In the beginning…..
……..by Jody & Ray Hetchka founders and ‘proud parents’ of Kayak Amelia……
We were almost 40 years old before we discovered where we were meant to live and what we were supposed to be doing with our lives. Growing up in NJ, we quickly realized there were too many people and roads. We’d spent days off hiking or driving 2 hours to the beach. Our son’s first outing at 2 weeks old was a stroll on the beach. Vacations were either the Jersey shore or the Outer Banks. After we married we moved to New Hampshire. This was our ‘back to the land’ phase. We renovated a summer cabin, heated with wood, made homemade bread and raised dairy goats. We spent days off driving 2 hours to the beach. We even had a tradition to take the baby goats to the beach! After 12 years of shoveling snow and not being able to kayak for half the year, we’d HAD enough!
In 1996 while visiting a friend on Amelia Island we drove over the Nassau Sound bridge and looked at each other….”this was the PLACE”. Amazingly, by the end of the week we had a house and moved to our new home 6 months later. After spending half our lives driving to the ocean we realized we were meant to live at the beach!
We had been training to be kayak guides in NH and hoped to hook up part time with a local outfitter. But, although kayaking was a growing sport up north, it was as yet unknown down south. But there were miles of marsh to paddle in the state and national parks surrounding Amelia Island. So we took the leap and started Kayak Amelia.
The Growing Years
Our tree hugger values that were bubbling under the surface all our lives, exploded in our new home. The beauty and wildlife was amazing but encroaching development was quickly destroying the marsh habitat. We knew that education was the key to help people understand how they were impacting the local ecosystem. If we could get them to fall in love with that ‘stinky marsh’ we could make a change. And kayaking was the best way to immerse them in the environment. Starting with an office in the house and a trailer of kayaks we began exploring and sharing the stories of the salt marsh. After a few years we became concessionaires in Talbot Island State Park. Now with a perfect location we could expand our dream. Adding kayak rentals, bikes, stand up paddling and kids summer camp.
In 2007 we gathered local environmental friends and created the Wild Amelia Nature Festival. The festival’s mission is to help local residents and visitors gain a deeper appreciation of the bioregion through lectures, hands-on activities and ecotours. It has since grown into a year ’round project with monthly lecture series, nature photography classes and kids programs.