The question of how many kayakers are out there is interesting but probably unsolvable. I belong to a canoe and kayak club in Illinois that consists of about 110 members, but on trip after trip the same much smaller group shows up. About 10 people are the real core of the club and about 20 more of us show up with some frequency. Most of the others I have never seen in three years membership. About three quarters of those I have met are canoe people rather than kayakers. So we have a club with 110 nominal membership, but I only know of about eight kayakers among them. Maybe there are more. Then what is a kayaker? I am a fat man pushing 60 years of age and definitely a day tripper. I use a recreational Old Town kayak, thirteen and a half feet long, that I have modified in various ways, such as adding a bulkhead, a float bag, and entirely new seating. Sea Kayaks just do not cut it on many Illinois rivers and creeks. There are waterways I visit regularly that are narrower than sea kayaks are long--and some of them narrower than my boat is long! So, am I a kayaker? If so, certainly a marginal one by the standards of many of the people in this discussion group--but I surely did enjoy the fast flowing twelve mile run down the North Fork of the Vermillion River last Saturday. Mac *************************************************************************** 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 Tue May 07 2002 - 05:18:21 PDT
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