RE: [Paddlewise] Surprises while Paddling

"Gentlemen, I am recognized by my face not my genitals!"
Yes, but he might be recognized by the company he keeps.

Where to begin, there are so many.
Once while making camp in the San Juan Islands a huge bird with a hooked
beak dove on me but I didn't see it until it was just a few feet away. It
swooped away just above my head but had I not looked up I might never have
even noticed it. It was so big and so close but there was absolutely no
sound at all from it. I wondered if I had just witnessed some sort of
apparition or something. I didn't yet know that owls can fly without making
a sound. Listening to the sound of the fan on my computer I have to wonder
why we humans cannot make nearly silent fans using the same technology.

Once in Baja I foolishly decided to try to surf my fully loaded folding
kayak (and 10 gallons of water) in steep white capping seas. I waited for
the bow to start to drop and I pulled hard on the right side to accelerate
quickly. The next following crest overtook me and met my lightweight
graphite paddle's blade just as I pulled hardest. I heard a loud explosion
like a firecracker going off and looked over at a puff of black dust. The
water resistance (to my stroke) instantly dropped to zero on that side and I
seriously over-rotated. Luckily, I didn't capsize and was able to brace with
the other blade while calling to my woman friend to bring the spare.

I've drifted by many naked sunbathers and otherwise busily occupied couples
while paddling the rivers of Washington but I don't recall but once that our
group, floating silently by, was even spotted. Those experiences did teach
me to be a little more prudent so while there have been a few close calls
I'm not aware of ever having the shoe on the other foot. It is usually just
a matter of getting far enough from the trail or water to be off the beaten
path.

Robert's "I managed a 'howdy' just
to acknowledge the awkwardness and continued on." and Rick's "To break the
ice, I simply smiled and said "Nice double"." reminded me of the story that
one fellow WW paddler told swears is absolutely true. He was floating around
a point in a river and came upon a casting fly fisherman standing on a rock
with an open fly and a woman on her knees in front of him. He was not far
away but wanted to warn the couple that he was there so he coughed while
looking off the other way. Things were quickly zipped away before he floated
right in front of them, but like with those quotes above, the paddler wanted
to break the nervous ice (and ignore the 8000 pound elephant in their midst)
at the same time. He quickly thought to himself, I'll ask about the fishing.

"Getting any good bites?"










Matt Broze
www.marinerkayaks.com
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