We are avid kayakers who have paddled the waters of Georgian Bay for 30 years. There’s one big risk known to everyone there: the weather. A storm can come out of nowhere and beach you, blow you off course, capsize you, or bolt you with lightning. The risk is simple and one-dimensional, though it can be deadly. Our motto has been “any rock in a storm” and it’s saved our lives.

Then five years ago, we circumnavigated Manhattan by kayak. There, the risks were exponentially higher: there’s tidal risk, there’s current risk, there’s boat traffic risk and there’s even helicopter-wash risk. Suddenly, the risks had multiplied. New York made Georgian Bay feel like a safe warm bath.

Then this past week, we planned to paddle down the Hudson River for four days, starting at Hyde Park, home of the Roosevelt Presidential Library, and landing in midtown Manhattan.

Meanwhile…