Time to get in my few kilobytes of fame.... I am a 44 yr old lurker (mostly) and paddler living in Richmond, BC... thereby giving me the opportunity of playing in the Pacific Northwest (or Southwest). My wife and I have been paddling for about 9 years... I once made the mistake of describing it as recreational paddling to suggest more emphasis on fun and less on adventure/adrenalin... but then after all, it is all recreational! We do mostly day trips, some overnighting and the occasional week long trip. I used to canoe, which my wife did not enjoy... she was an immediate convert to kayaking, though.... We paddle old Pacific Water Sport Sea Otters... I have a fondness for them, and when one was stolen - off the top of our car out front of our house ;-( I replaced it with a day-glo orange Sea Otter.... to improve visibility, of course (others describe it as an eye sore - but hey, safety comes first). I subscribe to a simple paddling rule... I don't do cold water (cold water being under 90 degrees F.) So... I plan accordingly, and exercise judgement to try to prevent compromising this simple rule. So far, I have been fully compliant. Needless to say, I don't do rolls. My wife is interested in rolling and has begun her learning curve on this. I can be on the water, on the mouth of the Fraser River, in 10 minutes from home, when I am organized, and there is a lovely paddling area off of Shady Island here that gives gorgeous views of wetlands, fishing boats and mountains, with a miniscule city in between. This summer's adventure will be to use my homemade (by my F-I-L) bicycle trailer to cycle my kayak down to the river and paddle 4-5 times a week. Our other plan this year is to try out power boating (again... after our 26 footer sank... 2 days before the kayak theft.... our insurance company wasn't amused). So I figure between the 2 activities, work may have to wait. (well, we all have our fantasies...especially when paddling.) After that, we may upgrade our kayaks, or build a fleet to rival our Canadian Navy (won't take too much). Although I tend to be much less technical and detail oriented than most discussions on the list, I still learn much, forget much and am amused by much that goes on. Thanks to all for freely sharing your experiences, wisdom and views. Sam Isaacs saisaacs_at_netcom.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/ ***************************************************************************Received on Mon Feb 08 1999 - 22:42:31 PST
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