10. My kayak has a rudder, and sometimes (gasp!) I use it. 9. My paddle is unfeathered. 8. I use big black rubber bungies every time I transport my kayak. 7. Sometimes I drive to the nearby lake - AND I DON''T USE A BOWLINE !!!! 6. My kayak is roto-molded plastic - not fiberglass, not kevlar, and not a folding model. 5. On today's early morning paddle (28 degrees) I wore absolutely no neoprene. 4. I have never taken a dump in a plastic bag - and I never plan to. 3. Sometimes - maybe on the days I don't use a bowline - I don't wear a PFD. 2. Upon occasion, I have ridden in a powerboat, and I enjoyed it! 1. On a hot summer day, I think it might be fine to try a jetski. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
I received this e-mail today from a paddler around here, some time when you hit your head against the wall all you get is a headache Dana ____________________________________________________ At 11:13 PM 10/5/99 -0400, you wrote: >Things I have learned in six months of kayaking. > >(1) Any stroke that moves the kayak in the right direction is a good stroke. >The technique nazis can go do things to themselves in the privacy of their >own homes. > >(2) A rudder is a good thing. You can use your feet to steer, they aren't >doing anything anyway, and you conserve energy for propulsion strokes. You >can center it, stretch your legs and use it as an adjustable skeg on long >straight passages. You can also straddle your boat and slice apples on it >during lunch stops when your have forgotten a knife. The purists can go >join the technique nazis. (I love to give these guys fits by calling my >kayak my Eskimo Boat). > >(3) If all of your paddling is in waterways that are narrow enough to swim >your boat to a bank, bracing and rolling are wasted skills. Besides if you >capsize in flat water you deserve to get wet. Rescue freaks, go join >purists, and the nazis. > >(4) If you paddle in gator country, stay away from the banks. He may think >you are challenging him to a real estate dispute. You will lose. And, if >you just startle him, it gives him enough water to go under your boat, not >over it. > >(5) If you are the type who constantly punches a mental time clock, find >another pastime. > >(6) Getting lost in the salt marshes ain't all bad. There are lots of neat >critters back there you wouldn't have seen in the main channel. > >(7) PFDs and spray skirts may seem a pain in the rear, but they give you >extra pockets to put gorp and other stuff you want to keep handy. Safety >nuts, you won one. > >(8) The person who invented the deck dry bag should be nominated for >sainthood. >(9) I am going to have to paddle some more to come with #9. > > *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Up at 5 am, so as to catch the scheduled 8am arrival of the Queen Elizabeth II in Portland. At 7:15, it’s bright and sunny on the beach at East End, with a clear blue sky. Windy, 35 degrees, water 54 degrees. Thinking, it’s a good thing I’m here nice and early. The city of Portland garbage trucks are here; now I know why the city has a dock at East End, and what Peaks Island does with its garbage. Standing there debating – do I need gloves? I look up and see something black and white and big, just turning into the mouth of the shipping channel. Early! Throw myself into the kayak and paddle like mad the mile to Fort Gorges, an island at the head of the channel, to watch her come up. It’s a bit choppy, but fine. I recall, now, seeing the red letters “Small Craft Advisory” on the NDBC NWS forecast page. Pull up on the bar in front of Fort Gorges, take lots of pictures of the QE2, half a mile away. She’s a mighty ship, black and white, taller than everything else around including all of Portland. A red tugboat (fireboat?) accompanies her, spraying high plumes of water. Festive. Or perhaps that is a not-merely-decorative function? The QE2 anchors off Spring Point Ledge Light. I scan the way back. The wind is increasing steadily from the west, and now whitecaps are everywhere, not just here and there. My original plan, to kayak up to the big boat and say hello, has to be abandoned. I need to go back while I still can. I paddle back into a stiff breeze. The tide is with me, the wind against me. I keep my eyes on the lobster buoys in front of me, and am pleasantly surprised to find my progress is good, though it’s hard work into the 20 mph gusts. It’s a wet ride back – spray everywhere, waves smacking into the boat, washing over it. A little bit more exercise than I had in mind, but a great morning! (Then to work.) *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Dana, this was sooo cute. Could you ask for permission to pass this on to other paddlers? Sandy Kramer *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
OK, Here's mine. I have to economize so I have only 6 items. 6. My kayak has a rudder, too, and I enjoy using the rudder. When I had a motorcycle, I rode it 3.5 miles through Phoenix traffic without using the handlebars to steer, but no one criticized me for actually having handlebars. In fact a red faced policeman went so far as to encourage me to use handlebars in future even if I don't really need them. I think the same applies to kayaks. 5. I have both a canoe and a kayak, and furthermore I live in California. 4. I have never done whitewater kayaking or kayak surfing and have no interest in doing either. 3. My kids are better swimmers than I am. 2. I did not build my wood and glass kayak ... I didn't even buy it directly from the builder. 1. Though I will never ride a jetski I do enjoy riding in or driving almost any powerboat. I think driving a 38 foot salmon fishing boat through the Straight of Juan De Fuca was a gas. Renting a 6 HP aluminum boat in Glacier N.P. was also a gas. Even putting a little 12 volt trolling motor on my canoe is a, well, an electric gas. jerry. At 04:04 PM 10/07/1999 -0400, SKILLIANS_at_aol.com wrote: >10. My kayak has a rudder, and sometimes (gasp!) I use it. >9. My paddle is unfeathered. >8. I use big black rubber bungies every time I transport my kayak. >7. Sometimes I drive to the nearby lake - AND I DON''T USE A BOWLINE !!!! >6. My kayak is roto-molded plastic - not fiberglass, not kevlar, and not a >folding > model. >5. On today's early morning paddle (28 degrees) I wore absolutely no >neoprene. >4. I have never taken a dump in a plastic bag - and I never plan to. >3. Sometimes - maybe on the days I don't use a bowline - I don't wear a PFD. >2. Upon occasion, I have ridden in a powerboat, and I enjoyed it! >1. On a hot summer day, I think it might be fine to try a jetski. > >*************************************************************************** >PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not >to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission >Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net >Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net >Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ >*************************************************************************** > *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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