RE: [Paddlewise] Kabloona in a Yellow Kayak

>From: "Dickson, Dana A." <dana.dickson_at_unisys.com>
Sandy,
>
>In addition to reading Kabloona, look for "Paddle to the Arctic, by Don
>Starkell.  Victoria and Don paddled together for part of each of their
>journeys.  The contrast in their stories is amazing.  They may have been on
>the same trip but they were on different planets.
>
>Dana

Years ago, my then paddling buddy Mark, and I, met Don at an outdoor show a 
couple of years where he was promoting and looking for sponsors for his 
upcoming Arctic trip, which was raising money for a charity (children's 
cancer, I think). We were there doing rolls, paddle float rescues, bow 
rescues, and other stunts in a pool to entertain the crowds (there must not 
have been any performing seals available:-)
As we chatted to him between shows, we learned that he could neither roll 
nor perform a paddle-float rescue. We offered to take him out on the local 
waters to show him either a roll or a re-entry; he turned us down because 
"he was not going to capsize."
Three days into his first trip, his Puffin overturned under the weight of 
canned goods on the deck; Don was lucky to make it to a reef. Those "get out 
of the boat and swim it through the surf" techniques that worked for his 
Paddle to The Amazon didn't fair so well in the Arctic.

Somewhere in Don's book, I believe there is a scene which describes him iced 
in at the end of one paddling season, and reluctantly but nobly deciding 
that he must step into the waiting plane rather than try to make the last 
twelve miles or so to Inuvik. I've talked to the pilot of that plane, and 
the impression I was left with was of a half-frozen, gibbering figure trying 
to scrabble back to his kayak, being man-handled into the plane by a local 
cop.

I've heard Don interviewed on radio, and if you didn't know the background, 
you'd just find him a charmingly eccentric character, if a rather driven 
one. Which would be fine, if he had only ever put his own life at risk.

On the upside, Victoria is a delightful character, full of energy and 
wonder, friendly and outgoing, with merry blue eyes. She's got some charming 
quirks too - she carried henna hairdye and mascara in her boat, though she 
might not see another soul for days on end. Despite what some might see as 
these "Barbie Doll" touches, she is a better, er, man with a paddle than I; 
she covered fifty mile days almost routinely. Perhaps most inspiringly, she 
did not take up paddling until her fourth decade, showing it's never too 
late to pursue your dreams.


Philip Torrens
N49°16' W123°06'

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