The sun had barely poked above the horizon the other morning as Theo Maryeski paddled his kayak among quacking ducks, honking geese and egrets silently stalking the shoreline of Alewife Cove, a narrow channel separating Waterford and New London.

After ducking to pass beneath the Glenwood Avenue and Peninsular Avenue bridges, he glided past the Ocean Beach Park waterslide and accelerated with an ebbing tide through a pinched opening into Long Island Sound, emerging like a cork popped from a bottle.

Theo paused, gazing at a glittering expanse of open water dotted with a handful of outcroppings – Long Rock, Shore Rock, Cormorant Rock and Rapid Rock, as well as Fishers Island to the southeast – and took a deep breath.

"There really isn't a better way to get to work," he said.

Theo, 37, doesn't own a car. For the past six years he has commuted from his home on Niles Hill Road in Waterford to his job at Caruso's Music in downtown New London, either by paddling his kayak, pedaling his bike, riding his skateboard, or simply walking.

"I just don't like driving," he said.

It takes an hour or so to paddle the 5-mile distance each way, depending on tide, wind and waves – about the length of time many suburban commuters spend behind the wheel, on a train or in a bus.

"It's a lot better than swearing at traffic," he said of his alternative transportation modes.

If it's a nice day and he has the time Theo will unfold a copy of the New York Times, drift and read. Occasionally he paddles farther out in the sound to enjoy the view and the sea breeze, but usually he hugs the shoreline, passing Ocean Beach and then steering north up the Thames River.

Earlier this week, Peter Huoppi, The Day's videographer, and I tagged along in my tandem kayak (check out his accompanying video). Luckily it was a calm day, though the whole mission almost got deep-sixed, literally, when Peter, carrying all his camera gear, teetered while stepping on a rickety pier behind Theo's house. After watching that near-mishap I wisely chose to enter the boat from the water.

We maintained a steady, hard pace and I marveled at Peter's ability to shift quickly from paddling to videotaping. I was happy just paddling.

Theo's adventure didn't end when we arrived at a floating pier behind Bank Street. He dragged his 15 ½ foot, plastic vessel up a metal ramp and onto a cement walkway at Waterfront Park, where he unstrapped a skateboard that had been lashed to the desk. Theo then hefted the kayak atop the skateboard, fixed it with bungee cords, and pulled the crazy conveyace a few hundred feet up State Street to Caruso's, drawing a few curious stares from motorists but barely a glance from those familiar with his routine.

Theo pulled the boat through the front door and rolled it past guitars, drums and pianos to a back room, where he slid it down a wooden ramp, out of the way. It's a lot quicker and less of a hassle to bike or skateboard, but Theo prefers the kayak and will paddle through the winter unless ice forms in Alewife Cove.

"Last winter was brutal," he said. "I couldn't get out for weeks."

Bicycling and skateboarding present their own challenges. He's been hit by car three times, breaking a wrist and ankle on separate occasions.

Though he was born in New London Theo – he pronounces his name "Tay-o" grew up in Quebec, where is father is a university professor. His mother, Suzanne Maryeski, is executive director of the New London public library.

Whip-thin and crowned with a tangle of blond hair, Theo could pass for a surfer, but in Canada he spent all his spare time racing snowboards and playing hockey.

After studying computer technology Theo went to work for IBM, and then took a job as a software specialist for a car dealership in East Windsor.

The daily commute drove him crazy, and one day he announced, "Forget it! I'm done!"

Through family friends Theo heard about a job at Caruso's, sold his car and moved to southeastern Connecticut.

"I started as a piano mover," he said, but soon began working with Internet sales and now helps with the store's bustling online business.

Theo has no plans to go back to driving anytime soon.

"I really don't need to," he said.