Re: [Paddlewise] Tethers and tandems

I have a few comments on John's rather humorous rant (particularly as
regards his unfavorable comparisons of sea kayakers to canoeists):

John Winters wrote:
> 
> ...SNIP...
> Dr. Inverbon (never shy) spoke right up saying he had been paddling canoes
> for over forty years and never used a tether.  It was his hypothesis that
> sea kayakers might suffer from a return-to-the-womb syndrome (possibly
> explaining the need to crawl into a boat instead of kneeling as any self
> respecting  Catholic and paddler would do). ...

Hmmm. Perhaps the good Doctor has never used a tether while canoeing,
but all of the folks that I accompany on canoe trips to northern rivers
tether themselves to their boats through the use of thigh straps. Maybe
I just happen to hang out with an inferior breed of canoeist. Maybe not.
(More on this later.)     

> Percy, my next door neighbour and frequent paddling companion, said he
> thought they (sea kayakers) were gear addicts and that they couldn't resist
> playing with their GPS's, VHF's etc.. all at the same time and kept
> dropping things. Lots of laughter at that.

Again, I must be hanging out with the wrong canoeing crowd. The
canoeists that I know are also gadget-crazy. Of course, marine-band VHF
is not a popular item among canoeists who paddle on remote inland
rivers, but one of my paddling buddies (with whom I have done a number
of long trips up north) has his eye on one of those slick new handheld
satellite communicators that will allow one to send and receive e-mail
from any point on the planet. (It's a low-bandwidth connection using the
new Orbcomm satellites--way cool!) I have also known folks to haul HF
radios--big mammas with exeptional range. Some even carry handheld
avionic transceivers for emergency communication with aircraft. EPIRBs
are of no use in the northern interior, but in Canada one can use
personal locator beacons that are very similar to EPIRBs. In short,
there are tons of slick high-tech gadgets that canoeists can (and do)
use. The canoeists that I know are certainly not Luddites. 

Is any of this stuff really necessary? Of course not!! Does it serve a
purpose? You bet!!  Once you pile up all of this gear, it becomes
immediately apparent that it makes great ballast!  Our solo wilderness
tripping canoes (complete with full float bags) are essentially
self-righting. We have NEVER had a wet exit. No need for lead ballast
tubes or Canadian Ballast Rocks(TM).  We can stand up, lay on top of our
bags and take a nap, or lean the boat way over on it's side to cool
off--we just pop right back up!  Try that with John's minimalist
aproach. Of course you can always use John's rocks for ballast instead
of high-tech gear, but just try to use those rocks to radio for help. 
To be fair, if they are painted white you can use them to spell out
"HELP!" in big letters, but where's the fun in that?

Oh, and one more point regarding John's comments:  "Cloudy Bay Sauvignon
Blanc"??!!!???  Apparently my canoeing friends not only have better
taste in ballast devices, but better taste in wine as well.

In short, the canoeists that I now are no less gadget-oriented than sea
kayakers, with one BIG exception. Nearly all canoeists that I know have
learned a wide variety of strokes, boat leans, and edging techniques
that they use to control their craft, whereas only a relatively small
number of sea kayakers learn these skills. Many sea kayakers prefer to
rely on supplementary devices (such as rudders). One would think that
with two blades per paddle, sea kayakers would be LESS inclined to rely
on rudders, but this apparently is not the case (with some exceptions).
It seems like it's time again for the rudder/skeg discussion. (Don't
blame me--John brought it up! He's just more subtle about it!) 

Dan Hagen
Bellingham, Washington
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