From what I've seen during the last 22 hours or so that I've been lurking here, you've got an incredibly active and interesting group! And, at Jackie's suggestion, I'll try to introduce myself. Quickly. Using the "my boat" technique as a vehicle. My boat is a somewhat customized Valley Canoe Products (VCP) Pintail, a solid Brit-built 17+ foot play boat, low volume, easily turned, rolled, and highly maneuverable, not a racer but certainly not sluggish, and generally a kick to paddle while still looking great --- in my opinion. It is propelled with former two-by-six pine or cedar boards in the Inuit style unless I'm in large surf, when a vintage Lendal Archipelago is normally called into service. But the Pintail <likes> me to use the "q-tip" paddle, and, given the boat's West Greenland design, it seems appropriate. (My elbows and shoulders appreciate indigenous paddles at the end of a long day, too.) There's little problem stuffing my 190 pounds into the 16" by 20" cockpit coaming, even though VCP quals the boat at 145 pounds as "ideal" --- but, having said that, my beef plus a couple of extra peanut butter and jelly sanwiches in the bow and some bigger water turns the Pintail into something of a squirt boat on occasion. It's always a wet ride, but it's a wonderful boat. My primary areas for paddling include the estuarine St. Mary's River --- 130 yards from my office door --- and the other wonderful tributaries of the tidal Potomac River and the Chesapeake Bay, along with the coastal Atlantic shores of Maryland and Delaware. Virginia Beach is another occasional treat, as is --- far less frequently --- Monterey Bay and the Baja California beaches, where I took an early and terrifying "beginners' clinic" with Ed Gillet. Some limited whitewater experience in raft, canoe and kayak on the Nantahala, the Ocoee, and the beautiful Chatooga. And a "trip of a lifetime" two summers ago --- a 170 mile, two week run down the Tatsenshini and Alsek Rivers in the Yukon, British Columbia, and Alaska. In addition to touring the incredible complex of tidal rivers and creeks in the area, along with Bay transits and the not frequent rush of Atlantic surfing, we do a lot of swim support activities in this part of the Chesapeake, and a fair number of creek clean-up trips --- some of my favorite kayak pastimes. It's a nice place to paddle, and offers year 'round paddling for the hardy. That said, we have jonquils coming into bloom in sheltered spots this week, and the winter has been generally very mild. On a professional basis, I have a background in naval aviation operations and safety, communications and navigation systems, and spent a year in Viet Nam as a combat search and rescue pilot; as an Aviation Safety Officer and accident investigator, I have a serious appreciation for safety and for survival equipment, and am privileged to work closely with the developers of the Navy's aircrew survival gear and equipment. Safety issues have always been important to me, and my understanding is that they're important issues to this group, as well. Looking forward to more of your message traffic! Great so far. Again, Jackie, thanks for putting this group together. Really like what you're trying to do. Jack "Joq" Martin *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
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