Re: [Paddlewise] Get together ?? and/or Join Together By CommonInterests

Dave:
I agree with everything you have written.  I would like to add that we 
should realize that just as in backpacking/climbing and other "adventure" 
sports that we can and should expect larger numbers of people 
participating.  Given the cost and personal commitment required to sea 
kayak, I don't believe that we will become as crowded as backpacking, however.

Educating participants in sea kayaking to "Leave No Trace" should be a 
priority.  I believe that sports fishing and commercial guide services need 
the same education and have the potential of far more immediate impact on 
our environment than the number of individual sea kayakers out there.

Crowded can also be a very subjective perception.  For some - one more is 
one way to many.

Inviting others into the sport.  If what I hear about CKF is true, it was 
founded by one of the owners of a local kayak shop.  I think that most shop 
owners, as would equipment manufacturers, have a vested interest in 
attracting the largest possible participation.
Conflicted?

At 09:21 PM 4/29/2000 -0700, Dave Kruger wrote:
>CA Kayaker wrote:
> >
> > [snip] Having
> > begun paddling in Florida and now living on the West Coast I can tell you
> > that the clubs and/or paddlers I have encountered tend to be far more
> > independent and less structured as a group than what one would expect.  In
> > comparison to the Sierra Club, Mountaineers or other outdoor groups
> > paddlers just don't seem to socialize or unify in the same manner. [snip]
>
>Could be several reasons for the difference between backpacking/climbing clubs
>and paddling clubs.  One is that backpacking was then (several years ago, for
>most of us), and paddling is now.  Nowadays, seems like more people are
>conscious of "overcrowding" issues and many are a little possessive of their
>paddling privacy.  Another is that paddling may be more conducive to smaller,
>more intimate groups.  Seems like I do outdoor stuff with smaller groups now
>than I did 25 years ago, as a climber/backpacker.
>
>Another difference is that hiking/climbing, it may be easier to find your own
>little privacy niche, while paddling it is tougher.
>
>I know as a hiker, I used to relish dosing out off-trail routes that no one
>(or, few, anyway) had done, and that route-finding was more problematic.
>Route-finding on the water is superficially easier, but more insidious -- the
>hazards are often transient and less predictable.
>
> > I believe a more active club structure would have a positive impact on the
> > paddling community at large and provide an excellent venue for people to
> > enter the sport of sea kayaking in a safer way, gain experience and skill
> > and generally grow as a paddler and person.
>
>Well, this raises the question of "how many" people we want to invite into the
>paddling realm and "whether" we want more.  I suspect more folks today 
>(than in
>the mid-70's) are protective of their paddling fief.  I have honestly mixed
>feelings about it.  I like sharing fun times with friends and acquaintances,
>but would find some of the places I like ruined if they get discovered by many
>others.  I can't have it both ways, and that is a quandry for me.
>
>An example: in the latest SK mag, there is a nice chatty piece about a "new"
>area in Burma, which the writer says is "undiscovered," and which he likes for
>that reason.  Well, duh, what does he suppose the effect of publishing his
>article will be?
>
>Hubris, hubris!  Anybody recall what sea kayaking around Loreto (Sea of 
>Cortez)
>was like before it got overrun?  Anybody concerned about that happening on
>their home paddling area?
>
>Something to think about if you are considering setting up a club and using it
>to entice others into the sport.  (Note:  I recognize there are many benefits
>to a club, and that most folks do not form a club for the **purpose** of
>enticing lots of others into paddling.  The increase in paddlers is mainly a
>side effect of forming a club.)
>
>--
>Dave Kruger
>Astoria, OR
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