Uh oh - it looks like I win the award for "world's oldest living kayaker" yet again. I'm 64, a former canoeist starting about 35 years ago, then an intermediate level whitewater kayaker starting about 13-14 years ago, and now for the last six years a sea kayaker of sorts. I've built five kayaks of various types, have taken most of the usual courses (ACA for whitewater, BCU for sea kayaking). I paddle 12 months of the year here in central NY, where water temps get into the 40s and it gets pretty darn cold, and I usually paddle alone - but I stay off the water when it's really bitter, and also when the weather is really bad. I have a good solid roll on both sides and good bracing skills (he said with becoming modesty). have sort of intermediate stamina; a good long day for me is 12-14 miles, and most of my days are far shorter than that. I'm comfortable in force 4-5 winds, but if I know it's at all likely to go beyond that, I stay off the water. Most of my paddling is done on Cayuga Lake, 1and1/2 by 40 miles in size. There's plenty of wind, but of course no tides, no currents, no swell except for leftovers from storms and motor boats, and waves never get much higher than 2 feet. It's not nearly as challenging as most of the water in which most of you paddle. I've been very lucky to be able to take several kayaking courses on the ocean, and several short trips in the Atlantic ocean (Maine, Rhode Island, Connecticut) each summer for the last 4-5 years. I love it. Now that my work responsibilities are much more limited, I hope to do more ocean tripping. Bill Hansen *************************************************************************** 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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