Gary Woodruff joined other kayakers at the St. Johns Bridge on Wednesday for a Greenpeace protest against Shell's plan to drill in the Arctic.
They hit the water hours before dawn as other activists rappelled off the bridge. They sang and chanted in the quiet and waved lights in the dark as the protesters maneuvered into position midway between the water and the bridge's roadway, 205 feet above the river.
The protest was something of a last-minute affair, Woodruff said. He was only alerted to it a few days beforehand. But Greenpeace has been organized. On Tuesday at the bridge, the environmental protection organization held an all-day training session for the kayakers.
Some of them, like Woodruff, are old hands. He has been kayaking about 15 years. But others showed up without a kayak and without experience.
"They were taught to use it." Woodruff said. "They went out and came back and someone else took their place."
They plan to support the protesters dangling from the bridge span for days, if need be, Woodruff said.
A former employee for Portland Parks & Recreation, Woodruff retired in 2007. He now lives in Anacortes, Washington, where he has become an independent environmental activist. He has participated in protests against two refineries there, trying to stop Shell Oil from shipping petroleum on trains in the Northwest.
They pose a big danger, just like all fossil fuels, he said.
He hopes this week's protest at the St. Johns Bridge keeps Shell's icebreaking ship in dock for some time.
"The longer we hold the ship here, the less drilling there will be for Shell there," Woodruff said, referring to the Arctic.
-- Lynne Terry
lterry@oregonian.com; 503-221-8503