Andy Knapp's cycling perspective compels me to share some paddling fantasies. Like Andy, I was a cyclist ten years before I began sea kayaking. I was a wilderness backpacker for years before that. I remember cycling Norway and the Lofoten Islands in '92. Dashing 18 miles out of Boda on a beautiful, deserted road in the bright 3 a.m. morning sun to view the maelstrom. Mid-summer in the arctic is magic. Imagine paddling Norway's islands and fjords at mid-summer! I cycled the Ohland Islands as well that year and the south coast of Sweden. Riding the ferry into Stockholm, I marveled at the vast archipelago between Ohland and Stockholm. Sweden observes the "Queen's ribbon" as does New Zealand-- a place to camp above the high-tide line. It would be very useful to find a list of countries that observed that custom! Peloponesia (Greece), Fiordland (N.Z.), and Brittany (France) are some other places to which I want to return with my K-1. Doug Montgomery San Francisco *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
> From: ralph diaz <rdiaz_at_ix.netcom.com> > I wonder how many of you did something similar the first moment you got > your hands on a kayak? And, again, looking back to faraway places you > knew in pre-paddling days, which would you like to go back to with a > kayak? I first began kayaking about eight years ago and I'd say that it's the kayaking that has taken me to some wonderful places such as the Sea of Cortez, New Zealand, areas along the California Coast, and of course, my favorite... multi-day trips to the barrier islands along the Gulf of New Mexico coast. Kayaking has been a new way to see places that has convinced me to travel to certain destinations (such as some of the rivers in Texas I would never have otherwise seen). Before that, I didn't take much time out to travel other than to mountainous areas without much in the way of water (but great hiking). I wasn't looking for water in my pre-kayaking days. Nowadays, I find myself always looking for a "put-in" when I'm away from home without my kayak and crossing over a bridge of water or traveling near a shore. This could be a really interesting discussion. Thanks, Ralph :-) Cheers, Jackie *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
Living practically on the Hudson, we haven't really had to go out of our way to paddle in places that we've been. But we always find that it changes our perspective on the places. Especially for me, because I don't have a very good sense of direction, but when I've paddled someplace, I suddenly see the relationship of that place to other places, and it starts to come together in ways I hadn't even known that I was missing. If I could go back to someplace I've been and paddle there, it would be Hawaii. The color of the water, the coral reefs, the colorful fish - not to mention the breathtaking scenery - make it a must. I We only visited Maui and the Big Island - I understand that Kuaui and Lanai are even more beautiful. n fact, I hope to do that someday., although it wouldn't be possible to bring our Romanys, so we'd have to figure something out. (Ralph, do you know if it's possible to rent folding kayaks for an extended period of time? I don't think we could even consider that trip if we had to buy two mor kayaks. And I don't know about rentals there, especially travelling from island to island. Joan On Sat, 05 Feb 2000 15:57:14 -0800 ralph diaz <rdiaz_at_ix.netcom.com> writes: > Having come to sea kayaking later in life (age 48 or 49), I often look > back to places that I had been to in pre-paddling days and tried to > image what it would be like to kayak in them. The thought came up > recently when I replied to a post from our Argentine PaddleWiser, > Fernando López Arbarello, and I mentioned wanting to paddle portions > of > the Chilean coast, the Rio de la Plata near Buenos Aires as well as > Cuba, places I had been to in pre-kayaking days. > > I know a number of PaddleWisers are in the same boat, i.e. having > started paddling when older. If you could re-visit some of your > pre-paddling haunts again, only this time with a kayak, which would > they > be and why? > > I know the very first thing I did when I started sea kayaking was to > go > to _nearby places_ I had experienced only from the land. One were > the > lakes in Bear Mt-Harriman State Park not far from NYC. For decades > my > wife and I had hiked the many trails in the area. The closest we > got to > the water was skinny-dipping on a particularly hot day in what we > thought was a secluded spot...it wasn't! On getting a kayak our > first paddle was on one of the lakes, clothed of course! (we have a > local club called the Paddling Bares, which I have never had the > nerve > to join; maybe some one here has :-)). > > The next was on the Hudson. One particular spot was that little > island > I could see while hiking high on Breakneck Ridge, which overlooks the > Hudson just a bit north of West Point. It was Bannermann Island. My > wife and I learned a lot on that early paddling trip, mainly how wind > can stop you cold. I remember paddling against the wind and seeing > that > we were parallel to the same little tree for what seemed hours. > Luckily > we were in a folding kayak and were able to land at the closest RR > station and not have to exhaust ourselves fighting the wind all the > way > back to our original put-in; I don't think we could have anyway. > > My third paddle took me to the waters of Long Island Sound. As a > boy I > had worked many summers on Orchard Beach (in the northern Bronx) > selling > refreshments on the beach or being part of the beach cleanup crew. I > could see small and large islands out in the Sound, too far to swim > to > and longed to know what it would be like to visit them by boat. > Natch, > we kayaked out to them the first chance we got. > > I wonder how many of you did something similar the first moment you > got > your hands on a kayak? And, again, looking back to faraway places > you > knew in pre-paddling days, which would you like to go back to with a > kayak? > > ralph diaz > > > -- > ----------------------------------------------------------------------- > Ralph Diaz . . . Folding Kayaker newsletter > PO Box 0754, New York, NY 10024 > Tel: 212-724-5069; E-mail: rdiaz_at_ix.netcom.com > "Where's your sea kayak?"----"It's in the bag." > ----------------------------------------------------------------------- > > ************************************************************************* ** > 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/ > ************************************************************************* ** ________________________________________________________________ YOU'RE PAYING TOO MUCH FOR THE INTERNET! Juno now offers FREE Internet Access! Try it today - there's no risk! For your FREE software, visit: http://dl.www.juno.com/get/tagj. *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
volinjo_at_juno.com wrote: > (Ralph, do you know if it's possible to rent folding kayaks for an > extended period of time? I don't think we could even consider that trip > if we had to buy two mor kayaks. And I don't know about rentals there, > especially travelling from island to island. > You can rent folding kayaks from http://www.foldingkayak.com They rent a full range of Feathercrafts fully equipped with PFD, 4 piece paddle, sprayskirt, video etc. The rates seem reasonable to me and it is a good way for anyone who contemplates buying a Feathercraft but wants to see how well it travels and paddles to check out the boat in the real world. ralph -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Ralph Diaz . . . Folding Kayaker newsletter PO Box 0754, New York, NY 10024 Tel: 212-724-5069; E-mail: rdiaz_at_ix.netcom.com "Where's your sea kayak?"----"It's in the bag." ----------------------------------------------------------------------- *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
> volinjo_at_juno.com wrote: > > > (Ralph, do you know if it's possible to rent folding kayaks for an > > extended period of time? I don't think we could even consider that trip > > if we had to buy two mor kayaks. And I don't know about rentals there, > > especially travelling from island to island. > > Ralph wrote: > You can rent folding kayaks from http://www.foldingkayak.com > > They rent a full range of Feathercrafts fully equipped with PFD, 4 piece > paddle, sprayskirt, video etc. The rates seem reasonable to me and it > is a good way for anyone who contemplates buying a Feathercraft but > wants to see how well it travels and paddles to check out the boat in > the real world. > My personal experience tells me that this is the way to go. There are many kayak rentals on Kauai but they primarily rent sit-on-tops. A few have decked boats, but they are doubles. Also, many would only rent if you purchased a tour. So, the next time I go, I'll have a Feathercraft shipped over there. Debs *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
> -----Original Message----- > From: DMon707_at_aol.com [mailto:DMon707_at_aol.com] snip > Sweden observes the "Queen's ribbon" as > does New > Zealand-- a place to camp above the high-tide line. It would > be very useful > to find a list of countries that observed that custom! Southeast Alaska isn't exactly another country (almost though!<g>) but just about anywhere you go you can camp anywhere you can find a flat, semi-dry spot. Dave Seng Juneau, Alaska *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
>From: DMon707_at_aol.com I was a >wilderness backpacker for years before that. I remember cycling Norway and >the Lofoten Islands in '92. Dashing 18 miles out of Boda on a beautiful, >deserted road in the bright 3 a.m. morning sun to view the maelstrom. I have kayaked in the Lofotens, and I have to say, looking back, I'm just as glad we didn't kayak the Maelstrom:-) Philip Torrens N49°16' W123°06' *************************************************************************** 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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