Sorry if this isn't a "hard core" tech/info post, but a "sorta" mini-trip report, for those of you that like this stuff.. ******************************** For the last three months the Shadow has been residing atop the jeep so wherever I go -- bank, grocery, cleaners, etc. -- I get asked some damn fool and some not so damn fool questions about it. Little kids, guys and gals of all ages find it a conversation starter. "Is that a boat?" "How far/fast can you go in it?" "How much does a kayak cost?" "Is it tippy?" At first I was annoyed at being accosted on an almost daily basis, then shrugged it off as the price to be paid for not having to haul the boat out of the garage every day and strap it on. At the bank on Friday, in the parking lot, a young-ish (I later learn she's a well preserved 35) woman strikes up a conversation with me, telling me she has a kayak inherited from her late brother, would like to put it to use, but doesn't know the front end from the back; then laughs, snorts, and looks embarassed, at either the snort or not knowing the front from the back, or both, who knows? A real West Coastie airhead. For some reason I can't explain, I agree to meet her this morning, indicate the front from the back, and some basic instruction. Two minutes later I'm berating myself for having agreed to this, then think she probably won't show anyway. Oh gawd, a woman who snorts when she laughs. Today, at the agreed on time and place, Anne's there, with a beautiful red and white Dagger. I groan, but have to go through with it. I really didn't expect her to be there. Her brothers PFD was a bit of a loose fit, but we snugged it up some. Having sat in her garage for two years, I popped the hatches of her boat, filled the cockpit with water, and as we did some loosening up exercises and I showed her basic paddle holding and strokes, we found that the bulkheads didn't leak. I threw in a couple of flotation bags, just to be on the safe side. She's probably going to dump at some point, and I didn't feel like going kayak diving this morning. She was a bit loose in the cockpit, so I padded her hips with a paddlefloat and cockpit sponge. Adjusted the footpegs. The paddles a bit too long for her, but my spare fits her better. She follows all this with comprehension and I find that she's not as big an airhead as I thought. But, bubbly people tend to annoy me, as well as snorters. Probably not going to be one of my better mornings. Anne was a quick study and a couple of feet from the shore, I held her bow while she edged the boat to the point of capsize in a "J" lean, then braced and hip snapped back up. I quit holding her bow at some point during these exercises and she went over, came up sputtering, wide eyed, and gave me an accusing look. Then laughed, a mini-snort, "I know why you did that; I know where my point of no return is now". Anne pronounced herself comfortable with the boat and we headed out. I got her paddling with her torso, not just with her arms, and we got into some sweeps, sculls, and reverse strokes. At every new thing she learned, there would be a small laugh and snort of delight. Far from being annoyed at this, I found her buoyant spirit contagious. Even a jumping fish would produce this bark and the inevitable snort. At one point we pass two old guys wetting lines on the bank, almost daily harbor fixtures here, and I think of them as the brothers Grimm. "Hey guys" she yells, "getting any"? They grin and shake their heads and Anne goes into a laughing/snorting fit realizing the double connotation of what she just said. I find that I'm laughing with her, but I don't snort. Never could, though I'd be a great way to annoy people and envy thouse who can. Try as she might, Anne just can't take anything too seriously. After an hour or so's paddling, she gets into a fit of laughing and snorting for no apparant reason I wonder if she's on drugs but can't see any tell-tale signs of it. She finally manages to get out "how do you pee in one of these things?" She finds that immeasurably funny at being in this situation. "Just let it go" I yell, "we'll wash it out, back on shore". More laughing and snorting and she replies "ever piss in a pool when you were a kid or hit a warm spot, I've got a warm spot here!". We head back and once on shore, Anne looks a bit wobbly. "Wow, I didn't realize what a workout that was, I feel all strange around the middle". "Well let's get you loaded". "Geez, I haven't heard that since high school" and she goes into another fit of you know what. The boats back on the cars she says "Hey, it was really kind of you to meet me today and I know I'm a bit much to put up with, but I just can't help it. I just think everything is funny! I know I'm weird and annoy a lot of people but that's just the way it is. Thanks for being so patient with me". I reply "no problem" and wonder if that's honest or not. I really don't know at this point. Having agreed to go out again sometime, as I'm driving away, I'm just amazed how this woman has lived 35 years, presumably endured as much pain, suffering, trials and tribulations as the rest of us, and still retain that buoyant, almost childlike outlook. A remarkable human being. I'm grinning now, wondering what she *would* be like loaded with a couple of margaritas. That's one experiment I shudder to even contemplate. <Snort.> -Nick *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
Here I am, late on a Sunday night wroking from home, waiting for a process to finish, so I read the Snortin' & Scullin' trip report. What a great pick me up! It really had me smiling which takes alot late on a Sunday night. 8-) Ms. LafferSnorter sounds like a very interesting and refreshing person. So, are you giving her more lessons? 8-) Later.... Dan *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
Nick Von Robison wrote: > I get asked some damn > fool and some not so damn fool questions about it. A year or two ago when I on the ferry going to Newfoundland, getting ready to head out onto the ocean a very elderly couple saw my kayak and asked, "What is that thing?" When I replied that it was a kayak, a boat, they whispered together for a couple of minutes then the husband very solemnly advised me, "You should not go on the water with that. It is much too long and much too narrow for anyone to ever use." They then asked me if I had ever tried it before and were surprised to hear that I had indeed used it many times and had actually survived the experience. John *************************************************************************** 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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