Re: [Paddlewise] Weatherhelm

John Fereira wrote:

> ...<big snip>... I'm not going to adopt an
> "Im too sexy for a rudder" mentality because a lot of people with far less
> experience than Audrey think "real paddlers don't need rudders".  

Of course not--I wouldn't either. That would be very narrow minded. I
have read and heard many complaints about this type of narrow mindedness
on the part of others, but I have not seen it or experienced it myself
(to any significant degree). It is very obvious to most advocates of
rudder-free paddling that there are many "real paddlers", even
exceptional paddlers, who use rudders. (Presumably there are also many
"sexy" paddlers who use rudders, but I would rather not venture into
that discussion.) Of course whenever there are disagreements about
technique or equipment there is going to be some teasing back and forth,
but it is all in fun. A problem can arise if some folks begin to take
the teasing seriously. Misunderstandings can arise, and a statement made
in jest can be misinterpreted as elitist or condescending. The following
may be an example of this:    

> ...<another big snip>...
> The reason for my entry into this thread was that I objected to the
> condescending
> attitude regarding "not waving to someone with a kayak on their SUV if it
> had a rudder" and "I wouldn't help carry a kayak with a rudder".  The attitude
> smacks of elitism and is extremely condescending.

Do you really believe that Tom (who made the statements you quote) would
refuse to wave at a paddler with a ruddered boat, or would refuse to
help them with their boat? I took his statement as poking fun at those
who believe all of this claptrap about rudderless paddlers being elitist
snobs who do not consider rudder users to be real paddlers. You have
done nothing to dissuade me from the opinion (expressed in my earlier
post) that there are a lot more AARPPs than ARPs. ;-) 

Dan Hagen
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