RE: [Paddlewise] Solo or Not?

Hi Doug and all,

Dave Williams questions part of a post, as follows:
>
>Doug Lloyd wrote:
>>My limited experience with the BCU was that the whitewater guys who
slipped
>>into the courses (during low water months) always went straight to the top
>>of the class, because they could roll, edge, blah, blah. <snip n'cut>

Dave says:
>I see nothing positive in downgrading whitewater skills.<snip-snip>. I
think it is >much better if we embrace all paddlers.<s> Doug, perhaps you
should go paddling with >some highly skilled whitewater paddlers and share
your knowledge with them and gain >their knowledge in return.<s>

Doug wrote:
I think this is a case of mistaken "inventory". My post had nothing to do
with whitewater kayaking or whitewater paddlers. It was merely illustrative
of the consensus amongst west coast sea kayakers, of far greater
intelligence and even forbearance than myself, that BCU (*or* equivalent)
assessment schemes often place greater emphasis on hard skills, over and
above soft skills. That was my point.

I guess I missed your point.  I also guess I get a little on edge whenever I
hear, or as in this case misinterpret, someone talking about whitewater
paddlers.  I'm not overly familiar with the BCU schemes, but from what I've
seen of it, I'm also not overly impressed.  It does have it's place and it
serves to educate the masses.  But with all such 'big league' organizations,
it's gonna have its drawbacks... such as personal attention to individuals I
reckon'.

Doug wrote:
I am sorry if the "tone" of my post suggested something I did not mean.

Absolutely no need to apologize Doug, but thanks anyway :-)  That's part of
the problem with "talking" to someone without seeing their expressions or
knowing anything about them.  It's really easy to read more into something
than was implied.  I'm probably pretty good at that one!  I didn't mean to
sound as strong as you may have thought I was sounding.

Doug wrote:
Personally, I believe paddlers who cross-over to both sea and river paddling
make the best rough water ocean paddlers. But, that is not what paddling at
sea is really all about. Paddling on water is about letting your time in the
water-world restore, revitalize, renew and reinvigorate your perception of
your 'breath of a moment' life. Paddling on the ocean, by-and-large, is all
about gently gliding over the surface of the undulating sea, where our
spirits are soothed by a multiplicity of sounds that connect us to a greater
reality. On a lake or inland sea-way, you often commune with yourself as
much as nature. On a river, you flow ,one with the current, working with it,
intelligently dealing with obstacles -- just as you do in this grand journey
called life, where twists and turns abound.

There, now I know a little bit more about you... For one thing, I know
you're a good writer!  Thanks for this paragraph.

Cheers buddy,
Dave

Dave Williams
dave_at_paddleasia.com
http://paddleasia.com
Phuket, Thailand

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