----- Original Message ----- From: "Doug Lloyd" <dalloyd_at_telus.net> > I was thinking today about all this talk of composite vs plastic vs > aluminium vs biofusionnewfangledwhatever. My mind was draw back to an old > man I once bumped into off Vargas Island about 17 years ago. There was a > good sea running that day and a cool wind whistled over the whitecaps. The > sky was typically bleak. I pulled alongside, bemused by the somewhat faded > canvas of this old guy's Klepper and the brownish brass of the once-bright > ferrule. I though _I_was the only one out there that day on a boisterous > sea. We exchanged itineraries and experiences as we bobbled around. He'd > been paddling the coast, in season and out, for decades. SNIPPED > I don't know what all this means. It just seemed like an appropriate > reflection. What it means is that while there are certainly orthodox ways of paddling and perscribed gear, etc. this is not the only way of meeting the challenges. That guy's experience with his old faded Klepper, clothing, etc. worked well for him. Underlying it all for him, is/was extensive knowledge of the sea and how his boat could safely interact with it. He was not being suicidal (any more than you are), he had vast experience to keep himself upright and to handle sea conditions on that coast and those waters. You met him around 1985 and he had probably been paddling solo with that boat for at least 20 years judging by the appearance of its faded blue cotton deck. Imagine the state of the art regarding cold water gear, PFDs, etc back in 1965 when he probably started his adventures. PFDs as we know them did not exist beyond kapok filled huge life jackets. Dry suits? They did not exist certainly not in a paddler-friendly type. Marine radios? Much too big and not all weather for use in a kayak. I remember something Dr. Hans Lindemann said to me when I interviewed him in 1993 for my newsletter and a piece in Sea Kayaker. He seemed happy to see a resurgence in sea kayaking but he felt that many kayakers were venturing out unprepared. "I think people want ot do things with a bang. They go too fast, rah rah. They are suicidal." Regarding his own perilous trip across the Atlantic in a Klepper he said "It is alright to attempt things when you have the experience." Doug, you probably remember this because back a handful of years I brought up Lindemann's comments in defense of you when some messages in PaddleWise were getting on your case for your solo, hairraising paddling episodes. Put it another way: All the proper/best gear in the world in terms of sea kayaking won't be worth squat unless you have real life experiences in using it. On the other hand, lots of experience and sea savvy can extend the margins of safety with less than orthodox gear. 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/ ***************************************************************************Received on Thu Mar 06 2003 - 06:25:49 PST
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