New Kayaking Company Offers Fresh View of Island
By Jessica Delaney

Jim Miller (left) and Paul Komraus of Mackinac Island Kayaking Company, which provides guided tours to Arch Rock, as well as evening tours, lessons, and trips around the Island.

History is one of the most important draws to Mackinac Island, between the horse carriages, Fort Mackinac, and the allure of Main Street and historic downtown. It is no surprise, then, that when Mackinac Island Kayaking Company was formed, the owners wanted to bring a little history into the business.

The business, operated at Mission Point, was started by Paul Komraus and Jim Miller. Mr. Komraus was interested in starting a small, highly personal business on the Island and asked Mr. Miller to join him as a guide for kayaking tours. Mr. Miller quickly accepted.

The company offers a variety of services. During the day, they offer four guided tours, at 9 a.m., noon, 3 p.m., and 6 p.m. They also have two twilight tours, Thursday and Saturday at 7 p.m. Kayaking lessons are available upon request, as are tours around the entire Island.

The founders originally wanted also to offer wilderness adventure hikes, guided by Mr. Miller, but that venture never took off this year and will have to wait for expansion next year.

Mr. Miller, however, remains optimistic about the business.

“What we’ve done is take my interest to be on the water, making me a guide, and now what we do is that instead of a natural wilderness hike, we do a natural water hike. We talk about Arch Rock and the land formations, but also about the trees along the shore, bringing that aspect into play,” said Mr. Miller.

One of the more unique aspects of the business is its personal touch. The company only has 15 tandem canoes, limiting the guided tours to 30.

“We teach people about paddling, kayaking, and the land. We keep it simple,” said Mr. Komraus. “We’re not going to become a big business. I knew what we had, and the vision has really taken shape.”

Keeping the business small has enabled the company to add personal touches not necessarily available to larger businesses. Each tour is tailored to the group of people involved, and while they all take the same basic route along the shore from Mission Point’s Beaver Dock to Arch Rock, small variations will be made based on the overall experience of group members.

“The dynamics are always different with each group,” said Mr. Miller. “With a more experienced group, we can continue down the coast and explore Little Arch, which you can’t see from the shore, or if we have a group that’s interested in the harbor, we can come back and head there.”

So far, their oldest customer was a 75-year-old grandmother, who went with her daughter and granddaughter. Their youngest kayaker was just seven years old. Experience has also ranged, from a group of 30, none of whom had paddled before, to a couple who had kayaked on the ocean.

The tours are leisurely, and the informative aspect is just as important as the physical. Most kayakers, however, said Mr. Miller, enjoy being physically active.

“Generally, when people think of kayaking, they think of it as an outdoor sport, not just as a recreational activity like canoeing,” he said. “The people who see our sign are those who are already biking or hiking, the people who like to be physically active.”

Most kayakers also tend to be of a more mature mindset, said Mr. Miller, as well as somewhat older and more wealthy. Kayaking is an expensive sport, added Mr. Komraus. Each of the company’s kayaks costs $2,000, and that is without oars, life preservers, first aid equipment, and the other essentials for a trip on the water.

Both men stressed, however, that the primary focus of their company is to provide a personalized, quality tour which allows the kayaker to see the island in a new way.

“This is a fun, active way to discover the Island,” said Mr. Miller. “You can look at the shoals, these really amazing rock ledges and formations under the water, that you just can’t see from the shore.”

Mr. Komraus also said that the Twilight Tours are a wonderful experience because, at night, the wind settles down and the water is quieter and more gentle.

The company has also led a sunrise tour and may offer more.

Mr. Miller, in addition to being a guide, spends his winters as a craftsman, and one of his specialties is making birch bark canoes.

During the tour, Mr. Miller will point out the trees which would be used to make the canoes, including cedar, spruce, and birch. After the tour, kayakers are invited to see one of the canoes which Mr. Miller has made.

“In the Great Lakes, this used to be the transportation,” said Mr. Miller in reference to the canoe. “This is part of the history of Mackinac.”

According to the two business partners, they couldn’t have picked a better place to set up shop then Mackinac Island. Along with the beautiful scenery they get to paddle by on a daily basis, they said that the outpouring of community support along the way has helped them get the fledgling business off the ground.

“A lot of people have been rooting for us,” said Mr. Miller.

The company, while independent, operates through Mission Point Resort, which takes reservations and money for the company, and provides a telephone line.

Reservations for a guided tour can be made by calling 847-3312.