[Paddlewise] How far is average for a Rec boat...

    I'm curious, my girlfriend and I went in our Pungo's today and paddled
our butts off--we covered several coves in the south river and could
probably have done twice as many before blowing all of our energy.  My
question to you experienced paddlers is, how far do you often go when you
are out for a casual (or even serious) paddling session?

I have tried many different boats of different lengths and I totally love my
speedy little Pungo.  I'm curious why kinds of ranges I could expect to find
touring folks doing.  Usually when I'm out I paddle anywhere between two and
four hours pretty much non-stop.  Maybe I'll take a break to smell the sea
air, but  mostly I'm moving.  I tend to alternate between periods of
race-like near vertical stroke where I just want to power my way to my next
way point and moderate angle casual strokes to catch my breath and relax a
bit.

When you folks paddle for long distances how do you determine your stroke
for the water conditions.  Do you tend to always travel at the same stroke
rate--your stroke rate--or do you vary based on water, wind, or time table?

My immediate goal for the next two months will be to paddle my way along the
South River's (in Maryland) shoreline.  Starting at the river's mouth (along
one side) all the way back, around, then back out on the other side,
returning to the mouse of the river.  I hope to visit all
off-shoots/creeks/etc until I cover every last piece of shore line.  Once
I've done that in one sitting then I'll move on to the other rivers until
I've paddled them all--not in a row or anything.  Then once I've done the
South River, Spa Creek, The Magothy, The Severn, and the Patuxient rivers,
I'll try a trip that starts in one location taking me from the mouth to the
very back of each river, then out and over to the next.

Do you think this is too advantageous of a goal for a single person with a
Pungo, or should I be able to do this easily.  I need a goal that would make
everyone's eye brows perk.

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