[Paddlewise] Who We Are

Hi All,
        My introduction, from another lurker on the list.
        If I was talking in the metaphors of my birth home, I'd say I'd been
batting for over half a century and I'm still not out!
        I built my first kayak - a ribbed and canvas affair - when I was
fourteen. I loved it but it was a bitch to launch in even the slightest surf
because of its open cockpit. It was great on estuaries, rivers and lakes though.
        My love affair with salt water continued, but in a sailing mode with
experience in GP 14's, Wayfarers amd Enterprise dinghies. I graduated, while
in England to a wooden Folkboat.
        In Canada, I lived too long in cold Ontario, but I enjoyed the
summers, the lakes and the rivers, and learned a new skill, the canoe.
        Since moving to British Columbia, I renewed my affair with sailboats
and for many years had my own small cruiser, but a few years ago I started
kayaking.
        I now own a kayak, a British Huntsman, and don't own a sailboat.
        As a yet unacclaimed fiction writer, I work for a kayak outfitters
in Victoria each summer. My kayaking skills are limited, but I'm intent upon
improving them and I've learned much from lurking.
        Chris Banner
        Victoria. B.C.
        

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