At 10:47 PM 03/03/09 -0800, you wrote: Doug said, >Perhaps when you have a few more nautical miles of experience under your >belt like >some of the other paddlers on this list, you might be tempted to post a >little less fiction! :-) > >... Well, get out on the water more, and perhaps you will find out.:-) Ouch, I had no idea Doug would react the way he did. My post was meant in jest. In fun. I was only trying to point out that nostalgia isn't always how we remember it and that one old crusty salt may appear quite differently to the next person that comes along. Such as the old guy who had sailed his beautiful ketch up on the rocks between Chatham and Discovery. At low tide you could walk between these islands. Or take the old buzzard I shepherded back from Discovery. He was finding his T-shirt somewhat lacking on that April afternoon as a seasonal storm bore down on us. The age of the boat or the skipper may have as much to do with luck and monetary resources as it does with skill and knowledge. On that same trip back from Discovery the old guys much younger female companion, (how do they do that) turned to me and said, "I feel so lucky. So safe knowing all you big guys are here to pull me out should I fall in," or something to that extent. At the time she was paddling straight towards a set of standing waves. She was not wearing any immersion gear and was totally relaxed. She was also clueless as to her surroundings and the potential harm she was heading for. I ended up towing her for the last mile into safety. She didn't thank me or even help stow my tow rope. These and other experiences have taught me to be initially skeptical of everyone I meet on the water. I've paddled with Doug Lloyd once, but having done so I trust his water skills. In fact I've defended him when others in our community have shaken their heads and turned away from him. I would gladly do so again. I call myself an intermediate kayaker. As I have recently learned to my own monetary detriment. No I have not been at this sport since the last ice age. I will never call myself an expert no mater how much knowledge or how great the skill level I attain. There will always be more to learn and others with greater skills. Over the past three years I've been an active kayaker. Active means 250 day trips, overnighters, week long trips, night paddles, fog, and gales and numerous other un logged outings. I've worked with the Coast Guard Auxiliary to set up and run a rescue clinic in open ocean conditions, I've obtained a VHF marine licence, I've learned to roll, I organize twice weekly challenging paddles. "Longer Harder Further," is our mantra. Well obviously not long, hard, or far enough. Short of getting divorced and putting my son up for adoption I don't know how I could paddle more. As Doug suggest I'll defer and put these next questions to my wiser brothers and sisters on the list. What constitutes experience? What makes someone an expert? Or is Doug inferring that there a hierarchy here? That some are some so exalted that they stand above all others, beyond challenge. Let me know. Perhaps a list of godhood could be prepared. I'd hate to lampoon some other exalted but unknown kayaking deity. Or should I first consult the Who's Who before daring to disagree with any post and only take on those with less experience then myself? As my old man and the sea would say, "I'm not done yit. Come back here ya punk. I've only just begun." Gordin Warner *************************************************************************** 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 Mon Mar 10 2003 - 13:24:59 PST
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