Re: [Paddlewise] Dancing in a Double

Matt Broze wrote:
> 
> Ralph wrote:
> >>I see some couples who I know love each other and who share a passion
> for seakayaking but who are in singles.  While I know singles offer
> their own reward, I am saddened because I know that in not having a
> double in their fleet they are missing some opportunities to regenerate
> love and reaffirm the spirit of sharing that underlies it.<<

> I see this very differently. It is my view that the couples who do best in a
> double are the ones who have a captain/crew relationship where one person
> makes all the decisions and the other always goes along. Communicating with
> your partner is also much more difficult in the fore and aft position of a
> double rather than with a side by side position (where you can turn to face
> each other) than is possible paddling two singles. And you don't hate the
> bow paddler for throwing water back in your face with their paddle with
> every other stroke or for stopping and starting all the time making it hard
> to keep your paddle in sync with theirs. I guess I'd rather have a partner
> than a master or a slave.
> I got stuck in a double for three weeks once; how I ached for a single.
> I realized why they were called "divorce machines" after that. Before I
> thought it was just a joke.

Owwww!  Matt, you are a bigger curmudgeon than I am!

My SO and I paddle a double now and then (mostly on multi-day trips in cool
places), and we also paddle singles (mostly on day trips).  We like both ways,
but there is a dimension to the double which is sort of like Ralph's
description, and not much like Matt's.  I liken it to ballroom dancing, in
which the partners move their bodies and feet in tune together, one "leading,"
to be sure, but both mutually and subtly feeding cues to each other.  We also
enjoy sharing food and conversation in the double.  For us, the double allows
more intimacy, and we can talk in lower tones than if we are in separate
singles.

Sure enough, our paddles clack sometimes when the stern stroker (me,
invariably) does not pay attention to the varying cadence of the bow paddler. 
I regard that as my fault, mainly, and always apologize for the error.  In
turn, the rudder guy (me) sometimes sends the bow paddler where she does not
want to go.  She retaliates by directing more of her paddlesplash at my face
than usual!!  But, these elements are just spice in the pudding, so to speak. 
We are both gregarious, and both a little headstrong, two qualities which work
in opposition in a double, to some extent.  But, it makes the double
interesting.

And, yes, I did divorce the woman I first paddled a double with some 30 years
ago, but the incompatibility in the canoe was a symptom of a larger
incompatibility in our lives.  Even though she and I are friends yet today, we
never could ballroom dance together successfully.  Maybe that should be the
test of whether couples should share a double kayak!

Matt, do you dance?  <g>

-- 
Dave Kruger
Astoria, OR
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