Re: [Paddlewise] What's Wrong with Kayaking

I think there's a lot in this comment: "There are the Gravity games for 
young studs, whether skateboarding, snowboarding, BMX, or surfing. And 
they certainly don't want to do anything as boring as floating around 
in a long, tippy kayak, waiting to fall in the icy cold water."  
There's nothing wrong with surfing, and there's nothing wrong with Sea 
Kayaking.  They appeal to completely different personalities.  I used 
to ride motorcycles-- many of you will understand what I mean when I 
juxtapose the touring rider on a BMW with the poser on a Harley or the 
poser on a cafe racer (don't get me wrong, though: not everyone on a 
cafe racer is a poser).  Sea Kayaks are closer to the former (and I'm 
sure you have also figured out my preference in bikes).  Surfing is 
closer to the latter.  Surfing is probably more interesting to 15-25 
year-old males for the obvious reason-- elaborating on that will get me 
in trouble.  And I haven't compared the prices of surfboards and sea 
kayaks, but I'm guessing some of the answer lies there, as well.

Rather than attacking the only publication that is our champion, I 
think we should be looking at the issue raised by another Paddlewiser: 
"The current level of kayaking publicity causes me to take a tow rope 
along even on the days when I go on solo paddling trips because of the 
likelihood of meeting beginners in trouble.  I'm horrified when I meet 
people paddling sit-on-tops on the ocean, holding young children in 
their laps, without a life vest to be seen.  When I see these boats 
being washed ashore by the surf, with swimmers and children in the 
water, it makes me wonder how much longer before kayaks are banned at 
our
State beaches.  On more than one occasion I've met hostile life guards 
who are against all kayakers because of the bad experiences cause by 
the inexperienced... Don't gloss over the fact that there is risk 
involved in sea kayaking."  Sorry to return to motorcycling again, but 
they wrote the book on this problem!  Motorcyclists have, for years, 
been fighting the problems caused by their ignorant and/or noisy 
co-enthusiasts.  Yet they are still banned from some campsites and, 
sometimes, regulated more tightly than cars.

I'm really happy to have fallen into paddling.  It's a great sport.  
I'm in a sub-group: both of my boats are folding doubles.  My subgroup 
is certainly not going to have enough weight to influence the issues 
that effect us (lousy airline baggage limit allowances, for instance), 
but there are advantages to our obscurity, as well.  My suggestion for 
improving our sport's profile is that we band together.  We should not 
be worried about recruiting too many paddlers-- the glory days of 
paddling were in the 1880s, the 1920s, and the 1990s-- the cycle will 
repeat again, but maybe no time soon.  There are lots of enthusiastic 
paddlers in the United Kingdom, many in the US, and there is a 
fanatical folding-kayak contingent in Japan.  Folding Kayaks, 
Recreational kayaks, hardshell sea kayaks, etc.-- we all share many 
pleasures and, if you step back, our differences are not so dramatic.  
Efforts to improve paddler education and to encourage proper use of 
safety gear in the rental environment will go a long way.

Happy New Year to everyone,
Chris