> Hi Rick, Thanks for the links. I have contributed some routes to kayakguide (Texas ones) but didn't know about the clubkayak.com site. I spent a few days at Caya Costa and brought my canoe on the ferry. I paddled out from the boat dock and around to the mangrove channel. But after reaching the beach and portaging over to the water, I found the surf too high to let me launch and had to retrace my route back. I'm planning to come back with my kayak. When I was there- about 3 or 4 years ago, there was talk of a canoe trail that led down to Caya Costa and to Ding Darling and a few other places. Do you or anyone else on the list know if that is still in the works? As to clubs - I belong to 3 and paddle with organized groups, with invited friends or alone. But I have met some of my best friends through clubs. And I also use a list to tell people I plan to paddle and invite them along. I paddle a MayanSeas Performa - a glass kayak and always paddle with 2 or three other people if there is any chance that I will get in big waves. So I would suggest using clubs to find compatible people and also using various lists. I prefer to paddle with no more than 8 people on camping trips on on big water. I occasionally take up to 20 people on a trip. Last year I went to one event where we had about 80 people but I only paddled with about 20 of them as there were routes of different difficulty and length from the state park used as a base. So I would advise joining one or more clubs just to learn more and have a chance to interact with possible paddling mates. Two clubs I belong to also manage lists for pickup paddling. If you are the one doing the inviting, you get to determine the group size. When I travel, I often look up local clubs and see if I can contact someone there. Paddlewise has also served as a way to contact people where I am going and find local paddling buddies. And all kayakers are really nice people. :) Marilyn Kircus Houston, TX > > > Date: Thu, 3 Jan 2002 18:11:53 -0500 > From: "Westfl" <westfl_at_home.com> > Subject: [Paddlewise] first post to the list > > Hi, > > I recently signed up and wanted to introduce myself. I'm Rick Griffin from > Nokomis Fl. which is just south of Sarasota Fl. > I'm still kind of new to this sport. I've owned a kayak (Ocean Kayak Scupper > Pro, sit on top) since last May and I've been on about 15 trips. The longest > one was a day trip at Cayo Costa State Park shown at this web site > http://www.clubkayak.com/cfkt/trips/trip11.html > > A couple of weeks ago I bought a sit inside kayak made by Wilderness Systems > called Cape Lookout 15.5 because the water temp around here this time of > year is a tad to cold for my sit on top boat. > > Anyway, I noticed in the last digest sent out that there is someone from > Sarasota on the list. Hi Neighbor! I'm just curious to know how many folks > on the list are from the Sarasota area. What I'm leading up to is. I sure > would like to find a kayak buddy or buddies from around this area. I know > there are clubs but I don't think I would enjoy a paddle with lots of folks, > I would rather keep it small, less chaos that way. :-) I really love black > water rivers and streams, reminds me of back home in the Okefenokee Swamp. > So if any one is interested in getting together for a paddle, I would like > to hear from you. I work a full time job with a rotating shift but every six > weeks I get a 3 and a 5 day off stretch. In fact my next 5 days off starts > on January 9. > > BTW, really nice site at http://www.kayakguide.com/ I'm looking forward to > paddling some of those routes listed. > > Regards to all, > > Rick > > > > > > > > > > > > *************************************************************************** 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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