Re: [Paddlewise] Successful Catalina Crossings

Albert, let me get this straight ...  you drank alot of beer while
only half way through a trip;  you failed to even watch your landmarks
while conducting a circumvation (geez it was only half a mile away - how
many land marks did you need?);  you relied on two boys for directions,
and then you pushed tipped their kayaks over?

  And you don't want to paddle with them?  I'm not sure of your age, but
you seem old enough to know better on all accounts.  First and foremost,
I NEVER paddle or swim after drinking alcohol.  I'm not preaching
against beer, but you need to use common sense.  As a former lifeguard
I've seen way too many problems and near drownings caused by alcohol
use.  How many beers did you have?  No wonder you almost got lost coming
back! Also, alcohol dehydrates your body.

   As a final point, there's nothing funny about being a bully and
pushing two little kids' boat over.  Just how old are you?  I've noticed
that bullies always like to do things like this to those smaller than
themselves.  Would you have tried pushing a grown man's boat over?  And
what if one of the kids had drown?

   I'm sorry if I seem a bit overly critical.  But folks need to act
responsibly on the water.  Try drinking and paddling on the Catalina
trip and we may be reading your obituary. 

  - Scott Ives

Albert Wang wrote:
> 
> 
> While we were "preparing" we met  two young boys who were unloading their boats. The boy with the carbon fiber K1 with wing paddles, I will refer to this person as the Young Kayaker (or YK) as I have some unflattering opinions and observations about him. The other young kayaker was a little older, about 13 and I will refer to him as YK2... 
> The crossing isn't all that exciting. It's about a half a mile to the
> island. Jay and I almost came to blows with YK and YK2 deciding on the best route during max ebb. We made it over arguing the whole way. I should  have looked at my landmarks while heading over for the trip back. My mistake.
> 
> By the time we got to the Bare Foot bar it was lunch time. We chowed down, drank (water in their case) and got ready to go back . After all the beers Jay and I had, we had a hard time figuring how to get back. We trusted all our electronics to get us home safely. YK and YK2, who only drank water, were whining, something about Jay and I being incompetent kayakers, etc. I told them to shut-up and I would buy  them an ice cream when we got back. Well they decided to put it in gear and paddle back fast in their own direction. This put us in danger as we split up and were almost hit by powerboats trying to avoid a long train of kayakers. Oh well youth.
> 
> We caught back up to them as we approached the shore. I was so pissed at them that I pushed them over. They had to swim to shore. Serves them right. I hate kids. Lesson learned: Don' t paddle with babies.
> 
> This trip was enjoyable and I would do it again, without YK and YK2. I will certainly not invite YK and YK2 on my Catalina trip. I don't want to be put at risk, and listen to all that whining. It seems like there are bigger hazards than the currents, winds, storms and sharks on the Catalina crossing
> 
> It's getting late, I've run out of Saphire and I still have to make the Catalina crossing. Sorry to utilize all your bandwidth, but I was "inspired".
> It looks like the ocean isn't big enuf for all of us
> 
> Just thought I'd throw my kayak into the "pissing pond".
> 
>
> albert
>
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