At 12:19 PM 10/1/98 -0700, Tom wrote: > >I went and joined BASK tonight, the Bay Area Sea Kayakers Club. Great >group! >Also got a very cool T-shirt designed by a very talaneted member of the >club. >We had eats, a great safety talk about paddle floats and a very cool >presentation by the >US Park Service on the Cordell Bank Marine Sanctuary just outside the >Golden Gate. I learned more >in a few hours from _talking_ to other sea kayakers... and as I drove home > over the bay > I only thought how lucky I am to have access to such a great resource; >dedicated to safty and >learning while having lots of fun. There's alsmost a trip every weekend. >They are into not only >learning about the sport but helping to promote it and protect public >access for all paddlers. >For example due to testimony from BASK memebers the GGNat. Park Service (?) > has banned >ALL jets skis from areas it controls in the bay waters and elsewhere. >Having recently been >harrased by these asses... (on soap box) Give them somewhere and only >there and let them >"boat" in the MTBE pond of their own creation is what I say! (off soap box) > >Hope you have a group like this near you... If not... why not start one? >Well worthwhile IMHO. We have recently formed the Santa Barbara Kayak Association to organize similar activities for kayakers paddling in the Santa Barbara Channel. Last weekend, eleven of us paddled from Santa Barbara harbor to Scorpion harbor on Santa Cruz island. We had been planning this 26 mile paddle for a couple of months. Preparation included a number of practice runs and planning sessions. A common reaction we received was "Are you guys a club? How can we get involved?". As it happened we were just a group of friends connected in various ways that shared an interest in paddling, both kayaks and paddle boards. One fellow flew in from New York for the trip, others came up from the LA area, while the remaining paddlers were local to Santa Barbara. David Powdrell (author of "Point Conception to Mexico-A Common Man Kayak Adventure") was the organizing force behind this trip. It was great energy, certainly one of those times where the whole is greater than the sum of pieces. We all know that the sport of kayaking is growing, but the interest in our trip showed us that it has probably grown faster and further that we had thought. The size of the local kayak community seems to call for a local organization that can fill their needs and represent their interests. BASK does a good job of that and up until recently a group such as theirs needed a population the size of that in the bay area - critical mass. It seems that critical mass can now be found in many smaller communities. Many areas have environmental issues that are being, or need to be, addressed. Where these issues involve the water, kayakers have both a special interest and IMHO; a special expertise. As paddlers, we are the ones that travel slow enough and get close enough to see the details. This is information that should be shared as environmental decisions are made. Organization can help gather and disseminate this information. There is much we can teach ourselves and others about low impact use of our coasts. The Santa Barbara Channel Islands are a very special case. They are undergoing very significant transition that will proceed over many years. There is much to learn and many choices to make regarding the restoration and preservation of these very special resources. The kayak is certainly the vehicle of choice for visiting these islands and kayakers should participate in the management decisions that will be made by the Park Service and the Marine Sanctuary. Kayakers must reach out to other kayakers to teach both kayaking skills and environmental skills. As a group, we will be judged by our behavior and our credibility will hinge on that behavior. I am glad to read of your very positive experience with BASK. More of us can have that same experience if we organize. If you kayak in the Santa Barbara Channel, or would like to, come check out the Santa Barbara Kayak Association. I would be very interested to hear from any of you that are active in kayak organizations. As a new organization, we will listen keenly to any experience you wish to share. Bob Tellefson Santa Barbara Kayak Assocation http://www.sbka.org *************************************************************************** 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 Thu Oct 01 1998 - 18:04:31 PDT
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