----- Original Message ----- From: "Kevin Kenney" <kmkenney_at_worldnet.att.net> > Last but not least, it's great to know that at 36 I can hopefully look > forward to many more years of paddling to come..... Coming late to this sport doesn´t mean you won´t play it longer !. I know many argentine paddlers that are 60 or more. A friend of mine, we call "El Abuelo" (the Grandfather) is 74 and he spends the whole year seakayaking solo all along the country. It doesn´t matter which level of experience you have, paddling is a very forgiving sport that lets you improve with the years. So why not bring your memories alive and plan your next paddling holidays ??? I started rowing club boats when I was 18. When I discovered kayaks I discovered freedom. And when I discovered seakayaks I found my travelling dreams. Bs.As. is at the "Rio de La Plata", or the "Sweet Sea" as the first Spaniards named it (the one Ralph refers in his post). So my first dream was to cross this 60km wide river. As there were no paddling schools where to learn I needed 2 years to learn to roll. And after some training I did it. The kayak took me into the forests many times, the longer on a 1000 miles trip down the "Paraná River" and many more followed in mountain lakes, rivers and the sea, of course. Nowadays I don´t find the time to make long expeditions but I´m still planning. Cape Horn is a real goal, I think I´m ready for it. Last year I invited the BCU guys to join and co-organise a sea-kayak symposium in the FALKLANDS. They showed really very interested and we are working it out. I find amazing the idea to show the whole world that people from 2 nations formerly involved in a cruel world can friendly meet in the same battlefield to share their sport and passion ( I promise to tell you more about this ). But my most wonderful dream takes me further south .... ANTARCTICA .... what a marvellous dream. You may say I´m still young ( 33 ), that I have many years further. But I say you´re wrong. Age is not important. HEALTH is important, and, TIME, and ATTITUDE as well (and a few "bucks", of course). Look at my friend and his 74, with his cart to carry his kayak and his "pulley" apparel to rise it on steep beaches !!!. And things come together once again. Matt Broze talked about Verlen Kruger´s boats when replying my mail about kevlar. Well, there he is. I had the chance to meet Verlen Kruger and Valerie Fons here in Buenos Aires, during their journey from ALASKA to USHUAIA by canoe. I spent a few days with them and had a lot of conversation. He taught me that. He was 68 then and I think Valerie was 44. They were both strong and in good shape after 2 and a half years of non stop travelling. But both of them were plenty of youth. Best regards, keep paddling, and think friendly ! Fernando López Arbarello uktkayak_at_interar.com.ar Keep on dreaming, keep on planing, keep on "healthy", keep on paddling and travelling, keep on "YOUNG" !!! *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************Received on Mon Feb 07 2000 - 20:06:43 PST
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