We had a bit of a discussion a while back about paddling destinations and moving to somewhere else to put yourself into what one might perceive as better paddling opportunities. I thought it was interesting at the time that most agreed one should just "paddle where they are planted" as it were. I remember a bit of back-channel with Tim Shuff, the new editor at Adventure Kayak Magazine, and my bemusement at him leaving Victoria and the west coast paddling environs for the colder climate of Ontario. Tim replied (I don't think he would mind me sharing) that there was awesome paddling potential in and around the Great Lakes, so no problemo. Tim has just had an article published in the local Times Colonist called "Letter to Paradise," where he rather tongue-in-cheek -- well, maybe he is actually very serious -- writes to us here, back in the west, decrying a whole range of irksome things, like the cold winters, humid summers, swarms of critters back east, and of course, leaving BC. With all the wind and rain of late, I'm not so sure this is paradise. At least Tim gets to make snowmen while I just keep trying to keep the leaves off the drain covers. Of course, all the water around here remains in a liquid state all year long usually, my cat doesn't freeze if it gets locked out at night, and the grass is always greener here, literally - well, its still growing right now, anyway. And while we may not have the population base to afford the plethora of entertainment venues like back east, where else would you get the kind of entertainment value like we had the other night during the weekend gale? Three men left Victoria Harbour, bound for San Francisco in a 50-foot sailboat. They were drunk. The Coast Guard and the RCMP had to track them down in Juan de Fuca Strait, and subsequently arrested them. Rescue Coordination said most mariners would not normally set out at night in such conditions. (We won't tell them that sometimes there's paddlers out there doing just that). :-) Doug Lloyd Victoria BC *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
On 18 Nov 2003 at 22:56, Doug Lloyd wrote: > With all the wind and rain of late, I'm not so sure this is paradise. > At least Tim gets to make snowmen while I just keep trying to keep the > leaves off the drain covers. Well, the weather channel showed a snow warning for all of Vancouver Island (except for a bit of terrain around Victoria) and I thought of you and all the other kayaking braggarts on the left coast. If you're desperate, just head up to Nanaimo or Campbell River and you should be able to make a snowman on Wednesday! Meanwhile, it's above normal temps here in Toronto. Mike *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
>Well, the weather channel showed a snow warning for all of Vancouver >Island (except for a bit of terrain around Victoria) and I thought of >you and all the other kayaking braggarts on the left coast. If >you're desperate, just head up to Nanaimo or Campbell River and you >should be able to make a snowman on Wednesday! I wouldn't be surprised. We had snow on the deck this morning in the Greater Vancouver area, that was washed away by rain by the end of breakfast. With a cold air mass moving in, one forecast source says Vancouverites should expect a high of 1C and a low of -8C on Saturday. As for snowmen... I was cycling in North Vancouver late in the day on Tuesday and the cars coming down from the upper levels had snow on them, and at least one of the North Shore ski hills, opens this weekend. Given the unusual cooperation at close quarters between 5 large squirrels (2 gray, 3 black) all urgently feeding from our bird feeder today, I'm thinking our rainforest here may well go into snowforest mode. And here I thought only Kayaks in the east needed that plug hanging down from the front grill. -- Craig Bowers *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
It is 75 degs F here in Corpus Christi. Very nice paddling weather all year. Ken Johnson's web site has some good info on C.C. at: http://community.webshots.com/user/johnsonkw1 It may not be up to the same degree of kayaking sophistication as yu'all in the northwest, but to me it is Paradise. Come visit us some time. Regards, Steve Pituch formerly from NJ, but now living in Paradise *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
> Tim has just had an article published in the local Times Colonist called > "Letter to Paradise," where he rather tongue-in-cheek -- well, maybe he is > actually very serious -- writes to us here, back in the west, decrying a > whole range of irksome things, like the cold winters, humid summers, swarms > of critters back east, and of course, leaving BC. > > With all the wind and rain of late, I'm not so sure this is paradise. At > least Tim gets to make snowmen while I just keep trying to keep the leaves > off the drain covers. Thanks for the reminder, Doug, that Victoria gets its share of wind and rain. We have had some beautiful sunny weather here lately - great for paddling in between occasional breaks to scrape ice off paddles and decks. And today we are having a real rain storm, just like my old West Coast home. You9re right that the article was somewhat tongue-in-cheek, somewhat serious. I was indulging a western bias, but my alter ego is composing a letter about the unsung pleasures of life in Ontario, ice paddling, etc. for the poor folks back here who9ve been brainwashed to think they live in an ugly province and have not spent enough time on the shores of Georgian Bay or Lake Superior to see otherwise. What I didn9t mention in the article is that I9ve done plenty of paddling down by Leslie Spit in the Toronto Harbour, where the shoreline is all made of landfill. If you roll until you9re dizzy and then squint really hard, the broken concrete telephone poles and twisted rebar that make up the shoreline begin to look just like cedar logs and bull kelp! So I9m really doing just fine in the East. ;-) Tim Shuff Editor www.adventurekayakmag.com *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
Mike said: >>Well, the weather channel showed a snow warning for all of Vancouver Island (except for a bit of terrain around Victoria) and I thought of you and all the other kayaking braggarts on the left coast. If you're desperate, just head up to Nanaimo or Campbell River and you should be able to make a snowman on Wednesday! Meanwhile, it's above normal temps here in Toronto.<< Yes, BC did get a heck of a lot of snow yesterday. Sunny here in Victoria though. Nice that its above normal in Toronto. But, the mantra is still "go west young man," not east. :-) If you do come out west, there have been a few changes of late, including some ridiculous new legislation that will promote development and private enterprise in provincial parks. If the present Liberal government has its way, you will be able to pull up to the beach at Ninstints and order a side of fries. While I admit there's a lot of "CAVE" mentality out here (committee against virtually everything), we do need to preserve the supernatural BC element. I'm getting worried. But I guess there are environmental issues everywhere else too. I find the information on climate change and global warming somewhat equivocal, but whether its true or not, I'm trying to do my part to help reduce emissions. I'm using my older mountain bike and the children's old trailer, converted to make a rig to tow my kayak to the water, so to cut down on my use of the SUV. If the bike happens to get stolen, it will not be a huge financial loss (as opposed to using my new bikes with the trailer). I'll be using the rig come spring. Okay, back to reading someone's manuscript I've been sent here, or maybe its time for bed. Doug Lloyd Victoria BC *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
Steve said Snip): >>It is 75 degs F here in Corpus Christi. Very nice paddling weather all year...Come visit us some time.<< I hear the folks down there are very hospitable (as long as you don't mess with them). :-) And Tim said (snip): >>Thanks for the reminder, Doug, that Victoria gets its share of wind and rain. We have had some beautiful sunny weather here lately...If you roll until you9re dizzy and then squint really hard, the broken concrete telephone poles and twisted rebar that make up the shoreline begin to look just like cedar logs and bull kelp! So I9m really doing just fine in the East.;-)<< I'd love to paddle some different shores someday, like the wine-dark seas of the Aegean Sea, the inlets of Norway, the wind-blow cliffs of Labrador...ahh, there are so many beautiful places in the world that I'll never experience or know. I guess that's why I love the travel articles in magazines like Sea Kayaker (love the longer destination articles, always rich in detail, written with clarity and purpose), or like Adventure Kayaking, and some of the other dedicated paddling magazines. A good editor ensures and embraces articles that convey a strong sense of place, history, anecdotal information, and insights into the history and sensibilities of a particular people associated with the adjacent landmass or islands, all in the context of paddling. I read one recently about the upper reaches of the Hudson River. I had been completely ignorant of the river's potential for touring kayaks. Thought it was good for polluted urban and city landscape only. Some of my hard-core friends by-pass these pieces, which is too bad. They may be a little soft-core at times (the articles), but I read them all, relish them, and inwardly digest each and every word. And, again, appreciate the dedicated work of the staff at these publications to work with the writers and often work hard (I'm sure) to edit with gentle firmness - with the reader in mind - what has come from the paddler's heart. Paradise sometimes comes bi-monthly for me. Doug Lloyd *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.4.0 : Thu Aug 21 2025 - 16:33:35 PDT