Re: [Paddlewise] Who We Are

 


<color><param>0100,0100,0100</param>Who We Are.... 


......Anne Burton, started kayaking last May (after moving to Maine in February) and after  
wanting to get in a boat for years.  Almost 44 years old, thrilled with my new sport, home, and 
 state, and glad to hear that old farts, or rather, farts even older than myself, are out having  
adventures, too. 


There was a sunlit summer day up in Michigan, 37 years ago, drifting down the shallow  
Crystal River in a silver Grumman, water sparkling, a sandy riverbed you could touch,  
minnows tantalizingly close. 


No doubt I've forgotten the clouds, the dehydration, the insects, the fighting with my cousins,  
but the sunlight and water remain, whispering "Get a boat".  


So I've done it a bit backwards - I came to Maine, bought a boat (Lincoln Quoddy Lite, a  
local make, 12' 6", 30 lbs, glass, suited for calm coastal water), put it in the water, tried to 
make it go.  <color><param>0000,0000,0000</param>Thought I'd spend time on lakes and ponds and gentle rivers..but t<color><param>0100,0100,0100</param>here weren't 
any calm inland waters  *real* nearby.  Down the street, however, there was an ocean, which 
I have come to love  and respect.  Then came my second boat (a case of pent-up demand I 
guess), a Necky  Looksha IVS - my lovely low stealth boat.  I had to get a different car, as I 
was too short to cartop  kayaks on a minivan.  Then a compass...a VHF radio......another 
paddle....a different PFD......etc etc etc 


I am now suffering from paddling withdrawal, and winter overload, and spend part of every  
weekend driving up the Maine coast, looking for future put-ins with parking. I don't yet have 
or want a drysuit, so haven't been out since the end of November.   Am looking forward to 
learning the skills for kayak island camping, and hope to  make some multi-day trips this 
year.  


I've had some instruction, including rescue / self-rescue, and mostly go out by myself in 
Casco Bay.  Have done many practice wet exits and re-entries, and no rolls.  I quite often 
wear a wetsuit, but not all the time.   I don't go out in questionable weather and am hardly 
ever more than a mile from land, being  blessed with many islands here.  So far, only day 
trips.  My longest trip to date was about 7 miles one way.  I have  mixed feelings about going 
out alone -- on the one hand, it's probably not the safest thing in  the world to do (hence the 
radio), and on the other hand, that's the joy of it, out in creation exploring under my own 
power.  Besides, if I had to wait for someone to go with, I'd never go.


Thanks Dave for this thread!




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