[Paddlewise] An introduction

The first time I experienced kayaking was with my father in his
inflatable.  It was essentially a rubber boat with a kayak shape to it. 
I was around 8-10 years old then.  I thought that what made a kayak
different than a rowboat was that the oars were stuck together, as
opposed two having to work with two pieces.  It might have tracked like
a barge, but I still cheered my dad on as he paddled furiously to his
destination.  I still remember, though, the times when he wasn't pissed
about getting blown off course, the serenity of being on the water.

My parents were divorced when I was ten and I moved in with my
stepfather.  My stepfather as it turned out, was an "old salt," and
enthusiastic about boats.  He had sailed across the Pacific Ocean in a
sailboat he designed himself.  The sailboat was a junk rig without
stays, the fully battened sails gave it the name "Batwing."  He had sold
his boat when his grandfather died when he was in Hong Kong, and he came
to Seattle where he got his masters degree and met my mother.  Without a
serious sailing craft, he was probably lonely.  He initially bought a
Pacific Water Sports Sea Otter, so he could go look at the sailboats on
Lake Union and other places. When he married my mom, he sold the Sea
Otter, and bought a Sissutl double and an Aquaterra Spectrum, a blue
roto-molded single.  On his honeymoon with my mother, they paddled
around the islands north of Orcas island, in the San Juans.

When my wife (then girlfriend) was living with me in Seattle two years
ago, I had convinced her to get a good cycle and come cycling with me. 
She couldn't keep up with me and didn't enjoy being in traffic and so we
gave cycling.  We did go on hikes probably every other weekend, but it
was turning to fall.  With the snow level dropping and the weather like
it was, I had the idea to take her paddling in my stepfather's Sissutl.

With her being 5' tall, she was practically paddling in the bathtub. 
But still, she could sit in the front and enjoy the scenery, trimming
the boat while I paddled and steered.  We went to Lake Union or Lake
Washington and stayed out until it turned dark.  Coming home from a five
hour paddle was exhausting, mainly because of all the arguing we did.  I
taught her how to properly do a forward stroke so she would be using her
back muscles and torso and not tire.  There wasn't much to teach
otherwise about leaning, turning, etc.

After about ten times out, kayaking became something she and I wanted to
learn.  I borrowed a stack of books about sea kayaking from my
stepfather.  Derek Hutchinson had a good introduction.  I read John
Dowd's book about twice over.  I read about expedition kayaking the
first time with wonder:  I had read some of my stepfather's books on
sailing, and the sailors seemed to be in life threatening danger more
than a few times in a solid sailing craft.  My stepfather had a few
close calls himself.  John Dowd seemed sadistic and suicidal in
comparison, paddling such a small boat in rough seas.  But, the second
time I felt like, "yeah, I can do that too."  It wasn't hard to imagine,
with proper preparation, seeing myself spending a few weeks in a kayak.

Some people might think that a beginner like myself might go off and get
killed right away, but instead I decided first I ought to do some more
reading.  I got the book "Deep Trouble" as well as a stack of Sea
Kayaker Magazines full of horror stories.  I had also heard enough times
from my stepfather that cold water kills and that currents and tide rips
ruin a kayaker's day, to heed any and all warnings.  I started to
imagine the San Juan Islands were full of suicidal kayakers and rescue
helicopters.

Currently, my wife and I are looking to get single kayaks so that we can
practice our skills.  I got the impression folding kayaks were very
convenient for people who like to travel and kayak.  Additionally,
having been in a Klepper and seeing them in Sea Kayaker magazine a few
times in a travel article (though, I thought, why don't they do more
reviews of them?) made me want to get my own.  I fantasized about all
the wonderful places I can travel to, and me with my kayak on the
airplane to experience them with.

At the West Coast Sea Kayak Symposium, I did find out that, sure enough
John Dowd was just an Average Joe, with enough common sense and respect
for the sea that he could experience the world by kayak; that I too
could gain skills and build knowledge and decide when I was ready to do
something I wanted to do, I could do it.

- Elias

(I meant to say John Dowd was just an Average Joe, in the sense that his
success was a product of his will and common sense, not some physical or
mental talent that the average person lacks.)

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