[Paddlewise] Surprises while Paddling

Rick, Great stories! I can't wait to read what others have to share!

> ahhh, lets just say "doing the wild thing" on a beach blanket.

I guess one of the biggest surprises for me along those lines was a
mid-summer paddle near shore, maybe 50-60 feet from the bank. There was a
single cruiser anchored in such a way as the stern was pointed toward shore.
The shore was heavily wooded and I remember going in a little closer to
shore to pass between the boat and the bank. As I passed the rear of the
boat, I surprised a 'very' naked man (ummmm...how can I put this nicely?)
... oiling himself down real good on the rear deck. I managed a 'howdy' just
to acknowledge the awkwardness and continued on.

I suppose another surprise was while getting slammed over by surf I was
hanging upside down waiting for it to let me go. One hand had been pulled
off the paddle but I managed to hold on with the other and it was dragging
along off to my side. In my mind I was just waiting for things to calm down
so I could roll up. In a flash though I felt the paddle break in half - the
break being right in my hand. There hadn't been much drag on the paddle, at
least it didn't seem to be much. It was the first time I had experienced
such a catastrophic failure of my gear. Maybe not so shocking for most, but
for me, at the time, it caught me totally off guard.

But by far the most surprising was the first time my daughter asked "Dad,
will you take me kayaking?"

Woody

=================================
=  Woody's Kayak Trip Reports   =
=  http://www.kayaktrips.net/   =
=================================
***************************************************************************
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/
***************************************************************************