Dave Kruger wrote > ...... I do not think it is a good idea to embark on a paddling > trip which is likely to overtask someone with poor bracing skills > or inadequate self-rescue ability. Better to go alone. > So, I am wondering: how often do others paddle solo, and why? G'Day Paddle about 50% solo - love paddling with others and love paddling alone. One reason for going solo is that some of the safety techniques for Klepper foldables are not the same as for hardshells and you could count on one hand the number of regular Klepper paddlers in New South Wales. For example I was on an excellent course last Saturday, learning a variety of rescue techniques. At the end of the day the instructor was asked what he would prefer to use in a rough sea. His answer was reentry and roll. When alone I'm sometimes beyond my limit through lack of experience. This is a real concern - apart from self rescue methods probably the most useful thing I've learn't is to study the weather, tides and navigation. The navigation is not for during the trip but for planning beforehand how to avoid trouble in strange waters. As a novice paddling a foldable in a community of hardshell kayakers, its going to take a while to convince myself and them that I'm a viable partner on demanding trips. So push my envelope alone a lot of the time and learn as much as possible about safety. Fortunately the local clubs and professionals go out of their way to provide training. And fortunately theres Paddlewise! All the best, PeterO *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
|Yeah, I know some of this might sound elitist, but I do not think it is a good |idea to embark on a paddling trip which is likely to overtask someone with |poor bracing skills or inadequate self-rescue ability. Better to go alone. |So, I am wondering: how often do others paddle solo, and why? I paddle solo 95% of the time. The wifey does not go as much as I do ,so I go alone. I much prefer going alone than with other people. With other people you have to set a schedule. I have enough of schedules at work and try to avoid them as much as possible on my own time, especially when it comes to recreation. Saturday I decided on the spur of the moment, the weather was great, to go yakking. I got on the water at 6:00pm and paddled around until 9:00pm. Went this way and that. Paddled to a point to take pictures of the sunset. Went back the way I had come in the pitch black scarying bank fisherfolk with my stealthy approach! 8-) With someone else they may not have wanted to do want I wanted to do. They may have wanted off that water at dark or when they got hungry or had to go the bathroom, etc. This way I just worry about me and what window of time I told the wifey I would be home. When I go with other people I don't have as much fun because I have to watch what the other people are doing. Some of the Carolina Canoe Club trips I went on a few years ago were a real PITA because people would show up without the limited skills required for the trip. You then have to spend the group's time watching out for them. Not fun. That leads us the GroupDynamic/SkillSet Discussion again! 8-) I know of a few people who have sea kayaks but I don't make the effort to paddle with them because I truely prefer to paddle solo. I LIKE being out there by myself. I don't want to make it a group effort for the previously mentioned reasons but also because I like the freedom to go as I please. I really like paddling at a fast rate for long distances. I think this is hard to do with other people. I run for excercise and don't do that in a group either! 8-) Paddling with solo means I only have to be responsible for myself and not others. That just makes things easier and thus more fun. As an aside but related issue, I got a new paddle on Saturday. I have been wondering if I a shorter paddle would allow me to go faster with equal effort. My first paddle was 240 cm. My wifes was 230cm. We ended up trading because we preferred the others paddle. The new one is 220cm and I can't believe how much easier it is to paddle compared with the longer ones. I was not able to do my time hour long runs on Saturday since I was more interested in the sunset but at a minimum the short paddle is giving me a .5mph increase in speed with the same effort. I still don't believe it. I can't wait to go out again and paddle for an hour to see what happens. When I paddle like this I use a high paddling stroke as opposed to a low stroke I use when just messing around. So the short paddle gives me a higher cadence but I did not think it would make that much of a difference. Later... Dan McCarty *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
In a message dated 9/13/99 8:02:58 PM, vaughan_at_jps.net writes: << 90-100% of the time. Same reason. Plus total lack of social skills>> LOL > Dave K wrote: > > > So, I am wondering: how often do others paddle solo, and why? > > About 50%-60% of the time - Because I'm an introvert. > > Woody >> 95% with others. I am a bit conservative on the safety side and until I can roll reliably I think I'd like to be with others. I also enjoy someone being out there with me even if we don't say a word. It is like being in the same house with someone but not talking. There is a sense of companionship in the presence. I've discovered I'm not particularly into big groups. Once in a while it is fine and fun to have an entire flock of paddlers but it means too many skill levels and you then have to paddle to the lowest common denominator. I get fidgety if they are just slow or even nervous if I think they can't make it. If they are faster I'm jealous and tempted to not think the kindest thoughts of my lovely 13'6" boat and that's not fair. It is like being mad at the dog for being a dog. I have to avoid unkindness because she is a wonderful short boat. She isn't pretending to be a long boat. I avoid stress in my life that way. 5% solo because Woody won't drive over 2 hours to meet me where I want to paddle. Joan *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Fellow 'so-low' paddlers: Dave Kruger said: >Some of Doug Lloyd's adventures got me to thinking about the issue of solo >paddling. Doug is a very ballsy guy who seeks out challenging conditions, >sometimes testing (or exceeding) his limits. I do not aspire to Doug's >heights. But, I do find myself sometimes out paddling solo in conditions >which test my meagre skills. Its funny you know, but I sometimes think the safest, most skilled paddlers are those who know their limits and stay well within them. They usually display excellent judgement, have really good common sense, and don't spend time solo paddling until they have a variety of experience and gained important understanding by paddling with more experienced friends. Don't yawn, hear me out! If anyone could have pulled off that crossing to the Storm Islands, it was Dave Blacoe and I. Though Andrew's (the third member of the team) rudder dependency and subsequent loss of his rudder and general inability to handle the open sea slowed us down enough to miss our "window of opportunity", he was the one who really knew his limits and the compounding dangers extant. Dave (not Dave Kruger) and I, with greater skill and ability, were guilty of hubris -- yes, even withstanding Andrew's problems. Hubris will get all of us sooner or later, if we don't constantly reevaluate our risk behaviour. (Haven't seen that word before? Look it up, it should be entered into your brain's lexicon of paddling safety terms). This is even more true for those of us who solo paddle. Having said that, funnily enough, it was the fact that we *were* a group, that we even attempted the crossing. I'm not sure any one of us would have contemplated crossing on our own. Andrew certainly let himself get talked into it. When Andrew was asked what he most learned from the rescue, he said, "next time, I'll go solo". >I think one of the reasons I am out there wishing I had somebody else along to >share the adventure (misery?) is: I could not find anybody *suitable* to >paddle with me that day! And, I wonder how common that is. Very common - depending on the difficulty level of the trip. Off season paddling, long crossings, and open coast multi-day trips are the hardest to pair up for. However, even that is all relative. One of Victoria's top paddlers, who is a coach, BCU trained, etc, was having a hard time finding partners for the open coast. He asked if I would like to go on a trip with him. Sure, you got the transportation, lets go, I said. As it turned out, he had never threaded much through reefs before, kept following close in behind me, such that he would get clobbered by boomers, etc. I told him to find his own routes. A trip or two latter, he was up to speed, until a big sea was running one day on a different trip, in North Brooks. He said he had never paddled in anything like what we were in, and never wanted to again. I thought it was fairly lumpy, but normal open coast conditions that day. I'm no sh^*%$t hot paddler or anything, despite my Paddlewise persona (I'm more of an Energizer bunny - I just keep going and going no matter what the conditions and sea-state). Point is, experience is relative and finding perfectly suitable partners very difficult, unless you are all at a low skill level, paddling sheltered waters. Too many paddlers stay in that mode, too, unfortunately. (snip). >Yeah, I know some of this might sound elitist, but I do not think it is a good >idea to embark on a paddling trip which is likely to overtask someone with >poor bracing skills or inadequate self-rescue ability. Better to go alone. Tim, from Pacific Water Sports in Seattle, says this as his mantra. He feels you are far safer alone than with a group of poorly skilled paddlers if trouble develops, as long as you have good skills, of course. PW'ers in the area should go have a talk with Tim, he has some good insights. >So, I am wondering: how often do others paddle solo, and why? 90% for me. Not too many people want to paddle with me, bad notoriety, you know. But then, I don't want to paddle with most other people, either. The good paddlers I know, all have weird personalities and foibles -- I'm deadly serious. Glad *I* don't have any though <G> <snip> I'd love to paddle Dave Kruger, though. He sounds like a mature, thoughtful guy, epitomizing the consummate, careful paddler. And that's the advantage of not always going solo -- some good stuff might rub off on you from the other person! BC'in Ya Doug Lloyd >Here's my profile: > >30 % solo > >nobody suitable to go with > >-- >Dave Kruger >Astoria, OR >*************************************************************************** >PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List >Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net >Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net >Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ >*************************************************************************** > > *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Doug Lloyd wrote: > I'd love to paddle Dave Kruger, though. He sounds like a mature, thoughtful > guy, epitomizing the consummate, careful paddler. And that's the advantage > of not always going solo -- some good stuff might rub off on you from the > other person! That's very gracious of you, Doug. Doug's observations are thoughtful, as have been those of many other respondents to this thread. Doug's post struck two responsive chords with me: One: > Its funny you know, but I sometimes think the safest, most skilled paddlers > are those who know their limits and stay well within them. They usually > display excellent judgement, have really good common sense, and don't spend > time solo paddling until they have a variety of experience and gained > important understanding by paddling with more experienced friends. [snip] In my case, when I was in the novice phase, there was no one else to go with, so I had to go alone, anyway. I bet that is the case for many others, also. And (giggle), I'm not going to reveal all the monumental foul-ups I made out there when no one was watching! Another advantage of solo paddling: no audience! A corollary aspect of solo paddling is that I am more focused on my surroundings, more acutely aware of nuances which escape me when with others. It is a much more intense experience, as others have already observed. Another paddler is distracting, even though the companionship is rewarding in a different way. I am too gregarious to embark on multi-day trips alone, however. When Haley [forget her last name; lady who just completed a circuit of Vancouver Island] dropped by my west coast campsite, it struck me that she must have been suffering attacks of lonesomeness, because she prattled on at length. I'd go nuts after four or five days of not talking to another human! Two: > it was the fact that we *were* a group, that we even > attempted the crossing. I'm not sure any one of us would have contemplated > crossing on our own. Andrew certainly let himself get talked into it. When > Andrew was asked what he most learned from the rescue, he said, "next time, > I'll go solo". Ah, the deadly dynamics of ego! Know this well. Nobody wanted to be the wimp! I think this connects with Doug's first point. When I am alone, I know it is *completely* my responsibility to judge conditions, so there is no dodging the duty! When I am with paddlers of my ability (or stronger), I do the same damn thing Doug describes -- I "go with the flow" and sometimes get swept up in the hubris of the moment. Been in trouble several times because of this. Almost always wish I had used my own judgement, instead of "groupthink." So, is solo paddling *safer* ... sometimes? -- Dave Kruger Astoria, OR *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Doug L. wrote: > > it was the fact that we *were* a group, that we even > > attempted the crossing. I'm not sure any one of us would have >contemplated > > crossing on our own. Andrew certainly let himself get talked into it. >When > > Andrew was asked what he most learned from the rescue, he said, "next >time, > > I'll go solo". Dave K. commented: > >Ah, the deadly dynamics of ego! Know this well. Nobody wanted to be the >wimp! I think this connects with Doug's first point. When I am alone, I >know >it is *completely* my responsibility to judge conditions, so there is no >dodging the duty! When I am with paddlers of my ability (or stronger), I >do >the same damn thing Doug describes -- I "go with the flow" and sometimes >get >swept up in the hubris of the moment. Been in trouble several times >because >of this. Almost always wish I had used my own judgement, instead of >"groupthink." > This observation reminded me of a historian I read about who interviewed all those in Kennedy's cabinet (this is a Canadian term - is "cabinet" what the US president's advisors are called?) who had been in office during the disasterous "Bay of Pigs" non-invasion of Cuba. Decades after the fact, each individual claimed to have known at the time it was a bad idea, but since the others all were publicly gung-ho... So Dave & Doug, we can console ourselves with the thought that if a thinktank in Camelot can make a mistake like that, we ordinary mortals can be allowed our misjudgements. And that even if we do screw up big-time, only our own lives will be forfeit, and not those of the innocent.... Philip Torrens N49°16' W123°06' *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Doug Lloyd wrote: <snip> One of Victoria's top paddlers, who is a coach, BCU trained, etc, was having a hard time finding <snip> He said he had never paddled in anything like what we were in, and never wanted to again. I thought it was fairly lumpy, but normal open coast conditions <snip> Nick Gill asks: >I find it odd that such a qualified person finds such conditions new and just follows through gauntlets > >Is this a function of canadian coasts and what people mainly paddle? >nick Nick, It is a complex question. Qualifications via certification through germane schemes are a good thing if handled right, but don't always denote a paddler's experience. You can paddle thousands of nautical miles, but never venture out of certain bounries. Is this really then experience? To me experience denotes someone who has been in a variety of circumstances. Many paddlers I run into, have lots of certification, can roll 10 different ways, have excellent theoretical knowledge about tides, secondary reference ports, etc, yet may not have done much, say, open water touring. I would rather paddle with someone who has spent some time on the open coast, than someone with oodles of paperwork. Veteran paddlers like John Dowds have always maintained this. 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. I'd like to get those same guys out on the open coast, threading through boomers in the fog, using only dead reckoning, wave direction, and the reflected sounds apparent to navigate by. It is also a matter of degree and relativity. What is an "average" open coast paddler willing to do to stay close enough to enjoy shoreline features, yet stay far enough out to avoid danger? My expectations were higher. I paddle close in, usually. If you have a reef off an obtuse headland that juts out a mile or more, just below the surface of the water, are you going to paddle to the outside? If a boomer does catch you out near the edge, it will be huge and catastrophic. On the other hand, closer inshore, the energies of the swell may have dissipated (this is not always the case). You can still get hit by boomers, but with good bracing skills, you can "ride out" most stuff (this is advanced stuff). This is not every body's cup of tea. It is mine, and my cup often runneth over. Your other choice is to paddle far offshore, and many experienced paddlers do just that. To me, you mind as well buy a sailboat. This route finding skill along exposed coastline is one that requires time to develop. It is also intuitive for some, and not for others. Buy, borrow, but read Michael Blades excellent book, "Day of Two Sunsets" for some descriptive stories about this feature of sea kayaking. Oh, and hear is a funny story from one of my own trips (not with the fellow mentioned above). When Dave, Andrew and I were coming down from Bella Bella in April, just before our crossing to the Strom Islands, we had to round Kelp Head. It is a very dangerous headland at that time of year - reefs galore, current, huge westerly swell, and SE gales with COLD water and rain. Dave was always out way ahead, while I attempted to hang back with Andrew, doing his best. If you have ever seen confused seas near a headland (most have, even on a small scale), it looks like thousands of fish are just below the surface of the water, with triangular waves jumping everywhere. Now, imagine that at eight to ten feet. Now throw in those boomers. So, I turn to Andrew, and we both look at each other knowingly "Yea, lets let *Dave* find the boomers, after all, he likes being on the point so much." We told Dave our thought later, he was *not* really amused.We were kind of selfish, but Dave was a good route finder, after all. Paddling in heavy weather? What's heavy weather paddling? My friend from the original post was, and is a very good paddler, always thinking ahead, always doing the "what if" game that most lame sea kayakers never practice or recognize as absolutely essential. However, he had never seen seas like that, and wanted to make a run for an inlet in the evening. He kept screaming at me about staying together. To me, what was the problem, it was normal for Brooks Bay, but then I'd been there before. But I bet if you got me out off Tasmania in that 40 foot stuff with those electric-pump-crazy, down-under types, I'd be "dumping" in my cockpit. And before I get off my soap box, we get a lot of courses in BC from retail shops that say, "Three day ocean kayaking course. Learn all you need to be an experienced sea kayaker". The problems hear in Canada are not a function of our coast (though we do have lots of protected water). The problem is with slick marketing, retail driven ethics, yup-yakers who want to be real kayakers with little or no effort, and an often total focus on color-coordinated paddles, boats, hats, and booties, and third hatchs for the dog. But then, who am I to say such things? In closing, another portion of a song by Bob Dylan -- "Knock knocking on heavens door". You have to picture a BCU guy, his certification badge torn off his PFD by his own hand, slowly drifting into death from hypothermia, separated from his kayak (no leash?): "Momma, take this badge off of me, I can't use it anymore" "It's getting dark, too dark to see, feeling I'm knocking on Heaven's Door" "Knock, Knock, Knocking on Heaven's Door, "Knock, Knock, Knocking on Heaven's Door..." Ouch, just fell off my box! BC'in Ya Doug Lloyd *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Doug Lloyd wrote: > So, I turn to Andrew, and > we both look at each other knowingly "Yea, lets let *Dave* find the > boomers, after all, he likes being on the point so much." We told Dave our > thought later, he was *not* really amused.We were kind of selfish, but Dave > was a good route finder, after all. > I had a similar experience, only on a river. My cousin is a rock magnet. That is the only way we can describe it, if there is a rock in the river, or under the snow, he will find it. On a trip down the Saco river in Maine we came up on Walkers Rips, a mild class 2. I held back a bit and told my daughter to watch where Jeff goes. She said "Oh, you want to know where the rocks are?" Sure enough, he found them. It made the clear route through much easier for us to find. I'm trying to get him into sea kayaking, without luck so far. Maybe I should tell him that the rocks are easier to avoid? Mike -- Paddling along through fog so thick that only one's thoughts are visible, your reverie is abruptly shattered by the ancient cry of a great blue heron as she lifts uncertainly from the brilliant blue of a mussel-shell beach witnessed only by the brooding, wet spruce....your passage home seems as much back through time as it does through space. Mark H Hunt *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Hi Doug and all, 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. I'd like to get those same guys out on the open coast, threading through boomers in the fog, using only dead reckoning, wave direction, and the reflected sounds apparent to navigate by. I see nothing positive in downgrading whitewater skills. Afterall, a brace is a brace, a roll is a roll. I think it is much better if we embrace all paddlers. We do have a lot of common interests. If you'd like to "get those same guys out on a open coast..." then by all means do so. You might be surprised to find that they can handle as much as you... or you maybe not. I know I had no problem switching from fresh to salt water. My technique is still very much the same though I have modified my forward stroke a good bit. My only experience with the BCU was when a Welsh BCU instructor came over here and trained some guides for a company which I used to work for. I couldn't believe how easy it was to get to 4 stars with THIS guy. I heard that it's supposed to be a bit more difficult, so I'm not about to judge the whole system by one person's "style" of grading. Doug, perhaps you should go paddling with some highly skilled whitewater paddlers and share your knowledge with them and gain their knowledge in return. If you think that whitewater is easier than sea kayaking, you ain't going down the right river. I've been pounded in both and I have the utmost respect for both. I also have the utmost respect for the paddlers who live through both. Cheers, Dave the mediator Dave Williams dave_at_paddleasia.com http://paddleasia.com Phuket, Thailand *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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> 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 even heard Frank Goodman of Valley Canoe fame once state at a sea kayak symposium, that he'd been out in huge swell at the base of some high cliffs where the whitewater boys were barfing in terror. Frank Goodman is a highly skilled sea and whitewater paddler who embraces all pursuits, and I believe he was using the same sort of illustration in a debate we were having with Will Nordby over certification (in the mid eighties). I am sorry if the "tone" of my post suggested something I did not mean. 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. Sorry I bailed in a stopper and screwed up the post - again! Thanks Dave for the swift water, "Z" line rescue and pulling me out. Now, I better look up John Winter's post on E-Prime. BC'in Ya Doug Lloyd *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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 *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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