In a message dated 3/14/01 2:20:27 PM, owner-paddlewise_at_paddlewise.net writes: << When I was a kid we used go to a campground/marina in the Sacramento/San Joaquin river delta. Next to the two lane boat ramp they had built some bleachers where one could watch people load their power boats after a long day of drinking beer. It was highly entertaining. >> Reminds me of when they still did drivers' tests on real streets. My dad and I were waiting for my husband to take his written test. We were sitting on a stoop along the road where the parallel parking tests were going on. There was a 12' wide sidewalk with No Parking signs on the wall. We watched as one person managed to jump the curb and take a sign down! The next person jumped the curb and got the two passanger-side wheels up on the curb before the tester exited the car "in a hurry." We laughed until we cried. These were both students of the local driving school! To keep this OT, the most creative exits I've seen have been Woody's. The bigger the audience of kids, the more creative he 'was' (he has lost some creativity with experience). My favorite was just for me, though. There was a boat wake of some force and he wanted to see if he could get in with the wake slapping around. He got astride the boat, which then it bucked. The next thing I could see was his feet sticking up in the air with the paddle sinking into the surf. I guess you had to be there but I was flattered that he'd do such a performance just for me 8^) I'd love to hear some of the more "interesting" stories others have. I get a kick out of seeing that others can embarrass themselves as well as I can. Joan Spinner *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
----- Original Message ----- From: <JSpinner_at_aol.com> > I'd love to hear some of the more "interesting" stories others have. I > get a kick out of seeing that others can embarrass themselves as well as I > can. It was about 10 years ago and I was organizing a mini-symposium for folding kayaks on a small pond in Connecticut that leads to Long Island Sound. A fellow offered using his house and property for the event and I went to check it out for feasibility (I only expect a couple of dozen people for the eventual event, so I didn't need much really). He suggested we go paddling and try out his small dock's suitablilty for getting boats into the water for the event. It was a little larger than a door or two nailed together and totally free floating, i.e. not secured by posts, just lines to the shore. I made my Klepper single on land, dropped it into the water. Just to show him the stability of the Klepper, I decided to just step into it from the dock, something that I have done quite easily from other docks...the boat is that stable. But I hadn't counted on that old principle in physics that "for every action there is a reaction." As I stepped off the dock, my trailing foot pushed the dock away. I lost my balance. My other foot planted itself firmly into the boat but my body was now in full flight and I went clear over the boat and into the drink on the other side. There I was underwater trying to figure out what had happened and not wanting to surface out of sheer embarassment. When I finally came up and pulled myself back on to the dock, the fellow asked "Ralph, is that how you usually launch?" ralph diaz -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Ralph Diaz . . . Folding Kayaker newsletter PO Box 0754, New York, NY 10024 Tel: 212-724-5069; E-mail: rdiaz_at_ix.netcom.com "Where's your sea kayak?"----"It's in the bag." ----------------------------------------------------------------------- *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
Just for the fun of it: Some time ago (in summer) I took my brother Menno and his wifer Roberta for a day of paddling in the Biesbosch, a dutch river delta. Menno and Roberta were paddling a double, foldable Pouch, about 1 meter wide. Roberta was the first to go in. We passed under a fallen tree. There was space enough, all you had to do was duck, but Roberta wasn't sure about that. She preferred getting out of the boat and wading under the tree. According to her there was only 30 centimeters of water. I didn't mention there was also 70 centimeters of mud: If I had said that, we never would have passed the tree. So Roberta took off her shoes, pulled her trousers up to her knees, and went down to her armpits. Strike one! Menno was next, while trying to enter the boat from a muddy shore. The boat drifted away while he was getting in. He ended up with his but in the mud, his back and head leaning against the shore, his feet in the boat. Although he was completely soaked and covered with mud, he managed to keep his feet dry! ---------------------------------------------- When paddling with my club in Holland, I usually get out of my boat as fast as possible, so I can get my photo camera and get ready to shoot the others getting out of their boats. Not only does it get great shots, it is also an excellent way to force others to improve their entries and exits. It seems the embaressment of being photographed while making a mistake is far worse then having to swim, even in the middle of winter. Funny race, Mankind... Niels. *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
I paddle a canoe, not a kayak, but unplanned swims are not exclusivly a kayak thing. I was on my favorite river, the Mullica, which is narrw, winding and has trees down that block the entire river. The tree was an old cedar with the remnants of some branches weathered off in the form of short spikes. I was in a narrow solo canoe with camping gear so ducking down and "limboing" the log was out. The boat was going under, but I had to go over. I got the boat half way under and climbed over the log. As I got back into the boat the hem of my tennis skirt snagged on one of the branch remnants. I lost my balance and fell backwards, not quite into the canoe. My butt hit the gunwale and the boat slid right out from under me. I was partly in the water hanging by the skirt with the waistband halfway up my ribcage and my PFD shoved up so the zipper was in front of my face. Before I could react, the buttons gave out and I dropped the last few inches into the current. The only injury, other than a bruised butt, was to my dignity. ===== Sincerly Bev Get email at your own domain with Yahoo! Mail. http://personal.mail.yahoo.com/ *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
> I paddle a canoe, not a kayak, but unplanned swims are > not exclusivly a kayak thing. > > I was on my favorite river, the Mullica, which is > narrw, winding and has trees down that block the > entire river. >As I got back into the boat the hem of my tennis > skirt snagged on one of the branch remnants. -------- Don't feel too bad. I've seen that on PB rivers more often that you'd thing. Of course, it's usually the newbies on a crowded river such as the Wading. But on the Mullica, a paddler with a sea kayak managed to get the boat end pinned across the river just past a bend. Yep, the next boat rode over it, turning it over and both paddlers were in the water. I came to grief once using a whitewater canoe on that river -- not a bad choice usually since the upper part twists and turns so much. The others were sliding easily under a riverwide log; but not me. I forgot that I had much more freeboard. I slid under and one gunwale contacted the log. The current very ceremoniously rolled me over into the water..... Beyond paddling, my main problem is that my trouser pockets are the exact same height as doorknobs... Joe P. *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
Time to fess up and join the ranks of the "graceful". Many years ago, my wife and I went for an early fall paddle on the Connetquot River, launching from the dock at Dowling College. This is a beautiful setting as Dowling College in a previous life was the Vanderbuilt estate and the dock there is great because it is used by the skulling team. I guess it is about a foot or so off the water. BTW, there were lots of people around because it was some sort of "open house" weekend. Well I helped my wife get in her boat and when, it was my turn, she suggested that I "seal launch". At that time I was paddling a plastic boat with a small, fixed skeg that didn't look like it would get in the way. (You can see this coming, right?) Well I launched perpendicular to the edge of the dock and the boat slid slowly into the water until the skeg struck the edge of the dock and I stopped momentarily. I then rotated around the long axis of the boat and did a "half roll'. In the end I wet exited, got back up on the dock, emptied out the boat and entered the boat the usual way and was off. I had drawn quite a crowd and the worst part was assuring all those who rushed over to save me that I was quite all right and really did know what I was doing. There's a lesson here somewhere........ Bill Leonhardt :-) *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
----- Original Message ----- From: "Bill Leonhardt" <WJLeonhardt_at_bnl.gov> > Well I helped my wife get in her boat and when, it was my turn, she > suggested that I "seal launch". At that time I was paddling a plastic boat > with a small, fixed skeg that didn't look like it would get in the way. > (You can see this coming, right) > There's a lesson here somewhere........ Yes. Don't listen to Pat. I have at times detected a sly smile on her face. Bill, I think she set you up. :-) ralph diaz *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
> From: "ralph diaz" <rdiaz_at_ix.netcom.com> > > There's a lesson here somewhere........ > > Yes. Don't listen to Pat. I have at times detected a sly smile on her > face. Bill, I think she set you up. :-) > > ralph diaz In which case we owe her a big thanks 'cause that's one of the funniest stories on an unplanned exit I've read :-) Sorry, Bill :-))))) Of course, I've *never* had any embarassing exits.... Cheers, Jackie (who's having to move the monitor further away to accommodate her growing nose...) *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
Patty - he's on to us... Joan .... > > Yes. Don't listen to Pat. I have at times detected a sly smile on > her > face. Bill, I think she set you up. :-) > > ralph diaz > > *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
There we wuz (Marinell Davis, Elaine Harmon, Ken Zinniger) on the beautiful Wild and Scenic Loxahatchee River in Florida and some poor kid was hollering because she was petrified in the family canoe. I'm in this itty-bitty (9') Kiwi Kayak Lobo and I'm going to show her that this is really fun, aren't I? Suddenly this branch appears and I leaned left. Over and out! That REALLY showed the little girl how "nothing" can happen to you. sandy kramer who is digging through hundreds of messages trying to catch up *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
No wet exit, but embarassment enough in this little tale. Unlike some of my tales, this one actually happened. I was paddling with my friend Rob through the canals of Utrecht, my home town in the Netherlands. The sun was already down, and in the twilight we paddled a small, shallow canal, just outside the city, between a highway and a graveyard. I had overlooked a branch of a tree hanging over the water. I felt it touching my face. I heard a "thok" on the rear deck, maybe a little splash, and noticed my eyesight had become blurry. My glasses were gone! The water was shallow enough to wade in, so I took off my pants, got out of the boat (In an OldTown Loon this is possible!) and tried with my toes to find my glasses in 30 centimeters of mud and garbage on the bottom. No luck, of course not, but I just had to try. When I gave up I was cold to the bone and it was completely dark. Rob brought me home, where I started looking for my spare glasses. First thing I found was a pair of prescription-sunglasses, that lead me to my diving mask, that in turn gave enough eyesight to find something decent. In my mind, I had written off my titanium frame, with double-anti-reflection, scratch-resistant, extra-light glasses. I was already thinking of what kind of glasses to buy next, where to go, what insurance to bill... But no. I knew it was hopeless, but I felt I had done not enough to retrieve my beloved glasses. I went back the next day, in full daylight. I did not own a wetsuit then, so I dressed in fleece. I felt awkward, in full view of a highway, swimming fully dressed 10 meters from a graveyard. I promised myself not to take any skulls or bones that I might encounter and prayed nobody would stop to ask what I was doing. I found a tree that could have been the one: It was hard to say, since the night before things had been too dark and blurry to actually see any details. While smoking a last sigarette I decided to start looking in the most shallow spot, downstream of the tree. I went in, found the glasses in about 10 seconds, saved my victory-dance for later at home and left the site of this embarressment as fast as possible. These days, I tether my glasses. Niels. *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
Great story....and amazing luck. Last year we were doing a pool session, and I asked my husband to hang on to my glasses while I practiced rolling, using a dive mask. He hung them around his neck, with the "keepers" that I always have on my glasses. Then after I finished practicing, he practiced a few - both of us forgetting that he had my glasses around his neck. When we got out of the pool, I took my glasses back, and realized that I couldn't see out of one eye. Turned out there was no lens on that side - the frame had creacked, and the lens ad fallen out, and was somewhere on the bottom of the pool. Bob got into the water, and found the lens first try. About a week later, at another pool session, one of the women lost an earring in the pool - just a tiny stud. Bob walked around the outside of the pool, looked in, and then went right to it. Good eyes. He also lost his glasses one time, when we were practicing in a nearby creek. The kayak company that we travel with uses that creek as its home base, but that evening it was just the two of us. Anyhow, it's pretty murky, and when I reached into the water to try to grab his glasses as they went down, I couldn't even see my hand, much less the glasses. He also lost his hat on that trip. The following week we were out with the kayak company, and happened to tell that story. Turns out that the next day there had been a trip from that spot, and they had found both the hat and the glasses, so he got both of them back. But your finding your glasses a day later when you weren't even sure you were in the right place, beats all. Joan On Tue, 3 Apr 2001 07:38:18 -0400 "Blaauw, Niels" <nblaauw_at_foxboro.com> writes: > No wet exit, but embarassment enough in this little tale. Unlike some > of my > tales, this one actually happened. > > I was paddling with my friend Rob through the canals of Utrecht, my > home > town in the Netherlands. The sun was already down, and in the > twilight we > paddled a small, shallow canal, just outside the city, between a > highway and > a graveyard. I had overlooked a branch of a tree hanging over the > water. I > felt it touching my face. I heard a "thok" on the rear deck, maybe a > little > splash, and noticed my eyesight had become blurry. My glasses were > gone! > > The water was shallow enough to wade in, so I took off my pants, got > out of > the boat (In an OldTown Loon this is possible!) and tried with my > toes to > find my glasses in 30 centimeters of mud and garbage on the bottom. > No luck, > of course not, but I just had to try. When I gave up I was cold to > the bone > and it was completely dark. Rob brought me home, where I started > looking for > my spare glasses. First thing I found was a pair of > prescription-sunglasses, > that lead me to my diving mask, that in turn gave enough eyesight to > find > something decent. In my mind, I had written off my titanium frame, > with > double-anti-reflection, scratch-resistant, extra-light glasses. I > was > already thinking of what kind of glasses to buy next, where to go, > what > insurance to bill... > > But no. I knew it was hopeless, but I felt I had done not enough to > retrieve > my beloved glasses. I went back the next day, in full daylight. I > did not > own a wetsuit then, so I dressed in fleece. I felt awkward, in full > view of > a highway, swimming fully dressed 10 meters from a graveyard. I > promised > myself not to take any skulls or bones that I might encounter and > prayed > nobody would stop to ask what I was doing. I found a tree that could > have > been the one: It was hard to say, since the night before things had > been too > dark and blurry to actually see any details. While smoking a last > sigarette > I decided to start looking in the most shallow spot, downstream of > the tree. > I went in, found the glasses in about 10 seconds, saved my > victory-dance for > later at home and left the site of this embarressment as fast as > possible. > > These days, I tether my glasses. > > Niels. > ************************************************************************* ** > 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/ > ************************************************************************* ** *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
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