There's a new paddling instruction company in town. My good friend Mark Larfontaine has been teaching canoe lessons for several years and this year has formalized things by creating Maskwa Paddle Co. He builds beautiful hand-carved paddles and teaches canoeing. Check it out if you want to learn to canoe or want a beautifully functional paddle.
p.s. The good-looking model posing with one of his paddles in the photo in the header of his website, that's me.