[Paddlewise] Who We Are

Since this thread doesn't seem to be dead yet, I'll jump in as well.
I'm Erik Sprenne,  45 years young (never intend to be an old fart), living
at the southern tip of Lake Michigan in Hoosierland.
Earned my canoeing merit badge at a young and tender age, and since then
have loved anything to do with boats and water.  Fished and waterskiied
from motorboats in 60s and 70s.  Built my first boat in '76 – a (rigid)
stick/cloth Folbot.  
The lure of rivers was great, and after paddling the Folbot for a number of
years I decided my skills were above beginner level and signed up for an
intermediate WW course at NOC in '84.  I was quickly humbled, but did learn
to roll that weekend.  Earned my WW kayak instructor rating in 86, and WW
kayak instructor trainer rating in '89.  Learned to sail with the Chicago
AYH Rhodes 19 fleet in the early 90's, and crewed on a Tartan 33R for the
'96 MAC race.
My sea kayaking introduction came when I saw a boat – a FG Cadence -
advertised for sale in the local paper in the early 90's.  So far it's seen
use only in the Great Lakes, and still serves me well.  
I love paddling (and being on the water) with a passion.  I paddle up to
class V whitewater, prefer III-IV with lots of play spots, but also am
happy on flatwater. Living in the Midwest presents certain whitewater
challenges (although there IS whitewater to be had in the flatlands), but
I've (happily) discovered that the most beautiful spots in the flatlands
are all near water.  One of my favorite activities is playing the surf at
the southern end of Lake Michigan (which happens too infrequently, as
prevailing winds are out of the west instead of the north), although I do
this mostly with the WW boats.  My motto in life is "put me on any kind of
boat in any kind of water and I'm happy".
I'm a recent subscriber to Paddlewise, and have learned much from the posts
- thanks!.  I also appreciate the fact that the dialog here generally stays
more on-topic than on r.b.p.  I prefer to lurk, as most often I find that
most topics are thoroughly answered, and I barely have time to read the
posts, let alone respond.  I was planning on jumping into the
drysuit/evaporative cooling thread, but Ralph finally admitted that
Gore-Tex suits aren't that bad :-)  Having owned a coated nylon drysuit for
9 years (until the coating delaminated in the armpits), and a Gore-Tex
drysuit for 3 years (with a relief zipper!), I'll never own other than a
Gore-Tex drysuit with a relief zipper (maybe I'll get latex booties with
the next one).   
To pay the bills I work as a chemist for a corn processing company.  I try
to figure out new things to do with cyclodextrins, which are donut-shaped
molecules made from corn starch that are used to encapsulate various and
sundry compounds on a molecular basis.  In my non-working time I like to
tinker, bicycle, and work in the yard.  One of my upcoming projects will be
to build a S&G CLC Chessie 16 for my sweetheart, as soon as the ordered kit
gets here.
Regards,
Erik
***************************************************************************
PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List
Submissions:     paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net
Subscriptions:   paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net
Website:         http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/
***************************************************************************