[Paddlewise] Who we are

I've enjoyed reading the bios of my fellow Paddleweisenheimers; now
it's my turn.

I'm 54, so I guess you can count me among the old farts. Over the years,
I've worked as an industrial photographer, electronics technician, and
contract technical writer. For the last four years I have been writing
user guides and online help for a manufacturer of modems and network
communications equipment.

My first boat was a Butterfly-class 12-foot scow that I bought when I
was 24. I used to sail it on Lake Calhoun in Minneapolis, Minnesota,
which is how I lost any fear of capsizing that I might have had.
Several years later, I had to sell it to pay the rent. By the time I
could afford to replace it, I had started backpacking, so I bought a
We-no-nah canoe instead, and spent the next ten years exploring nearby
lakes, rivers, and the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.

In 1988 I went on my first sea kayaking trip, in Lake Superior's
Apostle Islands. I was immediately hooked, and the following spring,
before the ice had left the lakes, I bought a yellow Aquaterra Sea Lion.
Since then I have owned in succession a red Wilderness Systems Sealution
and my current kayak, a white Romany Explorer.

About five or six years ago, after seeing a demonstration by George
Gronseth at the Inland Sea Symposium, I made my first Greenland paddle.
The first trip I used it on was in the Broken Group on the west coast of
Vancouver Island, where I broached on a wave and would have capsized if
it had not been for a low brace that came out of nowhere. It was this
experience that convinced me of the importance of skills for safe
kayaking and led me to initiating a series of Wednesday evening paddle
and practice sessions on Lake Calhoun and developing not one, but
several, braces and rolls on both sides.

I haven't used my Wind Swift paddle since I made my first Greenland
paddle. I am currently teaching a Greenland paddle-making class in Saint
Paul for Paddle Masters and the Boat-House. I also wrote an article on
how to make a Greenland paddle for the Minnesota Canoe Association's HUT!   
magazine, which is currently on the Paddlewise Web site. I have almost
finished a revised version that I expect to post in the next few weeks.
(Among other things, it will be better-formatted and -illustrated.)

Like many northern sea kayakers, I enjoy winter sports. Over the last 20
years, I've led well over 50 cross-country ski, winter camping, canoe,
and sea kayak trips, mostly for the North Star Ski Touring Club. I have
also served four years on the boards of the NSSTC and the Single
Sierrans as newsletter editor.

I am married to fellow sea kayaker Linda Campbell, who is currently
secretary of the Minnesota Canoe Association. Linda is 51, and a native
of England. When we met, she was paddling a solo canoe. Six weeks after
she went on a beginners sea kayak trip that I led, we decided to get
married. (My first successful roll with a Greenland paddle and our first
kiss were on the same evening at Lake Calhoun -- ten days before my
fiftieth birthday.) She now has her own white Romany, has a roll on one
side, and is working on her offside roll. Our honeymoon was a 60-mile,
week-long trip in the Boundary Waters, where we were visited by a moose
one night and heard wolves the next.

We paddle mostly on city lakes, local rivers, and Lake Superior, but we
hope to also kayak on the ocean some day.

Chuck Holst





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