In a message dated 2/15/99 10:17:57 AM EST, romeug_at_erols.com writes: << Come on guys, I didn't get a single reply from my post on Paddlewise! >> I guess you can't teach us old farts new shit. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
I once told part of this story in a "Can you tell if he's lying?" icebreaker at a board of directors retreat. It was the board of our local Georgia Canoeing Association, and more than half of them didn't believe me. The alternative story that they did believe was about my fictitious, although dreamt of, sports car racing career. But I assure you that everything you read here will be true. I did a little canoeing at Scout camp, but nothing serious. About 20 years ago I wanted a little boat to fish out of in the Santee Cooper lakes, so I went to Charleston and bought a kit to build a rigid Folboat. It took about 2 months, and for most of that time it lived in our living room. I paddled that for a could of years, patched it several times, and sold it for the price of the kit. I didn't do any boating for a long time after that. One Saturday, I went with my son's Cub pack rafting on the Nantahala. We bumbled along in that giant gray tub and had a nice time. At the takeout, I was fascinated watching the kayakers surf the waves near the Center. We had spent the day more or less at the whim of the river currents, and here were these guys in little brightly colored boats *sitting still* in the middle of the roaring flow. Now, I know about eddies and surfing waves. Then, I thought it was magic. A couple of months later, I was at a cocktail party given by some of my wife's fellow med students. "And what do you do with your time?" I was asked. "Oh, I work at the Department of Education, and do some research and statistical consulting, and teach a class at Emory Medical, and advise MPH and MSN students." "No, I mean what do you do for fun?" For fun? This was a novel concept to me right then. It hit me like a hammer that I wasn't doing anything for fun, except for the time I spent with my family. Fun. I need some fun. What would be fun? Those guys in the little brightly colored boats on the Nantahala. That look like fun. So together with my 10 year old son, I bought a couple of white water kayaks, and started boating seriously at the age of 40. I was in a very high-pressure job then, and I was thrilled to discover that I could spend the day on the river and not think about the office once. As Jim Harrison said "The river is as far as you can get from the world of numbers." Evan of course far exceeded my skills by the time he was 13. He has a shelf of Juniors slalom trophies he won. Unfortunately, his buddies seduced him into soccer and football in high school, so he never became the great paddler he could have. Now, he's merely good enough to run the Gauley with a grin on his face and play in the Maury at high water. He also likes surf kayaking at the beach with cartwheels, endos, and all of that. After a few years, I wanted to try solo open WW canoeing, and got one of those, and a couple of years later became certified as an ACA OC instructor in WW. The next year, I became Training Director for GCA, a post I've only just been about to get out of after 3+ years. For the last 10 years, I've been paddling Class II-IV white water in either kayak or OC-1, depending on the temperature, intensity of the water, and my whim of the day. I don't do hair boating. The Ocoee is about the biggest thing I want to be on. About 4 years ago, I was going up to Carlton, MN to officiate a Champion International WW Series slalom race (did I mention I've also got an International Canoe Federation Official's ticket?) and my son was racing, so the whole family came along. After the race we needed something to do, so we drove over to the Apostle Islands and did a 4 day trip with Trek & Trail in double SKs with Balogh sail rigs. I had been wanting to get my wife, Meg, involved in paddling so I didn't have to leave her at home when we went off for the day, but she didn't like white water. She really took to sea kayaking, though, and we've since done a good bit of it on the east coast of Georgia, South Carolina, and Florida, and in Tomales Bay. We also spend some time on some of the mountain lakes north of here, like Calderwood Reservoir in NC. I paddle a Sea Lion that I'm very fond of. I'm resisting trying out a glass boat, because I don't want to covet one. As it is, our boat census is 2 WW OC-1s (one Kevlar), 4 WW kayaks (2 with my son at college), 1 plastic C-1, 1 glass slalom C-1, the Sea Lion and Meg's Shadow, and a 1972 Munich Olympic slalom kayak that is for display only. I'm also providing garage space for a friend's Narpa. I'm trying to get as good as I can, but that's a challenge when you live as far from the ocean as we do. I have a reasonably reliable lake roll--Pawlata or C-to-C or sweep, but the only two times I've needed it in the surf I've ended up swimming. More practice needed there. I've been trying to get people around here hooked on SKing, so I have people to paddle with, but there is a shortage of instructors, and few people want to invest in a $1350 boat without trying it first. As an alternative, I've been taking groups down to Coastal Expeditions in Charleston for training. They've done an excellent job, and Anne down there is encouraging me to become an instructor myself. Soon, I hope. I enjoy Paddlewise daily. It's impressive to be on a first name basis with some of the experts of our sport, like Ralph and John, but of course all of the members bring valuable expertise. If you're in the Athens, Georgia area (65 miles east of Atlanta) give us a call and we'll go paddle somewhere. Oh, BTW, that part about how I got started paddling when I was working too hard is what people thought was a lie, but it's completely true. And in case I was too subtle about my age, I turned 50 last December. As I said previously, I intend to enter middle age about 5 years from now. Steve -- Test Scoring & Reporting Services Sometimes, you never can University of Georgia always tell what you Athens, GA 30602-5593 least expect the most. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
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