RE: [Paddlewise] A Beginner's First Class (long)

Jim, great journal entry!  Thanks for sharing it!  Read it from top to
bottom -- and it brought back some fine memories.  My most memorable "first"
kayaking experience [they say you never forget it <<g>> ] was trying to keep
a rudderless 14'-foot plastic Spectrum [by Perception] heading in a straight
direction.  I would venture a guess that at least 65 percent of my paddling
effort -- on what turned out to be a 7-mile paddling day -- was directed
toward keeping that damned boat on a straight course.  The pain the next
day -- which involved my entire upper torso and most seriously my "creaking"
lower right forearm [yep -- tenosynovitis] and fingers [from my day-long
death grip on the paddle] -- was damned near unbearable.  Though I did
manage to make it back out on the water for a couple of hours the following
afternoon!!!

Fact is, it was an absolutely intoxicating experience -- and 2 years later
the high remains to this very day.  [Paddled 7 miles today on the Alabama
River in 10-20 knot winds.  AWESOME PADDLE!]  Anyhow, if you caught the bug
like the rest of us, I suspect we'll be reading more from you in the weeks
to come.

And welcome to the "club"!

Jim Tynan
Pike Road AL
http://home.att.net/~kayakbound

~-----Original Message-----
~From: owner-paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net
~[mailto:owner-paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net]On Behalf Of Jim Holman
~Sent: Sunday, February 28, 1999 12:22 PM
~To: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net
~Subject: [Paddlewise] A Beginner's First Class (long)
~
~
~What follows are some observations on my first kayak class, which I had
~yesterday at Alder Creek in Portland, Oregon.  All you old-timers have
~been through this before, but this may be of some little interest to the

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