I'm not sure if I posted before or not so please forgive me if I did. I'm newer to the sport than most of the posts here, just got started last year really with taking a course on SK, and planning on a rolling course this April. I had tried some kayaks out at one of the local outfitters trial days before taking the course and knew I wanted to do this. The peace that I feel when I'm out on the water is incredible and I feel that it's one of the only times that I can actually relax. I bought a used Dimension Nomad (Canadian company that makes mainly sit on tops) at a show put on by Swift Canoe & Kayak when they came to my area. It's a plastic boat but that's what I want right now to get going with. It is a wide boat (24 1/2"), and is of course very stable. I got the kayak at the end of the season so I really didn't get much of a chance to use it. I'm planning on hooking up with a local paddling group this year hopefully and have also found another paddler that lives close by that I also may be able to get out paddling with. I live in Niagara Falls, Ontario (and no I'm not planning on shooting the falls), and we do have lots of other water around the area to paddle. I'm close to both Lake Erie & Lake Ontario (with a family cottage on Lake Erie) & plan to do as much paddling as I can get in this year. I'm 35 and make my living as a Network Support Technician (this includes all aspects of both data & telecommunications areas). Just waiting for the warmer weather, hope to see ya out there! John *************************************************************************** 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'm another in the middle, at a ripe age of 37 ;-) i've lived on the east coast, and travelled the ocean on boats and ships up to an aircraft carrier [an when you're in hurricane hugo in the north atlantic, you still bob like a cork]. now i've lived most of my life in colorado, so i paddle lots of rivers, and a few large lakes, and some small ones. i'm an ACA certified canoe instructor, and that's really my true love, but my over-all specialty is "human powered travel" having riden a bicycle around the eastern us & canada, also xc skiing, snow shoeing, besides backpacking here in the rockies. i just started "sea kayaking" a few years ago, having purchased a plastic aquaterra spectrum from my dad. a year ago i bought a prijon yukon expedition, to play with in rough water. we also bought another sea kayak then for one of our daughters... we have four, one in college, two at home with my wife and i, and the fourth lives 30 miles away, with her mom. so two out of the four paddle, and now have their own boats [i gave the spectrum to jessica last year] i just bought a glass sea kayak from my dad, a seda viking. perfect for the easy river tours out here, plus i have a glass/kevlar solo touring canoe, and we have a 17'8" tandem downriver touring canoe, and a good old gruman aluminum to lend friends!! 10 years ago i was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, and now only paddle the canoe occasionally, but the kayaks go out 70-80 times a year a year for exercise!! i average 300+ miles a year, anything from lakes to clas III rivers. my cars average 30,000+ miles a year just from paddling trips!! i paddle mostly in the plastic boats, since i can "drop" them when i'm on my own, but i'd die if i dropped my kevlar canoe ;-) water sports are some of the last i'll enjoy, so i do, and i support a few clubs websites for fun too!! mark #------canoeist[at]netbox[dot]com-------------------------------------- mark zen o, o__ o_/| o_. po box 474 </ [\/ [\_| [\_\ ft. lupton, co 80621-0474 (`-/-------/----') (`----|-------\-') #~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_at_~~~~~~~_at_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_at_~~~~~~~~_at_~~~~~ http://www.diac.com/~zen/paddler [index of Paddling websites I manage] Rocky Mtn Sea Kayak Club, Colorado River Flows, Poudre Paddlers The Colorado Paddlers' Resource, Rocky Mtn Canoe Club Trip Page *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
hi, hey you all, good thread. larry bliven here with kathy in salisbury, maryland, usa. Viewing nature has had us paddling the tidal waters of the chesapeake bay for several years. Canoes and kayaks, from swamps to easy access islands in the bays. During the summer, many avid local paddlers socialize at several races of 8 to 13 miles (which spill over into reasons to go to restaurants). The friendly competitions is what fuels most of us old farts to exercise, and on the other hand gets younger hot-shot paddlers worked up because they know they got to be faster than someone twice their age. Both older and younger paddlers have contributed to my happiness on the water. My teenage nephews gave me a great laugh as they rowed us around an island - coordination and team work - from two city slickers? I first paddled at summer camps in New England; then to fish in North Carolina, i bought a canoe in the early ‘70s. While in north carolina i got a degree in physics that led to an advanced degree in Marine Sciences. i did field research on waves, currents, sediment transport and the inlet geology on the nc coast. My primary studies were of ocean waves, which led to a thesis on sediment transport by waves and currents. As a post doc, i analyzed water quality data from the Chowan river water shed - for the department of bio and ag engineering at nc state university. Papers from that investigation were related to understanding and monitoring rural nonpoint source pollution from agriculture. Then my interest turned to remote sensing of the ocean from space using radars; i have spent 20 years studying the physics of air-sea interaction processes (wave generation, heat exchange, gas exchange, and turbulence from breaking waves). My recent efforts focus on how to measure winds in storms at sea where it is raining. I have the pleasure of knowing many of the international experts who conduct research on ocean waves. The power of storms at sea entices me to sit at home by the fire... Where i can play with a keyboard and learn lots from folks at Paddlewise. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
If you are new to paddling in the Columbus Ohio area, check out Columbus Outdoor Pursuits. They are a very active, nonprofit, volunteer driven group formerly associated with the American Youth Hostels. They cover a heap of sports including whitewater and sea kayaking. I used to paddle with them before relocating to Seattle.... http://www.on2morning.com/cop/ > -----Original Message----- > From: Darian Dunn [SMTP:dunnd1_at_yahoo.com] > Sent: Tuesday, February 09, 1999 2:40 PM > To: PaddleWise_at_lists.intelenet.net > Subject: [Paddlewise] Who we are > > I joined the list yesterday. I guess I joined at the right time since > everyone is introducing himself or herself. > > Hmm, vital statistics: > I am a 27 years old single guy/Computer Geek (Systems Engineer MCP) > living in Hilliard, OH. > > I am fairly new at flatwater kayaking. I have paddled several small > lakes in Southern and central Ohio, but never any open water like Eire > or oceans (yet). > > How I got into flatwater kayaking? I own a 16 lightweight aluminum > canoe. The canoe is great for running the creeks in southern Ohio but > was lousy for traveling on lakes. I have also loved to sail since a > vacation in the Caribbean when I was able to sail a sunfish all day > every day. The NautiRaid with a sail would allow me to paddle and > sail, lakes and oceans. > > Having just found this list, I plan on asking some questions in the > next couple off weeks. If the issues I bring up have been covered > already please just summarize the conclusions and forward them to me > (unless you want to discuss them again). > > Other hobbies: Computers, Fishing, hunting, photography, scuba diving, > and anything else I can think of. > While I am thinking about it, did anyone say they were from around my > area, before I joined the list? > > > Thanks > > PS. Check out the Great Lakes Kayak Club on Yahoo. > > > _________________________________________________________ > DO YOU YAHOO!? > Get your free _at_yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com > > ************************************************************************** > * > PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List > Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net > Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net > Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ > ************************************************************************** > * *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
Sharing the good reactions that others have had to this "who we are" idea --- bemoaning the fact that I took four days off from e-mail, and am slogging through an awful lot of stuff, but reading some very interesting responses. Some from people who are totally reinitializing themselves in a new context from faceless "originators" of e-mail to real live people in my mind. I'm Jack Martin, and, at 55, I'm probably a lot closer to the mean vintage of those who've admitted their seniority than I'd thought I'd be. My paddling is chiefly on the Chesapeake Bay and associated areas, sometimes in the typically dumping surf of the Maryland and Delaware Atlantic coasts, and, when I'm really lucky, Monterey Bay and Baja California. Occasionally, when I'm feeling macho, my original waters on Long Island Sound. Mostly sea kayaking. Some white water, mostly lighter duty stuff on the Nanatahala and a little on the Chatooga Rivers, but did do a two week trip down the Tatshenshini and Alsek Rivers in the Yukon, British Columbia and Alaska a few years back. And, in my less reasonable moments, some white water open canoe craziness with my son, Carey, now 29, a white water guide and instructor. It's Carey's fault, really, this kayaking business. And Putnam W. Blodgett, III, the operator of the Challenge Wilderness Camp in Vermont, who was responsible for taking a nice suburban ten year old and turning him into a small Uel Gibbons (sp?) eating pine cones on survival trips. It's what happens when a ten year old picks a summer camp. He turns your world around. Thank God for ten year olds. I, too, did the aluminum canoe stuff in my earlier days, did a lot of competitive one-design sailing on Long Island Sound, travelled around the world on big gray boats that my Uncle owned --- had aircraft on the roof that I was allowed to fly sometimes --- for several years, but was introduced to sea kayaking at son Carey's graduation from college eight years ago. The venue couldn't have been better. The Apostle Islands! Six months later, for my 47th birthday, my wife --- <not> an outdoorsy person at all, had Carey bring home a then ancient Sea Lion from the outpost at the Chatooga as a birthday present. Still have and love that boat. But my boat of choice is a VCP Pintail, much modified. Great boat, not fast, not big, but active and a real trip in the surf. Also, coming together slowly now is a CLC North Bay, started by Carey and me over Christmas break --- his first trip home from Utah in five years. The North Bay is a beautiful, low volume boat, and the Pintail is very jealous. (The Sea Lion understands, but wants a new home where she'll be taken out on trips a lot more often.) And, behind the extension ladder, is a neon green Ocean Kayak Scrambler sit-on-top --- fun, wild in the bumps, but probably in need of a better home, too. With the Pintail and the North Bay, Greenland style paddling seems most appropriate, and is my mainstay. But media can mix. Did you know you can roll a Scrambler with a Greenland paddle? I was surprised --- and it wasn't pretty, and the Scrambler seemed surprised, but it works. Never pretty, always effective. But making and using Greenland paddles is an incredibly karma-enhancing experience, and paddling your own home-built paddles can only be bettered by paddling your own home-built boat. I will not be surprised if that's the case. My work with the Navy in a business- and project-development role puts me literally on the St. Mary's River in southern Maryland --- well 50 yards away --- and some great backwater paddling, with easy access to the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Potomac. If I'm not out on the water every day --- which I'm not --- it's nobody's fault but my own. Thanks to Jackie for starting this list --- I joined shortly after it was set up --- and to Dave for thinking up this thread, and to all who have --- and who will --- share more of themselves than what we read in PFD endorsements or towing line tangles. I'm enjoying the list more now, knowing a little more about y'all. Jack Martin *************************************************************************** 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 may as well contribute my own bio to the group. I have pictures my parents took of me "rowing" a wooden boat when I was about 2. That was 50 years ago. But my boat love has remained for the whole time. I'm a Michigan native who was lucky enough to be able to spend many summers in the Upper Peninsula on a terrific lake (Indian Lake at Manistique for those of you familiar with the place). I just lived in the boats most of the time even though they were just flat bottomed wooden tubs which were hand made by the guy that owned the resort. I thought that the 5hp. motor on them really made them fly. So, I do high school, college, Viet Nam (apparently with college the idea is to actually go to the classes), college again (Go Spartans) marriage and end up in Bay City where we bought an 18ft. wooden daysailer of indeterminate origin. My wife was teaching with a guy who said that every man should get married, divorced and own a wooden boat and since he had done all 3, he knew that owning the wooden boat was the worst of them. I can't claim any knowledge of the divorce deal since I've been with this sainted woman for 30 years but I know going to another wooden boat is NOT in my future. Eventually sold the boat and moved to Mt. Pleasant where I was the advisor to the Central Michigan University Sailing Club, mostly to have access to the daysailers they had. But I did have a friend who bought a kayak called a Loon that was about 17ft. of kevlar. It hooked me. I succumbed to the siren song of the State University of New York system and ended up in Stony Brook, about a mile from the Long Island sound and didn't have a boat. It was a bad 3 years. Moved upstate to another SUNY campus and found Keowees in the LLBean catalog. Bought 2 and had them plus paddles direct shipped to the house about 5 years ago when the shipping charge was $3.50 per order. They sure want more now to do the same thing. We've used them to explore Otsego Lake at Cooperstown, the Susquehanna river, the Outer Banks, and the Upper Peninsula. Thanks to an ad I saw on NYCKayaker, I met the Volins in Middletown and traded them cash for a Dagger Edisto. I couldn't be happier with the boat. But now I need one for my wife since the Keowee can't keep up with the Edisto. We're working on the funding. Funny how that happens. I'm the Human Resources Director at the SUNY Purchase campus waiting for my son to graduate from HS so we can move down here from Oneonta and I can try the Hudson and some of the other places so often mentioned by the members of this terrific list. This has got to be way more than anyone needed to know. Larry Mills *************************************************************************** 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 am Frank Montbriand, 55 and live in Ticonderoga NY, located on the edge of the Adirondack Mts. between Lake George and Lake Champlain. My first "kayak" experience occurred in 1973 when a friend purchased a Foldboat kit which we put together and I got to paddle it unfortunately only one afternoon (fond memory) before it was stolen. I did a lot of day sailing for several years and then moved into town and did a lot of biking and running during the warm months and xc skiing in winter. Eight years ago I decided to try that kayak thing again and used a borrowed a boat most of the summer. I was hooked and purchased my first poly sea kayak the next year. I tough myself to roll using the pivot roll ( and still use today as a backup ) described in an article by Tom Cromwell in Sea Kayker magazine in 1992- thanks Tom. Tom mentioned it again on paddlewise in January and for those who paddled unfeathered, I was able to roll the first day using just the article. Several years ago, to keep up with the younger crowd, I purchased my Arctic Hawk (had a valley skeg installed). I soon started making and paddling Greenland paddles and that is all I have used the last two years. My favorites are my two lightweight red cedar paddles. I am primarily a day paddler and paddle from ice out (March 1st last year) until the end of December. The kids are now grown and my wife is not interested in kayaking and I still work... heating and plumbing, so I have more free time(never enough). I usually get out several times a week, including one long paddle until late fall when daylight shortens. Motor boat traffic is a real issue on Lake George during the summer. I want to try and get in more overnight trips, especially to some of the Adirondack lakes and also trips to Maine. Thanks for the thread. Frank *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ *************************************************************************** *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
Well, I guess its my turn to introduce myself. My name is Tim Mattson. I live in the glorious but wet Willamette valley of Oregon where we have white water rivers, the pacific ocean (complete with Gray whales), and plenty of flat water to paddle in. The water's cold, but at least its liquid and flowing all year round! I have been paddling for almost three years, going out between three and seven times per week all year round. I am completely obsessed with kayaking. I paddle up to class III white water, play in the pounding surf, race kayaks in the open ocean, and try to take at least one week-long kayak camping trip per year. I love to roll and practice it every week in a pool and whenever I paddle in non-polluted water. I don't have a hand roll yet, but I do have a "bomb-proof" roll on both sides (white water kayaking is a great way to get comfortable rolling in rough water). I'm usually the one in our sometimes heated rolling discussions advocating the roll as a basic (as opposed to advanced) technique in kayaking. As for equipment, I use a Feathercraft Khatsalano - usually with a Greenland paddle - when I travel or want a playful sea kayak. I race with a Seda Glider using an Epic wing paddle. I use a dagger Redline or a dancer XT in white water and surf. And for all around kayaking, I have a lovable but clunky Perception Sea Lion. To support my paddling, I work as a research scientist at Intel. I have a Ph.D. in theoretical chemistry and am almost as obsessed with science as I am with kayaking. To learn more about my work, my boats and my few noteworthy paddling expeditions, check out my web page at www.proaxis.com/~matkins/tim. --Tim *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
At 12:22 PM 2/17/99 -0500, P. John Lowe wrote: > > I live in Niagara Falls, Ontario (and no I'm not planning on shooting >the falls), There was a fellow a few years back who "ran" the Falls in a C-1 (a C-1 looks like a white water kayak from the outside, but the seating position is different, and you use a single bladed paddle). As I recall, he was not successful. I guess his braces and/or roll weren't bombproof enough. Philip T. N49°16' W123°08' "The opinions expressed in this posting are not necessarily those of my employer, or indeed, of any sentient being." *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
Yes this is true, the kayakers name was Jesse Sharp, his attempt to conquer the falls was on June 5, 1990. To his day his body has not been recovered. If your interested in reading some info on it, here's a link: http://www.infoniagara.com/d-dare-jesse.html -----Original Message----- From: Product Information Department <pid_at_mec.ca> To: P. John Lowe <jlowe_at_niagara.com> Cc: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net <paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net> Date: Wednesday, February 17, 1999 1:57 PM Subject: [Paddlewise] overfalls >At 12:22 PM 2/17/99 -0500, P. John Lowe wrote: >> >> I live in Niagara Falls, Ontario (and no I'm not planning on shooting >>the falls), > >There was a fellow a few years back who "ran" the Falls in a C-1 (a C-1 >looks like a white water kayak from the outside, but the seating position >is different, and you use a single bladed paddle). As I recall, he was not >successful. I guess his braces and/or roll weren't bombproof enough. > > >Philip T. >N49°16' W123°08' >"The opinions expressed in this posting are not necessarily those of my >employer, or indeed, of any sentient being." >*************************************************************************** >PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List >Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net >Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net >Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ >*************************************************************************** > *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
<<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.>> Why are you in such a rush? Then, I did hear just last night on the news that middle age is the best time for most people, and I actually believe the news this time. Joan *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
Well, better late than never. :) Hi all, I am Jim. I have been a member of this list for about a year, & enjoy reading the post. I don't have time to read them like I used to, so sometimes they back up on me. I am 42, only admit to 38. I too have had some kind of boat most all my life. I just got into kayaking at the first of last summer, and I love it. I paddle around the rivers and lakes, and around the beaches and coastal islands of the lowcountry of South Carolina. Just moved to the Surfside Beach area a few months ago, so I am really looking forward to warmer weather so I can explore this part of the coast. I have a Dagger Edisto, and hope to get another sit on top this summer for surfing, as well as a longer sea kayak, maybe something by Necky or Wilderness Systems, I have not decided yet. Oh well, back to the grind, and keep the post coming, I have learned a lot from this group. Have A Safe & Enjoyable year everyone. Jim Beach AKA Beachbum *************************************************************************** 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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