appropriately
enough called "Pirate Queen Paddling", offering everything
from half-day drifts to extended adventures. Dawn is ready to
keep you safe and entertained on your next kayak trip. Dawn
Keller at Pirate Queen Paddling can be reached at 252-670-8465,
or at her new web site piratequeenpaddling.com.
