First, my confession: I have always enjoyed Derrick Hutchinson's book on Sea Kayaking, especially the woodcut historical prints and quotes. However, some of the techniques he discussed (seal landing on rocks by riding up on the back of the BIGGEST wave in a set - the theory being that the water will drain away through the rocks, setting you down with gentleness of a falling leaf, or launching off a pier by "hopping" your loaded boat sideways from up to ten feet above the water) had lead me to imagine he was of the gung-ho "Death and/or Glory" school of British explorers. You know, the sort who refused to "go native" by wearing furs in the Arctic, turned up their noses at eating the partially digested lichen in caribou stomachs in favour of good old scurvy- and dementia-inducing lead-soldered tinned beef, or who got on skis for the first time in their soon-to-be-foreshortened lives just weeks before setting out for the South Pole. (I'm half British myself, so I'm allowed to slander them, even in these politically correct times.) Anyway, I caught the re-broadcast of the "Anything Wild" episode on kayaking in the UK, and it was a revelation. Derrick is, in the best way, a cheerful British eccentric. You can't help but be utterly charmed by his sheer zest for life and for kayaking, his off-the-wall humour, his relaxed and effective paddling, and his genuine love for his "home waters". I even noticed that the seal landing technique works if the rocks are suitably padded with seaweed. And his essay on the filming, complete with the sly ambush he set for the director, reveals the sort of devious mind I can respect. I'd paddle with Derrick anytime, if I could keep up with him. Born again and off to paddle next week, Philip Torrens **************************************** Mountain Equipment Co-op 1655 West 3rd Avenue, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6J 1K1 Tel: 640-732-1989 Fax: 604-731-6483 email: pid_at_mec.ca Visit our website at: http://www.mec.ca ***************************************** *************************************************************************** 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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