I'll stick my oar in here, albeit a much shorter one than the prolix folks I follow: If I lived in a metro area, I'd join a club, mainly to meet people so I could travel as a group to places nice to paddle. I don't live in a metro area, and I have tons of nice paddling water within 5 - 25 miles of my house. I paddle with my friends and acquaintances, almost exclusively. We practice rescue and safety techniques as best a bunch of hicks can (assisted by our local paddling shop -- very professionally staffed, BTW), with the now-and-then seminar conducted by a wandering paddle expert. We don't know everything there is to know about group safety, but we're pretty good at dealing with adversity and unplanned events. We also realize that life is uncertain, sometimes Ma Nature will just take over, and that risk is involved in what we do. We minimize the risk best we can, and accept the risk that remains. Nobody has or asks for waivers, though one of my main paddling buddies is a retired attorney. So, while I don't feel I need a club, I surely understand and endorse the need for clubs, expecially where the "ethic" is different than it is out here. The folks who take on the task of running "good" clubs are saints. -- Dave Kruger Astoria, OR *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************Received on Wed Mar 04 1998 - 08:48:54 PST
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