Tee asked: >>#2 Does anyone kayak with their significant other fairly regularly? How >>do you find keeping pace with one another? Do you enjoy it more or less >>when you kayak with them? Do you prefer kayaking in your own kayak or a >>tandem? Here is a newbie response: my wife and I paddle together and started by taking a class together. Although my paddling without her has been limited, I prefer so far that she be involved, partly for the reason Patrick gave (see below). There is a speed difference, exacerbated, perhaps, by the fact that my kayak is longer than hers and fiberglass to her plastic. Our arrangement in response is that I am responsible to monitor her progress and either wait or play a little more than she does. We tried paddling tandem early in our rental days, and enjoyed it. We plan to buy a tandem sometimes. For now, we are enjoying paddling alone together. Patrick answered > >Good question. I can't answer yet, but my girlfriend is taking her first >class this coming May. I've discovered that there are just too many things >experienced while paddling that I want to share. Plus, I miss her when I >go out of town. I've thought about renting a tandem for Lake Superior >until her confidence/skill increases. Anyone taken this approach before? >Besides, maybe she'll stop laughing at all my gear once she gets a bit of >the paddling fever. I share your reasons for wanting to paddle together. As I said above, we paddled tandem once and plan to do so again. I think your interest in her feeling safe is important because it will greatly increase the likelihood that she will continue. My wife and I recognize that I have a greater interest in paddling, so it's fine with both of us for me to take primary responsibility for seeing that paddling occurs. Another part of that role is for me to move us along in skill development and in paddling more challenging conditions, but slowly enough that she does not feel pushed beyond her capabilities. I believe that mutual participation in an activity like paddling can both challenge and nourish an intimate relationship. Most of all, we just like to be together. Ron Ron Johnson = rfred_at_mindspring.com "How every fool can play upon the word!" W. Shakespeare, Merchant of Venice *************************************************************************** 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 25 1998 - 20:16:56 PST
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