[Paddlewise] who we are

I live in Brockville, ON, Canada, a small city on the St. Lawrence River
between Toronto and Montreal. I retired from teaching last June and am
enjoying the life of a pensioner. Lots of time for paddling and
photograph, two of my favourite activities. I have been kayaking for
about 25 years except for a few years where shoulder and neck injuries
made paddling impossible. My house is on the river and I have a
boathouse where I can store my kayaks. I have a Chesapeake 16 stitch and
glue that I made last winter as well as two old whitewater kayaks that I
just use for guests and winter paddling in the ice.  My body won't take
whitewater paddling anymore after years of abuse. That's different than
self abuse.  :-)

I am in the process of building a Guillemot cedar stripper; I think the
same one as Robert Woodard made. It looks tricky to build, but Nick
Schade's book is a great instuction source.  Despite where I live, I
really don't like cold, so I am very much looking forward to the warm
weather and paddling where we don't have to spend 20 minutes just
bundling up and 20 minutes unbundling again at the end.

As to my skills- I have taken my whitewater boats into big waves, but
not too big with my sea kayak.  There just isn't any surf around here. 
I have a solid roll that I can use on either side, but shoulder surgery
has given me a definite preference to my good side.  

We have an active, if informal, paddling group here. Our club is a club
in name only.  No fees, no leaders, no rules, just a group who get
together to paddle and sometimes for potluck dinners at someone's house
or on a nearby island. We paddle together weekly May-September, and a
few of us continue through the winter depending on the ice conditions.
There is a great range of skills and experience in the group, which
makes it interesting and is helpful for those just starting out.

John
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