On Tue, 13 Mar 2001 19:26:12 -0800, perry chamberlain wrote: > >We should come up with a great one for paddling. >Lets go every one, think up some great T-shirts for this line of >thinking. People being incredibly stupid when it comes to paddling >safety. The kind of stuff, that when you see it, it makes the inside >of your skull itch and make you want to run for your camera, to prove >it to your friends. > Hello Perry, While I'm thinking about a T-shirt, I'll mention a nice little scene I once had to pleasure to witness... During my first summer of paddling, I worked for a kayak rental shop (a great way to have 24/7 access to boaties, by the way!). I really enjoyed introducing paddling to others as I learned about paddling myself. Many couples who had never paddled before, or had very limited experience came by on hot summer days. There was a particular couple that I, and many others, will never forget... As they were coming back from a paddle, the woman came in first, and gracefully disembarked using the paddle behind the cockpit method. After she was standing on the dock, her boyfriend was coming in for his landing. He had a plan. He was going to impress his girlfriend - and the 50 other people standing around. As his boat slid up to the dock, he apparently intended to stand up and simply step onto the dock - with the boat still moving. One very smooth dude indeed. I'm sure you can imagine the result of this technique. Everyone there - especially his girlfriend - could not contain their glee, and for several minutes, we were all rolling on the ground laughing. It was certainly very lucky of him not to have hit his head on the dock as he disappeared into the murky depths. Aside from that potentially tragic outcome - which happily didn't occur - the moment was priceless. Perhaps I'll take this opportunity to mention one of my own particularly graceful acts that same summer... I was standing on the dock facing a group of newbie paddlers (with my back to the end of the dock). I was demonstrating a reverse paddle stroke, and didn't realize that I was ever so slightly stepping backward as I demonstrated. I disappeared in mid-sentence. Very refreshing for me on that hot day, and very entertaining indeed for my "students". :-) Melissa *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Wed Mar 14 2001 - 00:22:34 PST
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