Today we’d like to introduce you to Harry Babb.
Hi Harry, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
My family has been at the heart of our kayak rental business since it was accidentally created over 20 years ago. My grandparents had a boat and cabin at Pickwick Lake in Tennessee growing up. We spent many weekends during the summer exploring the lake on old canoes and kayaks. My grandparents were awesome – they always did whatever they could to get family together to enjoy the great outdoors. My grandfather did some recreational exploration on the Lower Mississippi River in his youth. My dad worked as a barge pilot on the Big River for a few years before I was born. He had me kayaking out there and on other local bodies of water at a young age.
My dad started working for a local fire department when I was very young. He and some of his friends from work began paddling the Ghost River section of the Wolf River when they were off duty. The Ghost River Section is about halfway between Memphis and our old cabin at Pickwick. Naturally, the small collection of canoes and kayaks we owned were soon used to get our family and friends out on the river every other weekend. This is when Ghost River Rentals accidentally started. The Ghost River Section is so unique and beautiful, it didn’t take long for friends of friends to start asking about it – and the idea to rent some of the boats came up.
At first, Ghost River Rentals was owned by my dad, Mark Babb, and his good friend, Don Hailey. It was and still is, a way to make a little extra money on the weekends doing something we love. We have also used the business as an opportunity to encourage our customers to become members of the local organization that saved the Ghost River – The Wolf River Conservancy. They are the reason we are able to get out on the river for recreation.
In 2009, I had just finished high school and Don was planning on leaving the Memphis area during the canoe and kayak season. My dad picked up the rest of the business for our family to own and operate and my interest and involvement increased. The development of social media platforms and the startup of a local brewery in the following years drastically increased the volume of ecologically minded paddlers on the Ghost River.
We had always offered Mississippi River guided tours to our more experienced clients, but the interest began to grow and I decided to start a tour and rental service based on the Mississippi River in Memphis called Kayak Memphis in 2015. This was a challenging endeavor because locally, the perception has largely been that paddling the Mississippi River is dangerous and can’t be done. I made it my mission from the beginning to completely smash that mindset. The Big River certainly deserves respect and safety precautions must be taken, but kayaking the Mississippi River in Memphis is one of the coolest ways to see the city. I’ve always been proud to be from Memphis and I wanted people to see it the way I was shown from an early age – from the water.
Things were slow for the first few years because we were only able to offer guided tours to experienced paddlers, but in 2018, the good folks at Memphis River Parks Partnership could see the value in the activity we were trying to promote and helped us to grow tremendously with their partnership. They allowed us to access the Wolf River Harbor (or Memphis Harbor) from the parks and public spaces they manage. The Harbor is a still body of water off the Mississippi River between Mud Island and Downtown with no current.
This partnership opened up access to the harbor and the ability to offer tours and rentals for kayaking beginners. Since then, we’ve been able to do some amazing events with them along with the ability to expand the services we can offer. We do a season opener every year with free kayak rentals and lessons for beginners, kayak rentals every 4th of July for the fireworks show downtown and a Full Moon Kayak event every month during the season that offers kayak rentals for free along with free live music from a DJ on a boat in the Harbor.
We hope to change the perception many Memphians have about kayaking on the Harbor and Mississippi River. The partnerships and relationships we’ve developed along the way have been the catalyst for growth and opportunity. I, like my dad and grandfather before me, continue to bring my kids out on the water whenever I can. I’m very grateful to be able to do something I love to support my family.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Our biggest challenge has been the way the people of Memphis and the Mid-South perceive the Mississippi River. Many people that are from this area believe it’s impossible or unsafe to kayak in the Mississippi and/or have no idea the Harbor where we rent boats has no current. Another struggle we face is the drastic change in river levels and how it affects access to the harbor.
Many other cities with robust waterfronts and kayak rentals aren’t on a body of water that can fluctuate up to 50 ft each year. This also makes it challenging to maintain and build on the waterfront. For example, our launch during the spring could be close to Riverside Drive and easy to carry a kayak too, but by late summer you could end up carrying your boat a very long distance down a steep hill just to get to the water.
Waterfront managers and developers are always coming up with innovative ways to allow easy access to the water. We look forward to the progress the Memphis Riverfront will make in the future.
We’ve been impressed with Kayak Memphis, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Kayak Memphis works to provide kayak rentals and guided kayak tours on the Mississippi River and Memphis Harbor in downtown Memphis. We seek to give Memphians and visitors a unique perspective of the city and gain an appreciation for the Big River and the city of Memphis.
We offer kayak rentals, Harbor Tours, Mississippi River Tours, beginner classes, and unique seasonal programming with Memphis River Parks throughout the season to allow for different experiences and opportunities.
So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
We always encourage other businesses and organizations around Memphis seeking an outdoor recreational activity for team building or even just a day outside of the office to consider reaching out to us for a unique adventure. We’re always open to working on projects with local organizations to help get people (especially local youth) out on the water and active.
Contact Info:
- Email: kayakmemphis@outlook.com
- Website: www.kayakmemphistours.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kayakmemphis/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kayakmemphis/
