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John MacGregor, aka Rob Roy - The first ever recreational paddler.
by Patrice de Ravel.
Looking back on the history of paddling, MacGregor seems to be the first paddler who recorded his adventures on paper and who went out on the water with the primary goal of pure enjoyment. Later in his life he also helped found the first ever paddling association, the Royal Canoe Club of England.
It is always difficult to attribute the development of a sport to one specific person or to say that a sport was initiated on a certain day. And as far as canoeing and kayaking goes, it is commonly thought that boating in some form dates back just about to the beginning of humankind. However, many people agree that if John MacGregor hadn't traveled a thousand miles on European rivers in 1865 aboard his "Rob Roy" boat, our sport would not be the same today…
John MacGregor was born on January 24th, 1825 in Gravesend, Scotland. His family was one of the most prestigious in Scotland, and his ancestor, Robert MacGregor aka Rob Roy, was one of the most famous of them all due to the novel based on his adventures written by Sir Walter Scott in 1818. Paying tribute to this highly regarded family member, John’s parents would give John the nickname “little Rob Roy”. Later on, John would name his boats Rob Roy.
John MacGregor was an enthusiastic young man, who received a rather strict religious education. At the end of his studies in 1847, John departed for the first trip of many to come. His first trip lead him mainly in England and France, but it didn’t take long for MacGregor to realize his passion for travel, and soon enough he was gone for a eight-month trip, that would eventually lead him as far as Egypt. Animated by his deep faith and endowed with a natural ease in talking and writing, he endlessly promoted the Protestant religion through his trips: "Let me say once for all, that on this voyage [the Baltic], as on every other tour, I constantly gave sermonsª. During his travels he would realize he possessed a never-ending curiosity and appetite for discovery. Other trips will lead him to northern Europe, the Mediterannean countries, Russia, Canada and the US. Although John was interested by pretty much everything, but he was first and foremost a humanist; he was by far most impassioned by the people he met throughout his journeys.
After travelling by the standard means of transportation of the time, John imagined a day when he could travel on his own, by his own means. Throughout his previous trips he had witnessed countless forms of navigation (single paddled craft, double paddled craft, canoes) and he had heard about the kayaks of the eskimos; for a long time he had loved and enjoyed being on the water. His knowledge and his passion came together in the form of a grand plan at the end of May 1865, and he wrote in his journal: "The seed of idea for canoe voyage was planted today." Very soon afterward, John had a canoe built in London by Searle & Son, made of oak for the hull and cedar for the deck. This canoe was 15 feet long (short enough to get in the German train wagons) and 28 inches wide, with a large cockpit. The boat weighed 80 lbs and was named "Rob Roy" after his ancestor. A dry deck, a 7-foot double bladed paddle (in fact two single bladed paddles joined together) and a sail completed the equipment. The boat was finished on June 27th, 1865.
He has a harder time deciding where this trip would take him than figuring out what his boat needed to be like. He wanted to travel through Europe. It was trendy then. The Alps were attracting more and more English visitors every year, the Swiss lakes became like English colonies every summer, and the cruise on the Rhine River attracted over a million visitors in 1849. One of MacGregor's goals was to show that one person could travel alone with as much pleasure and comfort as when traveling with organized tours. In order to achieve this goal, he needed to travel to well frequented and famous places, such as the Rhine River and the Swiss lakes. But the goal was not to only prove that canoes can do the same as organized tours, but rather that one could do more in a canoe - exploring waterways not accessible to bigger boats. He chose a very symbolic place to really proves his ideas: the headwaters of the Danube. The Danube is the longest river in Europe and it also flows through several European capitals. However, it would take him some time to reach his chosen proving ground.
MacGregor had some simpler goals for his journey as well – to explore a lifestyle of freedom, to meet people and to see and learn as much as possible. He began to meet these goals as soon as he put in on July 29th, 1865 in London on the Thames River. Using both sail and paddle power, MacGregor attracted a great deal of attention in the first few days on the Thames. He was met with great curiousity and a generous dose of skepticism, and he was warned endlessly about the dangers that he would face around every bend. Fortunately, he did not listen to most of these claims; he remained resolute and carried on his way. He would maintain this determined mindset throughout all his trips.
MacGregor paddled across Belgium, reached the Swiss lakes, and afterward arrived at the Titisee (Titi Lake) in the Black Forest area in Germany. On August 28th, he reached the headwaters of the Danube. He put in downstream a little ways at a place called Donaueschingen. With narrow, tortuous, wild currents, the Danube showed him a new side of paddle boating, and he found he needed to adapt his technique and find a new way to paddle his boat.
As the difficulties grew (rocks, trees, waves, etc…) he developed this technique, one we could decribe today as "sitting on the back deck." Meeting his goals and thoroughly enjoying the experience, this first part of his trip finished a true success.
His next goal was to paddle to Paris, France. He put in on the Reuss River in Switzerland, where he encountered real whitewater for the first time. He then reached Basel on the Swiss/French border. For some time, he had been announced everywhere he visited, and he was welcomed in many places by a large crowd. His adventures were also reported by numerous newspapers. He eventually made it across eastern France, through canals and rivers.
There again, one of his main points of focus remained meeting local people, sharing his adventures with them, and getting to know more about local culture and customs. When he reached the suburbs of Paris he noted in his journal: "But here is the bridge of Nogent, so I leave my boat in charge of an old man, and give positive pleasure to the cook at the restaurant by ordering a breakfast. ‘Saints’ portraits adorn the walls, and a ‘sampler’ worked by some little girl, with only twenty-five letters in the alphabet, for the "w" is as yet ignored in classic grammars, though it has now to be constantly used in the common books and newspapers." Some time later he wrote about local craftsmen, "Now and then a pleasure-boat was seen, and there were several canoes at some of the towns, but all of them flat-bottomed and open, and desperately unsafe—well named ‘perissoirs’ (deadly crafts)".
The book of these adventures, "A thousand miles in the rob roy canoe on twenty rivers and lakes of Europe", came out in January 1866. It was a great success, and soon MacGregor found himself touring England to give lectures. Yet, his desire to share with others his own experiences was still not totally satisfied; on July 25th, 1866 he founded with other friends the first ever canoeing club, that became in 1873, the Royal Canoe Club.
In 1867, invited by French Emperor Napolean III, MacGregor visited Paris once again, and witnessed some craft races on the Seine River. He wrote in his journal: "Therefore in boats, as well as in business and politics, we may learn lessons from one another, both on the water and on the land: from Canada, as to steering and the stroke; from France, as to the fast canoe; and from England, as to the man."
To the great surprise of his friends, MacGregor married Annie Caffin, a long time lover on December 4th 1873. The end of his life was spent giving lectures around the country and taking care of charities, but his health got progressively worse and seldomly got out. He had to interrupt a trip to the northern cape in 1890, and he passed away in 1891.
Bibliography
-John MacGregor, "A thousand miles in the Rob Roy canoe on twenty rivers and lakes of Europe"; Sampson Low, Marston & Co., London, 1866, 3rd edition
-John MacGregor, "The voyage alone in the yawl "Rob Roy"; Sampson Low, Marston & Co., London, 1868, 2nd edition
-Edwin Hodder, "John MacGregor (Rob Roy)"; James Nisbet & Co, London, 1894, 1st edition
Patrice de Ravel is the founder of le Canotier a Library dedicated solely to canoeing and kayaking, and is a living memory of the sport of kayaking. More info go to www.canotier.com.
by Patrice de Ravel.
Looking back on the history of paddling, MacGregor seems to be the first paddler who recorded his adventures on paper and who went out on the water with the primary goal of pure enjoyment. Later in his life he also helped found the first ever paddling association, the Royal Canoe Club of England.
It is always difficult to attribute the development of a sport to one specific person or to say that a sport was initiated on a certain day. And as far as canoeing and kayaking goes, it is commonly thought that boating in some form dates back just about to the beginning of humankind. However, many people agree that if John MacGregor hadn't traveled a thousand miles on European rivers in 1865 aboard his "Rob Roy" boat, our sport would not be the same today…
John MacGregor was born on January 24th, 1825 in Gravesend, Scotland. His family was one of the most prestigious in Scotland, and his ancestor, Robert MacGregor aka Rob Roy, was one of the most famous of them all due to the novel based on his adventures written by Sir Walter Scott in 1818. Paying tribute to this highly regarded family member, John’s parents would give John the nickname “little Rob Roy”. Later on, John would name his boats Rob Roy.
John MacGregor was an enthusiastic young man, who received a rather strict religious education. At the end of his studies in 1847, John departed for the first trip of many to come. His first trip lead him mainly in England and France, but it didn’t take long for MacGregor to realize his passion for travel, and soon enough he was gone for a eight-month trip, that would eventually lead him as far as Egypt. Animated by his deep faith and endowed with a natural ease in talking and writing, he endlessly promoted the Protestant religion through his trips: "Let me say once for all, that on this voyage [the Baltic], as on every other tour, I constantly gave sermonsª. During his travels he would realize he possessed a never-ending curiosity and appetite for discovery. Other trips will lead him to northern Europe, the Mediterannean countries, Russia, Canada and the US. Although John was interested by pretty much everything, but he was first and foremost a humanist; he was by far most impassioned by the people he met throughout his journeys.
After travelling by the standard means of transportation of the time, John imagined a day when he could travel on his own, by his own means. Throughout his previous trips he had witnessed countless forms of navigation (single paddled craft, double paddled craft, canoes) and he had heard about the kayaks of the eskimos; for a long time he had loved and enjoyed being on the water. His knowledge and his passion came together in the form of a grand plan at the end of May 1865, and he wrote in his journal: "The seed of idea for canoe voyage was planted today." Very soon afterward, John had a canoe built in London by Searle & Son, made of oak for the hull and cedar for the deck. This canoe was 15 feet long (short enough to get in the German train wagons) and 28 inches wide, with a large cockpit. The boat weighed 80 lbs and was named "Rob Roy" after his ancestor. A dry deck, a 7-foot double bladed paddle (in fact two single bladed paddles joined together) and a sail completed the equipment. The boat was finished on June 27th, 1865.
He has a harder time deciding where this trip would take him than figuring out what his boat needed to be like. He wanted to travel through Europe. It was trendy then. The Alps were attracting more and more English visitors every year, the Swiss lakes became like English colonies every summer, and the cruise on the Rhine River attracted over a million visitors in 1849. One of MacGregor's goals was to show that one person could travel alone with as much pleasure and comfort as when traveling with organized tours. In order to achieve this goal, he needed to travel to well frequented and famous places, such as the Rhine River and the Swiss lakes. But the goal was not to only prove that canoes can do the same as organized tours, but rather that one could do more in a canoe - exploring waterways not accessible to bigger boats. He chose a very symbolic place to really proves his ideas: the headwaters of the Danube. The Danube is the longest river in Europe and it also flows through several European capitals. However, it would take him some time to reach his chosen proving ground.
MacGregor had some simpler goals for his journey as well – to explore a lifestyle of freedom, to meet people and to see and learn as much as possible. He began to meet these goals as soon as he put in on July 29th, 1865 in London on the Thames River. Using both sail and paddle power, MacGregor attracted a great deal of attention in the first few days on the Thames. He was met with great curiousity and a generous dose of skepticism, and he was warned endlessly about the dangers that he would face around every bend. Fortunately, he did not listen to most of these claims; he remained resolute and carried on his way. He would maintain this determined mindset throughout all his trips.
MacGregor paddled across Belgium, reached the Swiss lakes, and afterward arrived at the Titisee (Titi Lake) in the Black Forest area in Germany. On August 28th, he reached the headwaters of the Danube. He put in downstream a little ways at a place called Donaueschingen. With narrow, tortuous, wild currents, the Danube showed him a new side of paddle boating, and he found he needed to adapt his technique and find a new way to paddle his boat.
As the difficulties grew (rocks, trees, waves, etc…) he developed this technique, one we could decribe today as "sitting on the back deck." Meeting his goals and thoroughly enjoying the experience, this first part of his trip finished a true success.
His next goal was to paddle to Paris, France. He put in on the Reuss River in Switzerland, where he encountered real whitewater for the first time. He then reached Basel on the Swiss/French border. For some time, he had been announced everywhere he visited, and he was welcomed in many places by a large crowd. His adventures were also reported by numerous newspapers. He eventually made it across eastern France, through canals and rivers.
There again, one of his main points of focus remained meeting local people, sharing his adventures with them, and getting to know more about local culture and customs. When he reached the suburbs of Paris he noted in his journal: "But here is the bridge of Nogent, so I leave my boat in charge of an old man, and give positive pleasure to the cook at the restaurant by ordering a breakfast. ‘Saints’ portraits adorn the walls, and a ‘sampler’ worked by some little girl, with only twenty-five letters in the alphabet, for the "w" is as yet ignored in classic grammars, though it has now to be constantly used in the common books and newspapers." Some time later he wrote about local craftsmen, "Now and then a pleasure-boat was seen, and there were several canoes at some of the towns, but all of them flat-bottomed and open, and desperately unsafe—well named ‘perissoirs’ (deadly crafts)".
The book of these adventures, "A thousand miles in the rob roy canoe on twenty rivers and lakes of Europe", came out in January 1866. It was a great success, and soon MacGregor found himself touring England to give lectures. Yet, his desire to share with others his own experiences was still not totally satisfied; on July 25th, 1866 he founded with other friends the first ever canoeing club, that became in 1873, the Royal Canoe Club.
In 1867, invited by French Emperor Napolean III, MacGregor visited Paris once again, and witnessed some craft races on the Seine River. He wrote in his journal: "Therefore in boats, as well as in business and politics, we may learn lessons from one another, both on the water and on the land: from Canada, as to steering and the stroke; from France, as to the fast canoe; and from England, as to the man."
Bibliography
-John MacGregor, "A thousand miles in the Rob Roy canoe on twenty rivers and lakes of Europe"; Sampson Low, Marston & Co., London, 1866, 3rd edition
-John MacGregor, "The voyage alone in the yawl "Rob Roy"; Sampson Low, Marston & Co., London, 1868, 2nd edition
-Edwin Hodder, "John MacGregor (Rob Roy)"; James Nisbet & Co, London, 1894, 1st edition
Patrice de Ravel is the founder of le Canotier a Library dedicated solely to canoeing and kayaking, and is a living memory of the sport of kayaking. More info go to www.canotier.com.
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