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The Great
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From: riverman <myronb@american.hasharon.k12.il>
Topic: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: Tue, 18 May 1999 22:05:58 +0300
Taking a hint from news.groups and Paddlewise, let me ask: who are the
posters here on rbp? How old are we, how long have we been paddling, what
type of paddling do we do, and where do we live?
Anyone?
-- riverman
..........................
I think, therefore I thwim;
Carpe ropum.
rbp #2
From: Michael R Noyes <mnoyes@gsinet.net>
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: Tue, 18 May 1999 15:36:04 -0400
Even though I didn't reply to this thread in Paddlewise, I will do so
here.
My name, in case someone hasn't figured it out, is Mike Noyes. I am
40 years old, and have been paddling for about 25 years now. I started
in a 15 foot Coleman (my father still has it) and moved up from there.
I was bit by the kayak bug about six years ago, purchasing an Aquaterra
Gemini for me, and a Keowee for my daughter. I then got an MI designs 380
whitewater boat, doing some mild whitewater. But my real interest is sea
kayaking and canoe camping. My current two favorite boats are a Current
Designs Caribou and a Riverjammer Kingfisher (16 foot fiberglass canoe.)
In my current stable are 4 kayaks (1 sea, 1 whitewater, 2 recreational)
2 canoes, 1 john boat, and a 20 foot jet boat. The Caribou gets most of
the attention.
Despite the length of time that I have been paddling I do not consider
myself and advanced paddler. In fact I put myself in the novice class.
Mike
--
Paddling along through fog so thick that only one's thoughts are visible,
your reverie is abruptly shattered by the ancient cry of a great
blue heron as she lifts uncertainly from the brilliant blue of a mussel-shell
beach witnessed only by the brooding, wet spruce....your passage home seems
as much back through time as it does through space. Mark H Hunt
From: Erhard Kraus <erhard@interlog.com>
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: Tue, 18 May 1999 15:52:05 -0400
Was born in 1944 in Chemnitz, Germany, and did frustrate my parents by complaining about long hikes in the Bavarian countryside. Studied mathematics for three years at the Freie Universitdt in Berlin (West Berlin, in case you need to know...), then got a scholarship to the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Spent a year there, got a Masters degree and decided to immigrate to Canada rather than returning to Germany. Bought the first canoe in 1969 and paddled the mouth of the French River as the first canoe trip. Over the next years, and a few canoes later, I had paddled most of Ontario's Near North and a few other places as well. Lately, after 30 years, I have hung my computer job on the proverbial nail and have begun what I hope will be many trips to interesting parts of the globe: Patagonia and Southern Chile on a bicycle, just for starters.
When not somewhere else, I live in Toronto, with my partner Peggy. I believe that our wilderness will disappear if we do not fight for it. And to fight successfully, we need allies, folks that believe that wilderness in general and specific places are worth saving. As I have certification in Canoe Tripping (ORCA level III) and plenty of experience, I lead trips for an environmental organization (the Federation of Ontario Naturalists), for other outfitters and my own company called "Kanu Links". As of February 1999, I have been appointed the Environmental Representative of the Wilderness Canoe Association (WCA).
You can reach me at erhard@interlog.com
(I reply typically within a day. If I am away for longer, I say so on
my home page at
www.interlog.com/~erhard )
From: Peter Staehling <staehpj1@home.com>
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: Tue, 18 May 1999 21:10:36 GMT
I am 47. I started paddling in the mid to late 70's. First OC-2 (easy
ww), then OC"-1", then C"-1", and then back to OC"-1". I progressed to
stuff like the Upper Gauley and Lower Blackwater. I stopped paddling in
1986.
I re-entered the sport about 3.5 years ago in an OC"-1". Two years
ago I switched to K"-1". I paddle WW K"-1" but once in a while I can be
seen in a tandem canoe. During the Summer I like to paddle my Squirt boat.
Pete
From: Lloyd Bowles <lbowles@bmts.com>
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: Tue, 18 May 1999 17:31:37 -0400
riverman <myronb@american.hasharon.k12.il> wrote in message news:3741BA16.1196@american.hasharon.k12.il...
Taking a hint from news.groups and Paddlewise, let me ask: who are the
posters here on rbp? How old are we, how long have we been paddling, what
type of paddling do we do, and where do we live?
I'm 46, married & father of 4 teens.
I started paddling in flimsy homebuilt skin & frame kayaks as a
teenager. Later I designed & built a rather unique 18' tandem strip
kayak & used it for several years for tripping in Killarney Provincial
Park. Then I built a plywood solo kayak - fast, extremely tippy, weathervaned
badly. I did one 90 km trip in it.
I switched to canoes in '90 mainly because you can't put a family in
a kayak.
I have a Western Canoeing Clipper Tripper & a Wenonah Advantage.
I'm building a stitch & glue solo canoe.
I like week long canoe trips in Algonquin or anywhere well away from
cottages, motorboats, etc. I like paddling swamps, slow streams, the occasional
easy rapids, small lakes.
--------- Lloyd Bowles
The Mad Canoeist
"Keep the open side up!"
http://www.fortunecity.com/greenfield/clearstreets/358/index.html
From: Galen Hekhuis <ghekhuis@datastar.net>
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: Tue, 18 May 1999 22:09:39 GMT
riverman <myronb@american.hasharon.k12.il> wrote in message news:3741BA16.1196@american.hasharon.k12.il...
Taking a hint from news.groups and Paddlewise, let me ask: who are the posters here on rbp? How old are we, how long have we been paddling, what type of paddling do we do, and where do we live?
I'm 49, previously married (for 16 yrs but not now), no kids, 6 ft, 140 pounds, and extremely handsome, loyal, brave, kind, cheerful, thrifty, (you get the picture). Oh yeah, I'm also a gimp, and don't talk or walk too well anymore, but if I keep my mouth shut and stay in my boat no one notices. I have to admit, we do get some neat parking spaces though, you may have seen them. Oh yeah, the pay isn't too great but talk about job security!
I've only been paddling about a year and a half, before that I used to fly hang gliders and before that, go caving. Anyway, I've only had experience in the Pamlico, and now the Manteo, both made by Wilderness Systems. I generally paddle only on flatwater and then only if it is glassy. If I'm feeling real brave I will go out in a gentle breeze. If I were a sailor I'd be known as the Chicken of the Sea.
I live in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Some people think I hate canoes.
Galen Hekhuis, NpD, JFR, GWA ghekhuis@datastar.net
Put that in your pipe and see who salutes
From: Rivervison <rivervison@aol.com>
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: 18 May 1999 22:14:09 GMT
i'm brooke. i've been paddling on and off since i was 15. i'm 26 now, owner of 2 lovely cats, no kids. i moved to eugene, or from the mountains of southwestern va in august.
my first boat was a purple dancer. i soon discovered slalom racing and did that for awhile. i quit slalom and decided to devote my life to school. i've owned a variety of boats in my 11 years in the sport. my boat of choice right now is a wavesport stubby. i also own a piroutte s.
"I am a woman who speaks with a voice and I must be heard At times I can be quite difficult.. I'll bow to no man's word"
-from Ella's Song
From: Kevin22 <kevin22@aol.com>
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: 18 May 1999 22:36:12 GMT
howdy folks,
i'm kevin (a 25 year old kayak nut currently living in east tennessee).
i paddle once a week year round and have been kayaking for about five and
1/2 years. i am a boat collector although my wife has managed to cut my
quiver of boats down to 8 (from 11). i mainly paddle in east and middle
tn. i love creeking as well as play boating and i'm a huge fan of the topolino!!
i'm currently a medical student at etsu and recently married a fellow student
on april 25th......and yes she does paddle :) i'm in heaven. i'm a member
of AWA, TSRA, and the APES. i really enjoy meeting and paddling with new
people so feel free to contact me if you would like to paddle in east or
middle tn. thanks.
kevin22@aol.com
johnson city, tn
http://members.aol.com/kevin22/page/kevin22.htm
From: Ben <bkadas@vt.edu>
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: Tue, 18 May 1999 18:39:49 -0400
riverman wrote:
Taking a hint from news.groups and Paddlewise, let me ask: who are the
posters here on rbp? How old are we, how long have we been paddling, what
type of paddling do we do, and where do we live?
My name is Ben. Can't seem to get a handle on my age or shoe size,
it appears that the memory loss caused by my adolescent drug abuse is,
uh, ummm, yeah.
Anyways, I like to paddle steep creeks that are safe. So if anyone knows of one, please let me know!!
I trade boats like they're baseball cards, though I have been known to paddle the same boat for six months at a time.
My favorite place to paddle is the Watauga Gorge, though I spend a lot (too much?) of my time at our local play hole (McCoy Falls).
Before I was obsessed with paddling, I skied, climbed, and biked all over the West Coast. Now I paddle and paddle; is there anything else?!
Been living in SW Virginia for the past five years, and working my damndest to get back to the West where life is good!!
I have worked as a carpenter, ski instructor (bum), urban planner, professor,
community activist, and all around fixit guy. Spent most of the past fifteen
years in Academia, one way or another (I just can't take it anymore!!!).
So, I'm Looking for work and keeping my options open. I hear Knoxville
is nice place to live!
I have a steady partner going on six years, a cat that eats a bunny/squirrel a day, two dogs who like to play with the cat, and no aspirations to have children (sorry dad, but one mistake is enough!!).
Pet Peeve: People who use cell phones while driving; probably the same
*&@#$% who tailgate and run red lights!!
Oh yeah, I like controversy and think I know it all!!
Ben
From: Julie Keller <rubato@mindspring.com>
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: Tue, 18 May 1999 18:48:16 -0400
I'm Julie Keller, single, 37 years old, and live in Atlanta, Georgia.
I have been paddling canoes since I was in 4th grade. I started paddling
aluminum canoes with my family on the Brule River in Northern Wisconsin.
In the mid-80's my ex-husband and I started paddling tandem in a Blue Hole
OCA on class II rivers in Georgia, Tennessee, and North Carolina. As soon
as Dagger opened up shop we bought a Dimension and loved it. Paddled lots
of whitewater for about 10 years and went through three Dimension's. He
left two years ago and I started paddling a Dagger Rival. Last year I paddled
130 days including multi-day trips on the Grand Canyon, Yampa Canyon, and
Rogue River. I'm packing to head to Europe for the month of June, then
on to Colorado and Idaho for the rest of the summer.
Julie
From: Brian Smith <brians@acadia.net>
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: Tue, 18 May 1999 19:22:10 -0400
My name is Brian Smith. I live in Maine and I whitewater kayak. I have
been paddling about 3 years and I started as a sea kayaker. I am 35 and
have a family that makes me think real hard every time I look at a class
V rapid. I consider myself to be a intermediate paddler.
I hope we get a lot of replies to this post. I am interested who we
are also.
Brian
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Trevor B Readinger <tbr@christa.unh.edu>
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: Tue, 18 May 1999 20:08:52 -0400
I'm a 22 year old, soon to be graduate (On Saturday!!) of the University
of New Hampshire. My folks live in Lincolnville Maine which is on Penobscott
Bay. I have been paddling canoes since i can remember and last year got
a Necky Gannet II which is great for mucking about in the local ponds and
protected areas of the bay. I'll be mate on a schooner out of Rockland
this summer, so if you're out on the bay make sure we can see you cause
some of these windjammers steer like a barge! =)
From: ChrisCanoe <chriscanoe@aol.com>
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: 19 May 1999 00:52:19 GMT
My name is Chris Mack. I live in Southern Ontario and have canoed for
14 years, whitewater for the last 7 years. I have recently purchased a
kayak (Diablo) for my 13 yr old daughter Nicole (and I) to learn on. I
am 40yrs old, working in the municipal recreation field. My wife Dorothy
enjoys tripping with us but has mixed feelings about the whitewater. My
other daughter 4 yr old Rebecca is always up to a ride on the water (flat)
with us.
I do all of my paddling in Ontario, mostly class 2-3 rivers with the
occasional visit to the Ottawa river.
chris
From: <silverflash@mindspring.com>
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: Tue, 18 May 1999 20:40:30 -0700
How about you?
I am 49, female, four years paddling open boat on whitewater, south carolina
silverflash
From: Mickie <mickie@ct1.nai.net>
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: Tue, 18 May 1999 21:27:42 -0400
Hey Riverman - great idea!
I'm single, same age as Julie Keller but I can get away with lying and saying 22, 23... she can too! Born in New Haven CT, raised in Hartford CT. Since I've been free of parental reins, I have been moving farther away from Hartford and now reside in Southampton MA.
During the summer ever since I was maybe 5, my family left urbania for
a cottage on the Congamond Lakes in Southwick MA. There I paddled an inflatable
kayak and swam and water skied a lot (until my younger brother got better
than I and I got jealous). Always loved the water. However I never even
considered whitewater until I worked down at Pisgah Forest the summer before
my senior year in college. While down there, I rafted the Nanty and then
graduated to section 4. Later, in '91 I rafted the Arkansas River Royal
Gorge section. It was so much fun with me cracking my head off while running
it, I decided I *had* to try kayaking. The next day I took a lesson on
the Arkansas where I swam (naturally!). I thought I would never paddle
again. Besides I was an obsessed climber without the finances for a kayak.
But I needed something to do on rainy days and when it was too hot to climb.
So 2 years later I returned to paddling, intending for it to be a relaxing
diversion, nothing harder than class 2 I thought. My first boat was a Corsica
S; in '96 I bought a Blast, then this year a Jive. I've paddled whitewater
maybe 150x in my entire career, mostly class 3 and under. Two seasons were
shortened due to injuries (back, fractured ribs). Now on class 3+/4...
I've also sea kayaked a couple of times (CT/RI and Vancouver). Would
like to do more of that. My paddling goals this year are to paddle solid
class 4, paddle Kennebac, Rapid and Beaver and maybe do the Bottom Moose
through Agers.
Mickie
"We do not see things as they are; we see them as we are" Author unknown
From: The Paddleman <paddleman@whitewatervideo.com>
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: Wed, 19 May 1999 01:21:51 GMT
I think I'm a little shy about posting too much in a public and infinitely searchable record, but, these things are already well known (notoriety, not fame) However, if you run into me on the river, I'll be happy to share more details.
I paddle OC1 in the Southeast mostly. I like whitewater of at least
class 4. If it isn't class 4 or 5, I'll be bored unless the scenery looks
good on video.
I've been paddling so long that all but the biggest paddlesnakes leave me alone.
From: Tim Paton <timpaton@my-dejanews.com>
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: Wed, 19 May 1999 01:24:51 GMT
In article <3741BA16.1196@american.hasharon.k12.il>,
myronb@american.hasharon.k12.il wrote:
Taking a hint from news.groups and Paddlewise, let me ask: who are the
posters here on rbp? How old are we, how long have we been paddling, what
type of paddling do we do, and where do we live?
This occasional poster (since about '94) is 24 years old, has been paddling WW kayaks for about 10 years, generally paddles 1 day downriver WW trips. Also does a little bit of commercial rafting work (guiding or safety kayak), and has started playing polo again after 2 years off.
I live in Melbourne, Australia, and lately spend much more time riding bikes (mostly off-road) than paddling...something to do with droughts and the interests of friends. I'm working on a masters degree in engineering, looking at reducing the noise generated by a ventilation fan: my undergrad degree was in naval architecture.
tim
-- ###
This email address is a spam trap, and is never checked. Reply to tim
(a) paton . net
Tim Paton, Melbourne, Australia
From: <bdallam@revnetx.NOSPAMnet>
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: Wed, 19 May 1999 01:39:23 GMT
I'm Bill Dallam, I'm 44 years old, married with a 12 year old daughter. I live in Greenville Maine, 75 miles from the nearest movie theater and 40 miles from the nearest traffic light. I've been paddling something or other all my life, ww kayaking since 1976. I spent 12 years in the ww rafting industry running commercial operations on the Cheat, Tygart, Gauley, Big Sandy, Upper Yough Moose, Hudson, Dead, Kennebec and Penobscot. Currently my tendency is to avoid the crowded commercial runs in favor of the smaller streams of the "big woods". As I get older it is becoming more difficult to work in as many days on the river and as a result I find myself becoming more conservative in my approach, (also there's now plenty of younger types out there wanting to go first).
I'll be in France this June as well and I'm looking forward to meeting
some of the RBP crowd IRL.
Still Creekin' & Hardly Leakin',
Bill Dallam,
(remove NO SPAM to reply)
From: SPJones01 <spjones01@aol.com>
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: 19 May 1999 02:16:50 GMT
I'm 35, married, two small kids living in middle tn. I'm an open boated but havent been able to get much water time in lately. Just bought a small kayak for my son to begin learning on. Now just need to get the wife and daughter interested and I'm home free.
Steve Jones
From: Michael Deyer <mdeyer@aros.net>
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: Tue, 18 May 1999 20:18:34 -0600
Hello! My name is Mike. I just turned 32 a couple weeks ago, am married to a nearly 29 year old bona fide Web-Chick named Marcelle, and I am a paddleholic!
I have just recently begun to paddle, really, after finding a nice fiberglass (and duct tape) kayak for $10, including paddle and skirt, at a river gear swap a few years ago. Shortly after that purchase, I went rafting on the Nantahala for the first time. Loved it, but I kept seeing all the kayakers and thought "I need to do that!" So, when I arrived back in Salt Lake City, I took the so-called "boat" out on the Jordan river. Boring! (In case nobody has guessed, I am an adrenaline junkie. I ride a motorcycle, surf, skydive, love to ski steeps and powder, and dream of hang gliding and rock climbing.)
Then, last year, I found a nice blue Dancer for sale in my price range. Thinking that it would be really simple to learn this sport, I put the Dancer into Little Cottonwood Creek to run a nice looking section. Well, needless to say, I flipped. Panicked really hard for a moment or two, then remembered that I could get out! Cool! After fishing myself and the boat from the creek, I decided that lessons were in order.
The only lesson so far was on the Colorado. We took a two day class
from Canyon Voyages in Moab, and had a great time. We have both fallen
in love with the sport, and plan to keep going with it. We just bought
a Dagger Vortex, which seems like a good boat for either of us. This summer,
we will probably take another trip to Moab, and may head up to the Payette
or over to some river in Colorado. We will also likely do some paddling
on the Weber.
If anyone out there would like to exchange information, feel free to
get in touch. I can't tell you too much about Utah's rivers, but may be
of some help with logistics of any planned trips.
-Mike
From: Richard Todd <richard@magi.com>
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: Wed, 19 May 1999 02:24:15 GMT
My name is Richard Todd. I'm 55 (has anyone else admitted to being that
old?) and have been canoeing open canoes for 40 years. Some day I'll get
it right, but in the mean time I have fun trying. I've tried kayaking,
but I've got a stiff frame that doesn't allow me to have proper posture
in a kayay, Too bad, but I'll take solace by carrying on with my paddling.
I'm a writer, a music critic actually, am married and have two young sons
and two adult daughters. I lead trips every summer, or organize them anyway.
I've made a number of friends that way, but am always looking for more.
You might want to check out some of my trip descriptions and prospecti
at
http://infoweb.magi.com/~richard/
From: saskia <saskia1953@my-dejanews.com>
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: Wed, 19 May 1999 02:52:26 GMT
My name is Rich, and although 18 years of NYC was a start (of sorts) , most of my life has been spent either on the US West Coast or in the Inter-Mountain West. For the past 14 years home has been Montana or Wyoming.
After 20 years of long-distance wilderness backpacking in the US, I
discovered that you can carry a lot more gear ( "junk".which I been able
to do without for 2 decades) in a canoe, rather than in a backpack. This
"discovery" coincided with my advanced old age 0f 40, and the general loss
of true "wilderness" in the US, and the increased usage of all forms of
motorized recreational vehicles into the remaining wild areas of the US.
Unfortunately, (for others) Edward Abbey was my role model, not Bill Mason.
My wife (Wendy) and I have been canoeing for 5 years, in "saskia" our
OT Disco 17.4". Our next canoe will be a Bell Northwoods! It will be an
epiphany to paddle a "real canoe". J We have managed 1200 miles in our
wretched plastic boat thus far. Canoeing , for us, has been a means to
an end. Photography, birding, botany, and "walking up and down in the world"
are our main interests. Most of our trips are multi-week. our longest "stretch"
without seeing other people has been 24 days. We are "flatwater" paddlers.though
mostly we have been canoeing on the large lakes and rivers of Canada in
Alberta and Saskatchewan ...I often dwell on the meaning of the FW classification
while heading for shore in 3 foot swells, and wind, in an undecked tandem
canoe.
In 7 weeks we are driving to Yellowknife NT, for a fly-in to the Lockhart River on the Barrens.
From: Lisa Ouellette <poquita@cwo.com>
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: Wed, 19 May 1999 03:03:46 GMT
I am a lurker to this group. I am building a Pygmy Coho, which will be the first boat I own. I am barely under 40, single, professional, with precious little free time. I have started to take sea kayaking up to get the quiet scenery and plan on doing some boat camping up in the lakes near where I live, in Sacramento, CA. I have paddled some interesting places in the past - the Rock Islands of Palau, Micronesia, inland jungle rivers in Guam (with some whacko marines who hacked away debris with machetes, even had fresh bananas and coconuts on that trip), paddled a sit on top in the remnants of a typhoon ( whoooooeeeee!!), and took a short trip in the San Juan Islands two years ago. I hope to set up a website in the very near future to show off the construction of my boat. In my "spare" time I also golf and bicycle. I am currently the chairperson for a Habitat for Humanity House being built here in Sacramento - we will kick off construction Labor Day and have a homecoming for our family by Thanksgiving.
From: SClark900 <sclark900@aol.com>
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: 19 May 1999 04:33:08 GMT
My name is Scott, and I'm just shy of 26. I live out west in Eugene, Oregon. Moved out here from Maine about two and a half years ago. Been lovin' it ever since! Got into boating a year and 7 months ago. In that time I have gone from a Corsica Matrix, to a Necky Rip, to a Stubby (which I still have), and the latest addition, the X. Funny, I never knew a thing about kayaking in Maine, then move to Oregon, and fell into the sport. Then I find out that Maine has beautiful white water. Ironic. Like many people, kayaking has become a passion for me. I'm on the water every chance I get. I paddle up to IV+, but I mainly playboat. We have some great rivers here in Oregon, and the boating community is nothing short of awesome. I've met some of the best people in my life through this sport. Hope to see ya'll on the river some day!
From: Weezal1 <weezal1@aol.com>
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: 19 May 1999 04:52:45 GMT
Hey There,
Kevin hayes here. 42 year old male,from Traverse City mich. I've been
playing in the water most all of my life ,but first noticed kayakers on
a rafting trip. I saw a guy surfing on a wave , that was all it took. Started
paddling about three years ago,learning the basics,and will be buying my
first playboat soon.
It just feels so kewl to be surfing a wave!!!
Kevin Hayes
From: riverman <myronb@american.hasharon.k12.il>
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: Wed, 19 May 1999 08:08:48 +0300
:-) Thanks for asking!
I'm 41, started boating in Maine in about 1978, then moved on to Texas,
Arizona, Canada and the Pacific NW... I split my river time between canoes
(tripping) and rafts (oars and paddles). At my peak, for about 12 years,
I used to do over 100 days a year, but now I don't get wet as often since
the 'career change' has me living and teaching overseas (in Israel), but
my next position will *definately* be somewhere that has water.
-- riverman
..........................
I think, therefore I thwim;
Carpe ropum.
rbp #2
From: Gary Pagac <gpagac@nextdim.com>
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: Wed, 19 May 1999 05:56:47 GMT
Alright...gee, i've been rather absent from RBP for a couple months now. Been getting engaged...kinda important stuff. I'm 41, my roots are in flat-ish water and up to 2+ kayaking. Multi-day camp trips are my favorite. Fishing at 5am on a fog covered lake is hard to beat. Been paddling for all of four years. Talked my fiance into buying a canoe...i helped her buy a good used Mohawk. We both equally appreciate paddling. Though most kayaks feel more stable than the canoe. Our third date was on the river; i introduced her to paddling. We are scheduled to take a couple canoe classes: flat water and swift 2+ water set of classes. I've found canoes to be like a truck, while kayaks are like a sports car or SUV.
From: Abdul Raoul <paulk@island.net>
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: Tue, 18 May 1999 23:31:33 -0700
My name is Paul, I am about to turn 40. I have a fantastic wife and
7 year old daughter.
I bought a Clipper Tripper canoe in 1990, and then a Necky Gannett
2 years ago.
My wonderful wife bought me a Pirouette S for Christmas 97, and next
week my new boat a Prijon Samurai should be here.
I live on Vancouver Island Canada where we can play in rivers and ocean
surf.
From: BarnettW3 <barnettw3@aol.com>
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: 19 May 1999 08:43:29 GMT
2:00 in the morning, I must be crazy. But I'm called Barnett Williams...
(among other things by my friends). Started paddling ww in the early 70's
in Tennessee while in college and have a love for the outdoors that is
rivaled only by a predisposition to have a good time. Have never met a
person on a river that I didn't like..... well, maybe one, but it's just
too damn easy to enjoy yourself on any river to go around pickin fights.
Like all types of water from ww to flat, mountain fresh to salt but
get my heart rates up for Gauleys, Arkansases, Coloradoes, Daddy's and
Caney Forks.... Best times are going out West with the paddlin brothers
(and a few sisters); best trip was a private in'90 where I spent 18 religious
days thru the Grand Canyon in a Jetti.... Best carbon dating fact is we
were paddlin the Ocoee in late '76 in Blue Holes& Speercrafts.
I've always been considered a open boater and prefer it in gnarly water
and yet I've been slipping out (in disguise) for years to "walk on the
dark side" in one of my kayaks.
I actually don't own any boats in the veiw of my wife... they're ALL
(7 of 'em) being stored for friends. But she and my girls know what paddling
means to me. My youngest (19) is an Ocoee open boater and has really made
her 31 year old father proud ! (I've had to push my age out a few years
since my oldest turned 29 AND just made my wife a Grandmother!)
Can you believe all this !?
Well, if so, give me a call, I want to talk to you.
Lean Down Stream, Barnett
From: Wilko <quibus@xs4all.nl>
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: Tue, 18 May 1999 22:31:12 +0200
I'll bite:
-Wilko van den Bergh
-Age 29
-Been paddling for close to five years
-Prefer low volume, creek kayaking but will paddle almost anything
that has some current if the company and scenery is good enough.
-Live in Eindhoven, The Netherlands
-- Wilko van den Bergh quibus(at)xs4all(dot)nl
From: RivierRatt <rivierratt@aol.comRATT.BOY>
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: 19 May 1999 09:57:56 GMT
paddleman@whitewatervideo.com (The Paddleman) said:
I think I'm a little shy about posting too much in a public and infinitely
searchable record, but, these things are already well known (notoriety,
not fame) However, if you run into me on the river, I'll be happy to share
more details.
Don't THIS beat all! I mean, he's shy about posting personal info. Like there's anything he could say that's *more* embarrassing than the fact that he paddles an Open Canoe.
Name's Rattso del Flatulato. I've been infesting this group since late 1996. I've always been a little shy about posting my real name for all the world and the nutzos and wackos (that means *you*, Chris Kelly; and *you*, Kanubi; and *you*, John Kobak) to read, though many of you know my real name and it's been posted a cupple times. When TrashCompactor posted a bunch-o-nasties, I was rather relieved for the slight protection of anonymity. It's easily broached, I'm sure, but it's better'n nothing.
43, and I spent $25 dollars yesterday on my first pair of reading glasses. Oh, the shame, oh the horror. The Lovely & Telented Mrs. Ratt (many of you know *her* age, wink wink), who's been in glasses since she was in the second grade, thinks I'm a whiner and has no sympathy. After making fun of her very impressive diopter for twelve+ married years and many years prior, it's only fair that she has some fun now.
Did the Boy Scout canoeing on the lakes thang, read about whitewater, knew that I'd love it. Rented a kayak on the Saco in Maine in the late 70's, swam once when I tried to lean over on a brace and get my face wet the way I'd read in a book. I loved it. Bought a book on kayaking and all that, and went to a couple of rolling sessions at UMass, but I didn't fit well in the boats, so no progress.
Moved to Akron and bought a big-ol' Seda downriver boat for $60 dollars in 1989. I loved it, though it took me about 4 years to gain confident control of it. From its age and my learning curve, the poor ole thang has more patches in it than the knees in an intern's pants. I bought Monty McNeil's Prijon 81 last summer and won this year's Keel-haulers Vermilion race with it, butt I'm getting ahaid of myself.
Joined the Keel-haulers in '92 and bought a used Dancer XT. I'd already taught myself an unsteady, unreliable, halting roll in my downriver boat, and the roll came relatively easily in the boat with the tight ww outfitting. Got my first combat roll the following summer on the Middle Yough in the downriver boat, and a combat roll on the Lower Yough in the autumn in the XT. The XT may have been a dog of a design (apologies to canine lovers), but mine got me some runs on the Upper Yough, Gauley, and Big Sandy. I've rolled in the Great Outdoors at least once in every month since April '93. That makes 74 months and counting. And we're not talking no wimpy Southern rivers in the winter months. January, 1994, when the merc was hitting -25 below zero 0F (-32 km), I waited for a balmy 250F (-4 ml) to get out there and get that roll. Even scheduled my monthly roll around two hernia ops back in '97. Haven't had a swim since before Slick Willy got re-erected, oops, I mean re-elected.
I still paddle flatwater, own 2 fast flatwater canoes (a Jensen and a homemade wooden racing boat), but my love is whitewater. I own two Cruise Controls. Despite the fact that I'm not as tall is Wilko, I couldn't fit comfy-like in "his" Diablo. My butt never settled into the seat. I'm dying to mess with a Mr. Clean as Karl Gesslein did. Maybe someday...but I love my Cruises.
Kids? I've told you before, but...okay. No brats, but three dummies: http://members.aol.com/RivierRatt/dummies.html . They don't paddle whitewater. Neither does the Lovely & Talented Mrs. Ratt, who shakes her haid at my adolescent male adrenaline-stoked fantasies but who allows me a Lott of freedom to paddle. She's a saint.
If you read this far, you have a Lott of time on your hands and aren't very discriminating in what you read. I can't solve that for you.
Riviera Ratt # 77, Charter Member of PFA, 4/14/99 Still Rattless in
'99!!!
Ratt Boy.s Click of The Week updated 5/15/99
For a good time, call http://members.aol.com/RivierRatt/ratthole.html
From: Courtney Nipper <courtney@avana.net>
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: Wed, 19 May 1999 09:14:02 -0400
My name is Courtney (age 29) and my husbands name is Jimmy (age 36). We have both been paddling for about 7 years and actually met on a river. Last year I started competing in several rodeos and this year opened my own kayaking school. We normally like to paddle class III / IV rivers and once in a while a class V but we still enjoy paddling class II and making it as hard as possible. I have made a life for myself thru kayaking by working in a boat store and running my school. Jimmy is a controls engineer and loves his line of work. We are also into backpacking and some rock climbing and we live in Atlanta, Ga.
Courtney Rapid Adventures
From: Padlin <Padlin@ix.netcom.com>
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: Wed, 19 May 1999 09:15:50 -0400
Hi all,
Bob Johnson , 42, from W.Mass. Married for 21yrs, father of 2, 1 in
college, 1 will be a senior in HS next fall. I'm a discontented computer
tech. Thinking about moving south and finding a new job in the next year
or so. Started canoeing about 8 years ago when the knees started to give
out (too many steroids when I came down with athsma) and I could no longer
safely backpack or mountain climb. Paddling flatwater and mild rivers was
a good replacment although I still hike alot, but have to keep it on the
tame side now. Picked up a 16' Ranger fiberglass job as my first boat,
and have added a solo Osprey I built 2 winters ago when I started to run
into times I wanted to go tripping but couldn't find anyone else to go.
I get what amounts to 6 wks off a year so I go quite a bit. So far my trips
have averaged 4-5 days and I've only done Maine and the Adirondacks in
NY. To tell the truth I now prefer canoe camping to backpacking now, I
can take quite a bit more comforts in the canoe... Took a lesson on ww
canoeing a couple weeks ago as I'm running into more and more while tripping
, I was scared shit when we got into a nasty 3+ spot but can't wait to
try it again. After finding out first hand how hard it is to ww in a canoe
we're thinking about trying out a yak. Although that won't help me while
tripping, but it l;ooks like fun. Currently looking into picking up a plastic
16"-1"7'er of some sort ( I like the Swift DeMoine) for more intense tripping.
I'll see how it goes on the St.Croix this year, I'd like to look into some
canadian rivers starting next year.
Bob
From: Bill Oehl <woehl@lf0990.pd2.ford.com>
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: Wed, 19 May 1999 09:04:13 -0400
OK, I'll bite.
My name is Bill Oehl (in case you haven't figured that much out). I
am 36 years old. I live in the Ann Arbor Michigan area and I am a salaried
Ford Motor employee and work in Dearborn Michigan. I have been paddling
for about twenty years now.
I started with canoes progressing to a Klepper
and then eventually to a fiberglass sea kayak
(Mariner2). My favorite paddling is done on the
Great lakes especially Superior.
Bill
From: CKelly1022 <ckelly1022@aol.com>
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: 19 May 1999 14:29:56 GMT
My nane is Chris Kelly. I'm 52, have a beautiful and intellegent wife (Actually, I'm a trophy husband. She just keeps me around because I am good looking and way buff; kind of a sex toy.) We have two grown children, one of whom is a kayaker. The other one is a nice person. My wife and I live in Columbia, MO.
I usually paddle a Dagger Rival but also have a glass Winonah Edge, a Caption and a flat water boat. I lust after a Skeeter/Quake. Most recently I paddled the Kaweah River in central California. This BTW, is a tremendous river.
The Saint Francis is my home river but I can often be found in Arkansas, Tennessee, Colorado or WVa.
I appreciate this ng for the tips about boating and boat care but mostly
for its deep philosophical foundation. love, Chris Kelly
From: RailTramp <railtramp@aol.com>
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: 19 May 1999 14:38:46 GMT
My name is Blakely LaCroix and I am 49 and a rafter and IK'er. (Sounds like a confession.) Physically, I can typically be found just north of Minneapolis, MN. Spiritually, I always seem to be dreaming of a new adventure.
In retrospect, the river appears to be just the current extension of a much longer journey. In the late 60's, I used my thumb to follow the highways to the places I had not yet been. Then bicycling became the vehicle for adventure. For the next 10 years, freightrains were carrying me to my destinations. At the height of my hobo career, I met my soul mate. We married, I founded a business, and we started a family.
When we looked for a hobby we could all do together, rafting was at the top of the list. Every summer we try to do at least one long trip (100 miles plus), usually in the Western US, and preferably in the wilderness (at least the illusion of a wilderness). These are solo trips (one boat/three people) which we all love. The grand finale trip will be a family Grand Canyon run in what looks like 8 years. The trip this summer will be the first leg (Ely to International Fall) of the a multi-year journey to Hudson's Bay.
In the meanwhile, I can be found rowing a Aire 15R6 down local rivers, or paddling an Aire Lynx II (now one for every member of the family). I do not care about the rating of the water I travel down as long as I can still get through safely. Rapids are nice, but not essential. The joy is just to be on the water and exerience Nature in the hope that maybe one can still get a glimpse of what the world was like before man compromised it. For me, the journey is the reward.
Blakely LaCroix Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
The best adventure is yet to come.
From: Sir Heimer <heimer@my-dejanews.com>
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: Wed, 19 May 1999 14:32:06 GMT
I'm Daniel Bogh, 22 years old, been paddling about 10 months. I paddle a Dagger Vertigo and I'm now a solid class III moving into class IV boater.
I currently reside in Ringgold, GA, just south of Chattanooga TN (less than an hour from the Ocoee!) and I work (tech support) in Atlanta.
From: John Kobak <keelhauler@prodigy.net>
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: Wed, 19 May 1999 10:45:08 -0400
> How old are we,
Older than some rivers - 62
Married 40 yrs. to a flat water paddler
>how long have we been paddling,
Paddled open canoe for 30 yrs. with Keel Haulers Canoe Club
Paddled whitewater kayak 28 years, making my own molds and kayaks in the early years.
Didn't do a lot of first descents but probably a close second, 25 years on Chattooga, Gauley & Upper Yough
Founded Keel Haulers Outfitter's which was passed on to my son Jeff who is now getting out of the business. Retired from NASA after 36 years, yes I am a "Rocket Scientist".
>what type of paddling do we do, and
Mostly Class 3-4 whitewater in my big Pirouette, probably my 15th kayak.
Class I rivers with my 17' Mohawk Nova and the Mrs.
>where do we live?
Westlake, OH
My love is paddling and traveling, leading adventure trips. --
John Kobak
Keel Haulers Canoe Club
http://pages.prodigy.net/keelhauler
From: Paul Skoczylas <pauls@cfertech.com>
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: Wed, 19 May 1999 08:42:37 -0600
Anyway, I'm 27 (well, I will be in two weeks), living in Edmonton, Alberta. I took a beginner kayaking course in January-April, 1996, with my wife, Melissa. There's been no turning back for me since then, but Melissa quit paddling the first summer after an inner-ear problem (causing vertigo and nausea) which she attributed to kayaking. I'm now into my fourth season of paddling and am a comfortable class III-IV paddler. (I don't believe in rushing to higher grades quickly, and find a good, solid class III to be really fun.)
I've been on the executive of my university club (although I graduated
in '96) for three years, and am presently on the executive of the Alberta
Whitewater Association. See
http://www.su.ualberta.ca/clubs/uaps I am also an Basic kayaking instructor
in Alberta, with the national NCCP certification as well.
I do most of my paddling in the Canadian Rockies in Alberta and BC -- real mountains, unlike those hills they have down in the SE US. ;-) ;-) Favourite spots include the Brierlies (at Rocky Mountain House, AB), Jasper National Park, and the Fraser River in the shadow of Mt. Robson.
I am a mechanical engineer, working for an oil and gas research company in Edmonton (http://www.cfertech.com). No kids, but two Golden Retreivers (http://www.ualberta.ca/~pls).
-Paul
From: <river_otter@my-dejanews.com>
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: Wed, 19 May 1999 14:48:02 GMT
In article <3741BA16.1196@american.hasharon.k12.il>,
myronb@american.hasharon.k12.il wrote:
Taking a hint from news.groups and Paddlewise, let me ask: who are the posters here on rbp? How old are we, how long have we been paddling, what type of paddling do we do, and where do we live?
I am a mostly lurker. I'm 45 yrs old, have paddled something (including coleman canoe) most of my life on and off. During a Colorado stint, I guided rafts on the Cache la Poudre, and have been on several multi- day raft trips as a client.
After moving to North Carolina almost 3 years ago, I found a big hole in my life ... no good source of adreneline. No big mountains filled with powdery snow, no walls of rock tho hang off. So I finally took up kayaking, and have been hitting the rivers for over a year now.
I highly recommend it!
Personal junk: Female, two grown stepkids, partnered (11 yr) with another kayaker (we started hitting the water together). I'm also into bc skiing, blading ramps, climbing... none of which are as available to me here so I don't do enough. When I am not on a river, I tend to be playing ultimate.
Thanks for asking!
Otter
From: Rich Johnson <rwh.johnson@ns.sympatico.ca>
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: Wed, 19 May 1999 12:12:24 -0300
Hi my name is Rich and I'm an open boater... sounds like the start of an AA meeting or something. Actually my full name is Rich Johnson ,age 36, and I paddle a OT Discovery 164, mostly with son fishing on a local river, but also on 2 or 3 day trips with friends, family, and/or scouts. (I'm Scouter with 1st Enfield). Home is in Nova Scotia just North of Halifax. And in the real world I am a Electronics Tech with the Bedford Institute of Oceanography, helping to maintain ship electronics for the science fleet and also hydrographic equipment
Regards Rich Johnson Enfield Nova Scotia
Canada
From: J. Michaels <jmichaels@home.com>
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: Wed, 19 May 1999 15:27:11 GMT
Hi, I'm Jim and I'm a recovering....ooops, wrong thread... I'm 52 years
young and after being landlocked for close to a decade, am happy to be
back on the water. A lifelong sailor, I got into human powered boats a
year and a half ago by buying a wooden rowing shell from a neighbor. I
use it on the local waters the way my other neighbors use their sea kayaks;
ie exploring, critter watching, sunrise/set viewing, exercise, etc.
Picked up a clc cape charles from an RBPer for my wife and hope to
have her on the water in a month. Still looking for a nicely priced wooden
kayak for myself. Sailing and biking round out our outdoor time. While
I mostly lurk, RBP has been a wonderful source of info to help me get started
into paddling and I'm appreciative of all the advice I've gotten.
From: Chris Barber <barberc@msu.edu>
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: Wed, 19 May 1999 10:31:06 -0400
I'm Chris Barber, single, 31 years old, and currently living in East
Lansing, Michigan. Started paddling canoes in my early teens on quiet lakes
and some moving water (I & II). Worked a coupla' summers in college
leading 1-2 week canoe trips for teenagers in the St. Regis Wilderness
Area of Adirondack Park in NY. Spent most of my twenties living in/near
the SE corner of the Pine Barrens in NJ and paddling everything from the
cedar bog headwaters all the way out thru the salt marshes and estuaries
to the barrier islands. Spent some time away from the paddle during a few
years of serious backpacking. I was introduced to rec kayaks a few years
ago by a friend and was instantly sucked in. The next step was obvious
-- to get out on big water. Unfortunately, my discovery of sea kayaking
coincided with my moving away from the ocean last year, but my Eclipse
seems to be just as content to be out on the Great Lakes. I'll travel fairly
far w/ my boat. In the last week and a half I've paddled Great Bay NJ,
tide-water Potomac, Chesapeake Bay (near Annapolis), and Lake Champlain
(there were other reasons to be in those places, bring the yak just made
sense). SO if you see a gray Bonneville with MI tags and a bright orange/red
Eclipse cruisin' along the Interstate -- give a honk and a wave. :)
-- Chris
__________________________________________________ Christopher P. Barber
Basic Science & Remote Sensing Initiative
Dept. of Geography, Michigan State Univ.
http://bsrsi.msu.edu
From: Lyle Fairfield <lylefair@cgocable.net>
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: Wed, 19 May 1999 12:57:04 -0400
Gosh, someone older than I am ... well, just a year. (61) and married
longer than have been ... well just a year. (39)
been a long time on the water in some shape or form ... since 1947.
4 canoes ... Swift Kipawa, Mad River Traveler, Mad River Escape 14, and a restored Minto wood and canvas 12 footer ... a Keowee for the grand kids, although I did do an over nighter in it once, believe it or not.
The north shore of Superior is my favourite place.
-- Lyle -- in Southern Ontario
From: Steve Culy <sculy@boulder.vni.com>
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: Wed, 19 May 1999 11:17:58 -0600
I'm 38, and I live in Boulder, Colorado. I paddle mostly whitewater,
mostly in a kayak. My first
whitewater experience was paddling a tandem canoe in Indiana as a teenager.
I got into kayaking
via whitewater rafting, but moved to kayaking
when it became too difficult to get enough people to raft.
This is my third season kayaking, and I'm starting on class IV runs
(at low water). Latest was
Screaming Quarter Mile on Clear Creek (Colorado). I still have lots
of fun on Class II & III runs, though, and I'd like to do more multi-day
tripping. I suppose I kayak somewhere between 50 and 100 days a year (I'd
rather boat than count.).
Favorite runs:
Arkansas River (Colorado), Fractions/Frog Rock @ 1000 cfs
Taylor River (Colorado), Rosy Lane @ 500 cfs
Cache La Poudre River (Colorado), Rustic to Narrows @ 3.5ft (Pinevu gauge)
Most memorable paddling experience:
23 day wilderness paddle rafting trip with Outward Bound on the
Green (Utah) and Yampa (Colorado) Rivers (Dinosaur National Monument and
Desolation, Gray, Labyrinth, and Stillwater Canyons).
-- ----------------------
Steve Culy
Visual Numerics, Inc.
sculy@boulder.vni.com voice:(303)245-5328
From: leland <lelandd@home.com>
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: Wed, 19 May 1999 17:50:19 GMT
well, i'm leland and am also a youngster at 27, although i'm sure my body feels older than that. boofing drops has cost me 2" in height in the last 5 years.
first whitewater experience was in '82 in a tandem canoe. didn't start paddling regularly until '86 - still tandem canoeing, mostly flatwater but some white up to about class III+. i was getting out a good bit, though... 40+ days/year. in 1990 i got my first solo canoe - a perception hd1 which i paddled about 10 - 15 days/year for a few, until 1994. i also tried kayaking (about 15 days worth) during this time, but was discouraged by my first shoulder dislocation in '89. these years were the ones when i was BIG into climbing (100+ days/year) and still backpacking an awful lot too. on april 29th, 1994 my life was forever transformed by the purchase of my first dagger cascade. by that fall i was boldly (and stupidly) flinging myself off some pretty burly stuff. in '95 i got a creek280 as well - my first kayak. unable to figure out the funny two ended paddle, i began to hand paddle the thing down all kinds of stuff. i think i took it down the green my fourth day in it. it was a couple more years before i would start using a paddle. i was still mostly c"-1"ing, and actually getting kinda good at it. got my squirt boat at gauley fest in '96. didn't really have the skills to paddle it, and after a harrowing day on the lower g it was mostly shelved for a year. when i got back in it in spring of '98 i found that it was big fun. took it to the gauley last fall for runs on the upper and loved it. i have used the boat into an unusable state over the last month.
mostly i kayak these days (about 125 days/year). i still love getting out on steep creeks, but i'm starting to catch the playboating bug as well. i still have three cascades (anyone wanna buy a hull cheap?) that i use every now and then, but i do most of my creeking in my 240. i use it as a c"-1" sometimes as well. i have a blade which is a great river running boat (i have an extra for sale) and am loving my new inazone220. unfortunately, my old creek280 is now nothing more than a yard ornament.
as for personal details, i'm single (accepting applications), mostly
unemployed, and have more fun than any other person i know. i do some graphic
design work for myself, work some odd table waiting jobs, and live in a
camper in my little sister's back yard with a view of a mountain in asheville,
NC. i spend over half the days of the year playing outside, have been on
two road trips over 20 days in the last 10 months, and i leave for colorado
in two days.
-- Leland
lelandd@home.com
http://members.home.com/lelandd 828-275-8383
From: Jonathan McAnulty <McAnulty@svm.vetmed.wisc.edu>
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: Wed, 19 May 1999 13:34:24 -0700
Currently almost 43 years old. I started paddling while in school in
1978. I became hooked by hiking along the Chattooga and seeing a guy named
Bruno run 7 foot falls, disappear, surface upside down and roll. Right
then I HAD to learn to paddle. It was an instant obsession. Bruno later
became a good friend through a serendipitous meeting. He was also the first
that I knew personally to die during a paddling activity. There was no
real organized instruction available so my sister and I self-taught ourselves
by running section III over and over and over, initially with borrowed
gear, and comparing notes with better paddlers. We became adept at self
rescue and did some dumb things due to ignorance, like running Left Crack,
but were lucky. My first ecstatic purchase was a used Holloform which I
promptly wrapped on a log jam but was able to salvage. I started paddling
class V after 3 years of constant paddling and have kept it up ever since,
moving into paddling with organized groups, leading class V and running
safety clinics for the club when I was most involved. I upgraded as new
boats came along and went through about 5 years of squirt boating a lot
of tougher runs, starting in 1987, but this ended with some hairy misadventures
on the Upper Gauley at 3500 cfs that changed my perspective a little. I
still squirt boat but only on fun runs. A Masters degree and two Doctorates
later, I am in Wisconsin, have 2 girls- ages 2 and 4; and don't paddle
nearly as much as I did up to the time when the first was born. My wife
is a paddler, class IV and some V, but we also thoroughly enjoy extended
wilderness canoe trips and rafting while flyfishing out west. My wife is
much more the experienced wilderness tripper than I am with her best trip
being one in the Canadian territories which was over 60 days out, including
a section which went upriver and over a watershed. We hope to teach our
girls to love the water and the wilderness as much as we do. Cheers.
Jon
From: Andrew Gooding <agoodingq@uiuc.edu>
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: Wed, 19 May 1999 13:52:34 -0500
I'm Andrew Gooding, read rbp for awhile in early '95 (from school/work)
and jumped back on last summer when I got net access from home. I'm 32,
and have paddled seriously since I was 13 in a school group that did up
to Class 3+ rivers in upstate New York. Started doing more racing (primarily
marathon) and completed the Adirondack Canoe Classic twice in a solo boat.
Now paddle for fun, exercise and too occasional trips, only open canoes
(don't like that second blade or my head underwater). I like seaworthy
race designs (own two Mad River racing boats) and I am likely to denigrate
less fast boats, but that's me.
-- Andrew
From: Don Rumrill <donald.m.rumrill@lmco.com>
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: Wed, 19 May 1999 14:23:32 -0400
Don Rumrill here, I'm 51 and have been canoing or kayaking for 39 years.
I
started downriver racing in aluminum boats in 1973 and in kayaks in
'74 ('cause
of partnering problems). I've done class IV in open boats and kayaks,
but no
longer prefer to seek it out. I do marathon races now, including the
Gen.
Clinton 70 miler. I live about a 1/2 mile from the Susquehanna R. near
Binghamton NY and these days do most of my rec paddling there or on the
"cricks", lakes and rivers near my camp in the southern Adirondacks. I
had
a little heart problem late last fall and although I had no heart damage,
the
by-pass operation has left me with a healing but very tender breast
bone, so
no Clinton race this year. Did 7 miles at a fair pace on Sunday and
was a
little sore but much better than 2 weeks ago. I have a wonderful wife who
likes to canoe as much as I do and a 15 yr old daughter that's tough
as nails.
We have: 2 Grummans, the oldest active Wenonah Jensen marathon boat
in existence
(I think it was built in 1968! great shallow water boat), a V1A mixed
cruiser, a
J-200 (called the Gamma Double Dot for the time rate change of roll
that it exhibits),
an old glass kayak, a 7 1/2 ft dinghy that I built and a Sunfish. The
vertical
pronoun has been overused in this missive so we'll say goodbye.
Don
From: Bubba Fett <yak_attack@my-dejanews.com>
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: Wed, 19 May 1999 18:50:04 GMT
Well, I'm 39... uhhhh, what were the questions?
-- Thoughtfully (or not), ATCMS (pronounced
"A-tack-ems"), the attack-dog evil twin (the Dark Side, if you will)
of a really, really nice guy.
From: Jeepyak <jeepyak@aol.com>
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: 19 May 1999 19:40:45 GMT
Dougie Jaeger, 30. I live in Northern VA, andhave been paddeling since I could lift up the oars on my sportyacht. I progressed to a kayak when I was 18. I did a lot of flat water yakking in a dancer, took some rolling lessons and hit the whitewater scene in 1994. I enjoy flat water, white water, and ocean paddeling in a ww yak.I have even paddled one of those canoe thingies.
Dougie, Live long and paddle.
From: KSTRELETZK <kstreletzk@aol.comMOTHRA>
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: 19 May 1999 19:55:46 GMT
41 years young
been paddling open canoes on ww since 91; started dabbling with kayaks in fall of 96 - converted to the dark side in summer of 97.
but. . . .took lake paddling as a gym course at Penn State in 78; was
pissed at the girl scout camp for making me go in a rowboat instead of
a canoe at camp mosey wood back in the 60s, and fantasized about shooting
niagara falls in a barrel back when i was just 9 years old!
currently reside in new market, maryland, usa
From: Steven Stuckmeyer <stuckmyr@darkwing.uoregon.edu>
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: Wed, 19 May 1999 14:37:39 -0700
Normally I just sit back and read this forum like the newspaper, but occasionally something piques my interest enough to get me to post. Usually, I've found this group to be best used just to find out info or to get a little dose of entertainment from around the states/globe. This little thread is actually pretty interesting (even if it might be a bunch of lies) so I guess I'll join in.
I'm barely 26 (but already lost half my hair), stand about 6'2'' tall, hover about 195 pounds, speak with a slight southern Missouri drawl, have been amazed at God's creation every day of my life, am unmarried, and was single up til last Valentine's Day. I like to backpack, hike, climb, bicycle, and do just about anything that's adventurous and is going to keep me away from the nondescript everyday life of Suburban Amreica. I've been messing about with boats since I can remember; starting with toys, moving along to tubing down our farm's creek, class I-II canoeing down most of the streams in Southern Missouri, and finally messing about with an old fiberglass kayak that belonged to my best friend's dad.
Then one fateful day I got on a commercial rafting trip down the Arkansas River (Brown's Canyon, CO), and decided that whitewater was a whole lot more fun than flatwater. Shortly afterward, I started browsing this newsgroup and ended up responding to a FOR SALE add, drove 4 hours down to the Buffalo River in Northern Arkansas, and bought a Dagger Freefall from a guy named Billy Herring. That was about 6 years ago.
With that boat, I (with the help of William Nealy, i.e. KAYAK) basically taught myself to kayak on streams such as Marble Creek and the Saint Francis (supposedly class III and IV streams). I loved it, but was only able to get out about 5 times a year from 1992"-1"996. I guess I had a decent on-side roll, could easily read water, and felt fine going downriver on class III, but I really didn't have the chance to practice at becoming a "real" kayaker.
Then, in 1996, I graduated from the University of Missouri-Rolla and ended up heading to Eugene, Oregon for a Ph.D. program in Physical Chemistry. Well in the intervening 2 1/2 years, I've gotten rid of my Freefall, had an RPM, traded it for a Hammer, and have since acquired a Kix and a Glide. Given a locale that actually enabled everyday boating, I've managed to acquire about 100"-1"50 days a year on the local creeks and rivers. Mostly I like class IV-V creeking (I've managed to get down just about every IV-V creek in an hours drive of Eugene), but big scenic rivers are fun too. I doubt I'll ever have much fun hanging out all day at a playhole, but that doesn't keep me from trying every once in awhile when the water levels get to low to do anything else. Some peoply call me an advanced boater, a few even call me an expert (I don't think I'd agree with them though); I don't much care, since what others think doesn't make a damn bit of difference as to how or what I'll run. The are lots of things I can do, some I can't, and quite a few I just won't.
I plan to continue kayaking every week, get my Ph.D. in another couple
of years, move away from Oregon, and tour parts unknown. Maybe Nepal, South
America, etc. Till then, I've still got about 100 worthwhile rivers and
creeks in Oregon waiting for my first descent. Eventually I may end up
back at the family farm in Dent County, Missouri, but God only knows at
this point.
That's enough of a bio for the time being, especially since I doubt
you'd like to read any more! :)
\\|//
(o o) ------------oOOo-(_)-oOOo---------------------------------------------------
\ || _ ( ) . o / \ || Get out and paddle a kayak! \ \ oo \ / \ <\__,\ || and if the river's not running... \ | <_ , \ |
"> | || then start praying for some rain! \.__./ \ |
' | || \---// \ |
\ || Steve Stuckmeyer \ // \ / |
\|| Physical Chemistry Graduate Student \' | |
Richmond Laboratory |\ \ / University of Oregon ~W~~~ ~W~W~ ~W~~ ||
__o -"\<
....(*)/(*)
============================================================================
From: DBerry OB <dberryob@aol.com>
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: 19 May 1999 21:40:26 GMT
My name is Debra, no witty nickname. I'm 44 and single. I grew up in Colo. and bounced around the world before landing here in Atlanta. I got hooked on paddling after hiking the Chattoga and dating a kayaker. I started out in a kayak then had a dream about a golden canoe with wings. I decided that God wanted me to be a real boater and here I am.
From: John L. <jwlester@sacbeemail.com>
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: Wed, 19 May 1999 21:43:29 GMT
The Grey Parrot list I subscribed to did this once as well - always interesting.
I'm 28, a grad student, and have been paddling WW about 5 years.
I live in Northern CA, but have lived 'round the world at various times.
I usually paddle III+ and IV rivers. I also pretend I can play Canoe Polo
and sometimes like to get worked over in ocean surf, especially on trips
to Southern CA.
John Lester
From: go kayak <gokayak@worldnet.att.net>
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: Wed, 19 May 1999 18:20:28 -0400
We're Lisa (age 36), Gene (age 56), Mary-Kathryn (age 11) & Robyn
(age 9) We all paddle k1. We all like whitewater. Gene's been paddling
for over 40 years. He started with an open boat then moved to the kayak.
He was my instructor 5 years ago. That's how we met. We got married almost
2 years ago on the James River in Richmond, VA. On a summer Saturday morning,
we met with our friends at the take out, set shuttle and ran to First Break
at the Top of Belle Isle where the Magistrate was waiting for us. You haven't
seen anything until you've seen an entire wedding party decked (no pun
of course!) out in skirts, helmets and pfd's forming an archway of paddles!
The "ceremony" was performed and we all got back in our boats and finished
the run. The river was just below flood stage so it was rockin' and rollin'.
We had the first reception in the take-out parking lot, then we all loaded
up (again no pun intended!) and headed over to the local microbrewery called
"Legends" for reception number two. Our wedding bands are shaped like kayak
paddles. You might say we're hooked!
My daughters started paddling about 2 years ago. They are getting really
good at it. The older on paddles a Blast, the younger an Epi Tike. They'll
probably be out running us next year! If you want to see some pictures
go to
http://home.talkcity.com/LOLWay/kayakah/photoalbum.html
From: shuttler <krisskross@euskalnet.net>
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: Thu, 20 May 1999 01:03:21 +0200
Araiz, 30 years old, 'nearly single', born and live in the Basque Country (here, near Pyrenees).
I 'stupidly' like running the shuttle, taking photographs, watching paddlers 'dancing' in the river and 'relaxing' while my friends paddle. (...of course they love me!)
Every single year I promise myself I'll start paddling 'seriously'...this year's 'good excuse' : a 'stupid' discal-hernia !
I always liked rivers, kayaks, ... but it wasn't until 5 or so years
ago that I 'got involved' in the paddling 'community', and now...I can't
left!!!!! :-)
Neither can I switch off the computer if I have something to read on
rbp!!
A real adict I am!
I like this and that and tommorrow something else, I studied Art restoration but I'm more on web-page designing right now.
Can't remember anything else by now! :-)
Araiz
BTW, I also wanted to know who we are...reaaaaally curious I was! :-)
From: <badswim@hotmail.com>
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: Thu, 20 May 1999 00:29:29 GMT
Post as BR cuz its the computer at work,
and big brother is watching.
36 years old, been boating since I was 28. I call myself a class 4 kayaker.
Prefer creeks, and low volume technical stuff. Atlanta resident, chattooga
local. Something close to 100 runs down section 4. I have boated in
Florida, Georgia, SC, NC, WV, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, TN,
Colorado, Wyoming and Idaho.
Did over 100 days a year until 1998. Then work got serious and ate
into boating days.......shit happens.
Dry hair days are good days, and I have an understanding with little
river canyon - hence badswim.
From: Wayne Smith <wsmith16@snet.net>
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: Wed, 19 May 1999 20:34:45 -0400
Hi, Wayne Smith here. I'm 36, and have been paddling for a little over
20 years. I started out as a flatwater and easy whitewater canoeist, and
now I'm mostly
a sea kayaker, and do a little whitewater, too. I live in the eastern
part of CT. If you know
any boater babes in the area, please let them know I exist ;-)
I paddle a Current Designs Caribou and a Perception Pirouette S. I also
still have the Coleman canoe I bought when I was 16 -- can't seem to kill
the thing. Most of the
paddling I do is in New England, and I've also paddled in Prince William
Sound, Alaska.
Going to Nova Scotia this summer as my yearly paddling extravaganza.
My favorite place to paddle changes every so often. Right now, it's Boothbay Harbor, Maine (Going there in a few weeks). Plenty more on my website: http://pages.cthome.net/wsmith16/home.html
Wayne Smith
wsmith16@snet.net
From: Kathy Kempson <kkemp@dreamscape.com>
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: Wed, 19 May 1999 21:26:15 -0400
I have been paddling as long as I can recall. My grand father set me in a wonderful old wooden canoe at the age of two. He later took me sailing in that canoe, (isn't that backwards, you get too old to paddle, you sail?) I recall girl scout camp, taking the Red Cross canoe course, and loving every minute of it. During my girl scout years, I recall a trip down the delaware river. I feel lucky that I had the troop I did. The first kayak I ever paddled was an racing k"-1", ya know the wicked tippy ones. That was at the age of 12. For years, I paddled open canoes with double blades, single blades and as mentioned, was fortunate enough to be sailed about in one.
I have paddled a sea kayak for what I think must be 10 years. The white water bug hit me about four years ago, though I knew for years before that it was something I wanted to really really do. I lost all resistance in the past year and I find my self unable to fight the urge to run a river, surf a hole or find the white water. Seems I go through withdrawal if I don't paddle once or more a week. I love to paddle class III to IV. The occasional class V run adds a great thrill to life. My sea kayak I am sure must be feeling neglected, though it still gets some use. Lake Ontario has some great surf when the wind kicks up, and it is a blast in both the long boats or the tupperware.
I am slowly, very slowly working on restoring the wonderful old wooden canoe that my grandfather first introduced me to the sport of paddling in. It has been years in the process, and will likely be several more years. What a beauty it will be when finished.
I have two children. They both have paddled since the age of three. They were taught to maneuver their crafts with a group of adults standing in the water, in a circle, urging them to aim the bow of the boat at our pfd's, then on to the next. My son is learning to roll now at the age of ten, with mega extra padding for his small frame, he will get it soon.
My age is 40. I guess that means that I have been boating for 38 years. phew when I say it like that I feel 40. I live and work not far from syracuse new york.
From: Honorary Kayaker <jimmy.creek@juno.com>
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: Wed, 19 May 1999 20:56:16 -0400
My name is Jim Michaud from Connecticut, age 61. I've been paddling OC"-1"s and C"-1"s since 1968. My preferred craft is the OC"-1" which I paddle mostly on class IV and V rivers.
I can't find any other open boaters in Southern New England who paddle class IV-V rivers on a regular basis so all of my paddling friends are deck boaters. Since I run all the rivers that the kayakers do they've dubbed me an "Honorary Kayaker".
Jim Michaud
From: rick etter <retter@bright.net>
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: Wed, 19 May 1999 23:28:42 -0400
Rick Etter
48
paddling since early '70s
confirmed open boat wilderness paddler!
Since there is not much in the way of wilderness here in Ohio, we boat
in northern Ontario 2 or 3 times a year.
-- Canoe North!
Rick Etter
http://www.bright.net/~retter
Step outside...The Graphics are Amazing!
From: Eddy Rapid <paddlehard@hotmail.com>
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: Thu, 20 May 1999 03:45:08 GMT
I'm Parham Momtahan. I've been dropping in and out of rbp since about 1995, I think. I started posting as "Eddy Rapid" early this year. (I was anonymous for a while but, during the burnt toaster boy's manic phase, I decided that anonymity is not consistent with a healthy community. But THAT is another story.)
I'm 42, married, and we have a daughter. I'm a born again Canadian living in Ottawa, Ontario. I make my living out of puters, nets, and such, but we won't get into that here.
I started paddling 13 years ago. I had never been in any kind of paddling boat. Then I went to see Bill Mason's film "Water Walker". Half way though the film I had my moment of epiphany and I KNEW what I had to do. The very next weekend I got on a canoeing course and I have never stopped paddling since.
These days, I mainly OC"-1" in a Dagger Ocoee in class III/IV. In moments of weakness I have cross dressed into a skirt and picked up the devil's extra blade, but never long enough to have changed my orientation.
I have been a whitewater instructor for the Ottawa YMCA Canoe Camping Club for a few years. I just received my Ontario Recreational Canoeing Association (ORCA http://www.canoeontario.on.ca/orca.htm) level III instructor accreditation after a challenging 9 day course, under the mentorship of Mike Yee.
I also love tripping, usually with family and friends, in places like Algonquin Park, Killarny Park, Parc de la Gatineau.
I also enjoy travelling on solid water. I'm a Canadian Ski Marathoner
http://www.csm-mcs.com/csm-mcs/e/ ) and occasional Arctic sojourner (http://www.canadianarcticholidays.ca/file06.htm).
Eddy "that's who" Rapid.
From: Oci-One Kanubi <richard.l.hopley@erols.com>
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: Thu, 20 May 1999 00:28:10 -0400
I'm a single 52 year-old computer nerd. Been boating only seven years. Paddle Class II-IV whitewater, with the odd Class V.0 rapid thrown in. I boat a Dagger Ocoee, Dagger Rival, or Savage Skeeter, depending upon the type of water, and I shall be first in line for one of Dagger's new Phantoms this summer. I boat an average of 100 days a year (excluding instruction, safety, and rolling sessions) and teach four or five weekend-long river safety and rescue classes each year. Most of my boating is in the Appalachians, from North Georgia to the Adirondacks, though I try to get in a longer road-trip to Canada or the Rockies once a year.
Richard Hopley, #39, OC"-1"; concise and to the point, as usual. Rockville,
Maryland, USA, BBM; (301) 330-8265
Nothing really matters except Boats, Sex, and Rock'n'Roll.
From: Moses <moses@vt.edu>
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: Thu, 20 May 1999 02:04:20 -0400
howdy everybody,
i'm shane. Or moses if you have a preference for calling people by
their last names. i'm 20 years old and a student at virginia tech (and
highly oppose yelling WAHOO!!! as a river signal). i'm a biology major
(well, okay, i'm just putting the forms through to make the switch--it's
my fourth major, more or less), and dabble in political science, art, environmental
science and something else i forget.
always loved water. when i was around 4 i remember sitting staring
at some rapid on some little creek out in yosemite for over an hour reading
the water and throwing sticks and stuff in to see if i was right. first
paddled on my dad's ancient 14' grumman (which i still have). ran my first
rapids (class II, tops) in an aluminum john boat while fishing on the new.
took up sailing for a while, first with sunfish, then a 16' tanzer (which
i hope to restore this summer). went up to maine for the summer a couple
of years back and paddled all over a tidal pond with a rec kayak (saw an
osprey fish--truly an awesome sight), saw some people surfing a tidal standing
wave with white water boats, and said "i gotta do that."
got my first whitewater boat (new wave attitude) shortly thereafter.
discovered that late fall is not a good time to start kayaking. spent that
winter in the pool learning to roll. took to the rivers in the spring and
leaped in probably too fast. my first river was the lower half of goshen
pass on the maury (steps down), and my second was the new gorge at 3.5
about a month later. messed around a LOT at mccoy falls in between. ran
the new a gazzillion times later that summer. it has been just a bit over
year now since i my first experience on the maury. my last new river was
watauga gorge. i think now i'll stay at or below that level for a while
and try to see how many new rivers i can paddle this summer (i've paddled
so few it's really quite embaressing), and hope to meet some other rbpers
(other than Ben) irl.
sorry to type for so long. as the ratt said, if you have read this far....
oh, and i'm not necessarily a big fan of e.e. cummings, i'm just too
lazy to use the shift key.
Good paddling and good autobiographizing,
-shane moses
------------------------------------------------------- "Try not. Do, or do not. There is no try." -Yoda
Shane J. Moses ******************
check out my outdoor photos:
http://www.geocities.com/yosemite/gorge ******************
420 Laurel Springs Rd.
Newport, VA 24128
(540)544-7298
moses@vt.edu
http://www.vt.edu:10021/S/shmoses
From: Jeff Totten <tottenjj@sprint.ca>
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: Thu, 20 May 1999 10:11:14 GMT
45 yr old father of 4, canoe tripper for almost 20 yrs. mostly with
Pam (most supportive non-WW paddling wife in the world!) and the kids.
Got the K"-1" bug in '93 and have been doing whitewater up to III-IV (the
odd V)from coast to coast in Canada and South to Tennessee ever since.
Started seakayaking a couple of years ago 'cause we're surrounded by flatwater
here in Southern Ontario. Wish I'd started younger.
--
Stay Safe and Wet
Jeff
From: Thomas Hahn <Thomas.Hahn@unibw-muenchen.de>
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: Thu, 20 May 1999 12:38:20 +0200
Hi,
I am Thomas Hahn, 32 years old. I've started paddling whitewater (k1)
and kayak-polo in 91 at the sporting faculty of my university in Munich.
In 92 I got my first boat (Eskimo Gattino, big big boat).
In 93 I was for some time in Boston and did some rivers with the Boston
AMC chapter. Still remembering a run on the Dead in Maine, beeing the only
kayaker with 14 open boaters. Was a very good time. 94 till 98 I paddled
a prijon hurricaine and for the last year a Necky Jive.
I'm living 50 km south of Munich, Germany. I prefer low volume technical
rivers with difficulty up to IV. Some weeks ago, having been for the first
time in corsica at great conditions I enjoyed also doing some V's.
But I'm more a lurker than a poster.
Thomas
From: Chris Walters <chris@haze.demon.co.uk>
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: Thu, 20 May 1999 09:03:07 +0100
Chris Walters, UK, 32y.o., freshly married (to a paddler), always lurking
on RBP, rarely post though. You'll find me more often on UKRBP.
I've been paddling for 15 years now. Boats: Pyranha Mountain 300, RPM,
Speedy WWR.
Most of my paddling is now up to grade 3+ to 4-, although I've paddled harder. Still enjoy the freedom of paddling and the friendship that it brings. Can do without the major (and minor) thrills now though! Love the annual trip to the French Alps to catch sunshine and guaranteed white water, together with the cuisine and company (hello to the US contingent who'll be around in mid-June).
With all these resumes, is there anyone offering to preserve for posterity,
maybe a "RBP People FAQ" - it would be a shame not to let new members of
our community "in on the secret" and would make us less "cliquey" to newcomers.
Cheers, Chris
_____________________________________________________
Chris Walters e-mail: chris@haze.demon.co.uk
Hungerford, UK web: http://www.haze.demon.co.uk/
_____________________________________________________
Paul Helbert Eli Helbert
Age 55 Age 22
OC"-1" OC"-1", C"-1"
Shenandoah Valley of Virginia
I've been canoeing since I was eleven (canoeing merit badge in scouts). Had my next flare up of real interest in canoeing while in college at Virginia Tech. Tried to get with other boaters to learn from them about 1965. Got rejection letter from Lou Matacia (sp?) stating that their group was not accepting new members. Spent 70's in driest parts of Africa teaching and playing with motorcycles. Returned home to the valley with wife and three kids about 1978. Taught another couple of years, then managed a trout farm for most of the '80's.
The present affair with boats began about eleven years ago while on a family vacation. We had been grooming Christmas trees in Pocahontas county, WV and finished in less time than we had estimated, so we rented canoes and paddled the Shenandoah near Luray. The kids and I began to return to the river on weekends. Soon thereafter I quit the trout farm to go into business as a handyman and my time became more flexible. The oldest two children, Valerie and Edith, liked canoeing but did not become obsessed with it the way my son, Eli and I did. We became paddling buddies and soon were paddling all over the appalachians on weekends. We joined the Coastals and took some instruction at RiverSport and NOC. We learned to build, outfit and repair boats and made our own mitts, booties and sprayskirts (the latter for Eli's C"-1"). We went to work for Mountain Streams and Trails on the Cheat, Yough and Gauley; and Eli worked for them two summers before going south to Warren Wilson College, Team Savage, the NOWR circuit and NOC.
During Eli's junior high and high school years we paddled together every weekend. Now that he has moved out on his own, I am pleased and flattered that he still puts up with me on the Upper Yough, Section IV, and similar runs, and that we still share our many friends. I still get out twenty to thirty weekends a year, depending on water levels. This season I have paddled on the Caney Fork, Maury, James, Shenandoah, Cheat, Dry, Potomac, North, Gandy, and a few others. Memorial weekend we plan to go to Rock Island to watch Eli compete in the East Coast Rodeo Team Trials. My wife, Sharon, has been supportive, but she is not a paddler.
I am now learning the business of being an athletic agent and promoter. Eli's run at the world open canoe rodeo title (December in New Zealand) requires funds. Here is his sponsorship picture to date:
Savage V, Inc. Lotus Designs, Inc.
PowerBar, Inc.
Orosi, Inc.
Watershed, Inc.
Nantahala Outdoor Center
A dozen individual sponsors have contributed $35 to $50 each. It'll take eighty more individual sponsors in addition to the corporations to raise the $4500 needed to pay for the New Zealand trip with the US team (travel, sustenance, student loan repayment, and other expenses continue through three months of lost wages). Eli will be giving programs for the Coastal Canoeists Fall Quarterly meeting and The Massanutten Rotary Club in June.
Checks and inquiries for Eli may be sent to: Paul Helbert (540) 896-7107
12558 North Valley Pike
Broadway, Virginia 22815
From: Peik Borud <peik.borud@nrk.no>
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: 20 May 1999 15:09:29 GMT
Hi from Peik:
guess I'd better join in:
I'm 49, first paddled a kayak in surf in Wales 1967. Stayed in UK and
paddled/surfed for 2 years.
Got home to Norway, and was away from the paddling business for almost
10 years until I bought Klepper K2 whitewater kayak and relearned my roll
from memory. Got some rivertime on my own before joining OSI (Oslo Students'
Sportsclub) river paddling group sometime in the early 80's.
I'm having lotsa fun with those youngsters from the University, but
realise that this old dog can't keep up with the learning curve of todays
young boaters. So I'm trying to take care, my upper limit goes up and down
with scary/successful river outings, while I'm still trying to learn some
new tricks.
Me and my cohab/girlfriend have a son who's 18. He's into all kindsa
cool activities, but tends to stay away from my main interests (avoiding
competition?) so I'm going with the guys in the club when I need paddling
company. My mom and the rest of the family say I'm too old for this stuff,
but I'm still trying to revive the interest of my 10 years older buddy
who's been lying low for a year due to tennis elbow. I've got a bunch of
beatup old boats that are getting a little dated, but next year I'll be
50, and think a new play- boat should be a nice present for the anniversary.
In the meantime I keep a look on what's new and hot in the marketplace,
while doing some pretty rad modifications on my old boats.
--
Peik Borud
Norway
peik@online.no
From: LittleBeth <sylgraf@dnet.net>
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: Thu, 20 May 1999 15:52:06 GMT
I am Beth Thompson, 42, single, with an 8 yo daughter. I'm now an emerging
graphic designer and advertising business owner in the wilds of Sylva,
NC--only an hour from the Chattooga. I learned to paddle 3 years ago from
my deceased partner, Ed Green, who started me in a ducky and then put me
in his old Freefall. When he bought the Godzilla he died in, I got the
Gravity, and the Scott Shipley racing paddle (now if I could get the Scott
moves down....). I worked for the infamous Vladimir Vanha when he had Noah
boats in Bryson City in the early 80's, but since I was married at the
time to a redneck non-adventurer, I didn't try it.
Now I'm working back up to Class III-IV water, and want to make my
first Section IV trip this summer. I love to travel, write, and meet new
people--there's never enough time for all the stuff I want to do! Amy loves
whitewater too, but needs some work before I'll let her take the ducky
out alone.
Currently seeking out new worlds to explore...and boater dudes too...there's
a hole where my heart once was.
> Carpe ropum.
I thought that this meant "seize the rope" as "carpe diem" means "seize
the day."
--
Live as though every day were the last, love as
though there will never be another moment together. Beth Thompson
From: Jez <jeremy.kent@covance.com>
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: Thu, 20 May 1999 15:58:20 GMT
Jez, 33, 5'7", 140 lbs, Reading England
A late addict, I've been paddling for two and a bit years. Member of Marlow Canoe Club. I briefly had a year or so of paddling flat bits when I was a 10yo scout. I don't count that, though I did win a medal in a 10 mile race! Currently listed as a UK Div 3 slalomist (yeah, I licked those kids!) but no intention of competing again.
Regretfully wasted youth, now love the outdoors. Paddling brought me some happy times I could only imagine before. Paddle anything that isn't flat, preferably accompanied by good friends and beautiful scenery.
Hard to choose between surfing, playing and river running, but a good river will always win I guess. Reasonably happy on class IV.
Honourary member of the Bottom Bracers Club.
Boats had: 4.5m big old fibreglass thing, Creek 280.
Boats got: Blade, X.
To be truthful though, I'm not sure who I am any more.
Jez
jeremy.kent@covance.com (Reading, England) "I don't care who's son you are, you're not walking on my water!"
Wow - This thread exploded on me! Decided I couldn't read everyone elses posts before I posted or I might miss out on the door prizes to the first 200 people...
I'm Bud Chavez, and, as you might guess, I live in Cincinnati, Ohio (birthplace of Doris Day and Charles Manson, hangout of Larry Flint). I'm 43 years old, I think. I've started paddleing in Boy Scouts on the local flatwater rivers but I am primarly a WW paddler now. Although I did some whitewater previously, I consider the start of my whitewater career to be 1982 when I realized one was supposed to stay in the boat through the rapids, so I signed up for the local Sierra Club's kayak school. I proposed to my wife later that same year when I realized she wasn't learning to kayak just to humor me.
Cincinnati is equally inconvenient to many whitewater rivers, so I consider myself lucky to have averaged 25-35 ww trips a year since then. I have seen many paddlers start up, get better than me, then drop out in that time. Even my wife doesn't paddle much anymore, but she realizes how important it is to me and supports my continued paddling.
I primarily paddle class III to IV stuff, although I occasionally nudge into tougher stuff. I am a control freak though - If I don't feel totally in control on a river, I'm not having fun. If I'm not having fun, why do it? That has kept me from getting in too far over my head.
Favorite rivers: Upper Cranberry (WV), Upper White's Creek (TN), Lower Big Sandy (WV), Upper Yough (MD)
Run I want to do again the most: South Sauty (AL)
Most difficult run: Little River canyon - Suicide section @ 1 ft (AL)
"Home" rivers - White Oak creek (OH), Big South Fork of Cumberland (TN),
Lower Gauley (WV)
I also like getting on new runs regardless of the difficulty.
CintiBud
From: Natalie Fahning <afn18343@afn.org>
Topic: Who are we
Sent: 19 May 1999 15:39:22 GMT
My name is Natalie Fahning. I am 42 years old. I live in Cross Creek, FL with my two sweet birds and teach at a high school in Gainesville, FL. I've always been on the water in some form or another including surfing, living on a 36' yawl, 4 years in the Coast Guard (2nd class boatswain mate), white water rafting in eastern Oregon, to my current water transportation a sea kayak. Living on the Creek, I have access to two large old Florida lakes, Orange Lake and Lake Lochaloosa. The scenery is beautiful with the tannic water, variety of wildlife including alligators, ospreys, eagles, sand hill cranes, cypress trees with spanish moss hanging from the branches. Although life here is great my dreams are to move out west to northern CA, Oregon, or Washington. I love to hike and the scenery out there can't be beat, IMHO. I like to do river trips so an inflatable kayak will be in my future.
I would like to get into another career since I'm burn-out in the one I'm in but haven't decided on what to do. Once that decision is made it's 'Westward Ho.'
Some of the paddling I've done include local rivers, the Everglades,
and Savanaha, GA marshes. Before moving out west, I would like to paddle
off Nova Scotia and/or the Maine islands. If not before but definitely
after moving, I want to take some time and paddle the inside passage. Until
then it's life on the Creek with trips out west to have adventures with
friends and family who have already made the move.
Glad someone asked this question. It's been nice getting to know y'll. (the southern slang gets a lot of laughs when visiting out west) 8^)
From: Dave Logan <dave.logan@mindspring.com>
Topic: Re: Who are we
Sent: Wed, 19 May 1999 18:58:23 -0400
My name is Dave Logan, age 39 (really), and I've been paddling for 17 years. I started in OC"-1"'s and converted to high performance inflatable kayaks 5 years ago when my knees failed.
I live in Atlanta, GA USA and enjoy Class 3-4 whitewater rivers. I enjoy good scenery and good friends as much as the rapids.
I paddled the full length of the Grand Canyon last year in my "duckie" aka "inflatable love toy". I typically paddle rivers in the SE USA because there are so many nearby.
I've been fortunate enough to meet some rbp er's in real life (well actually in Julie Keller's hot tub ;-) I've also met several of you while leading the Chattooga section 3 1/2 trip for Scott Bristow's memorial.
"What a long strange trip it's been."
From: Shot25x25 <shot25x25@aol.comPHUQSPAM>
Topic: Re: Who are we
Sent: 20 May 1999 01:42:15 GMT
We are the people our parents warned us about.
.. Collin
'97 Jetta GLX
I'm all about peace. Let's bring it about via superior firepower. I
had an Acura Legend once...it sucked.
remove PHUQSPAM to reply.
From: Sue Sexton <Sue@newsguy.com>
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: 20 May 1999 10:44:31 -0700
I guess I'll add my bit to this thread..
Name's Sue Sexton. I'm 40 (yeah, Ratt, I had to get some of those progressive lenses myself since turning the big 4-0). I've been married 16 years to a non-boater, have two very active daughters (14 and 10... older one kayaks, younger one don't), a full-time job, and live in Ohio.. Needless to say, I don't get out on the river as often as some folk do, but I manage to have a danged good time anyway. I've been paddling ww kayak and been lurking/posting on this newsgroup for 5 years. I'd call myself a Class III boater, with a IV thrown in every now and again.
From: Brad Snow <paddler@mosquitonet.com>
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: Thu, 20 May 1999 12:16:21 -0800
It started with my uncle's old wood-canvas "guide" canoe on Lake Winnipesaukee
at 4, and progressed
to hours of cruising the shores of small lakes alone (against camp
rules) during YMCA summer camps
at 10-14, with the "big trip" of ten Grummans doing thirty miles of
Winnipesaukee. Strong winds scared the others one afternoon, but left me
with a lasting memory of excitement and exhilaration.
And woven through my youth were my father's
stories of his youth spent at "canoe camps" cruising the lakes and
rivers of central Maine in the late 1920s.
At 21, seven years after my last paddle, my Triumph motorcycle morphed
seamlessly into a
Chestnut wood-canvas after my last near-fatality in Boston traffic.
I then spent lots of time on the lakes and slower rivers of Northern New
Hampshire, and
on the Saco River into which I dumped my parents
during an altercation with a large boulder that also crushed the bow
of my beautiful canoe. A quick
trip to the Chestnut factory at New Brunswick fixed the canoe; the
large boulder temporarily fixed my taste for whitewater.
A paddle across North America, mostly truck- assisted, brought me to
the Yukon River, where I
learned to track and pole my Chestnut into a
lifestyle without electricity, plumbing or telephones for eight years.
But because of time and space
restraints, I eventually traded the Chestnut for a 19' Grumman square-stern
and 6 horse kicker, and put
paddling on hold for fifteen years.
One day, after marriage, babies, a move to the megalopolis of Fairbanks,
car-camping, the death of a son, and divorce, I borrowed a Tripper for
a solo paddle weekend on the lower Gulkana, a class II
wilderness beauty. The spark that started a
conflagration. The next week I acquired a used
Sunburst II that lasted five years, then a Probe 12, followed by a
Viper for the past three. In between; two Grand trips, races, NOC clinics,
a week on the Ocoee, starting Fairbanks Paddlers with a friend, two weeks
paddling the Portland area, and enough
swims to qualify for a trout-counter's trophy.
Plastic had liberated me from the wood-canvas fear of boulders!
At present I'm 51, the buck-stopper with Fairbanks Paddlers, a part-time
electrical contractor, on the Alaska Boating Safety Advisory Council, and
posed for another big change; I bought an RPM
Max this winter and have been working the pool
sessions to death every week since. On Saturday I will hit our season's
first big water in the Max, and will find out (for sure!) if roll practice
works, and if my Viper will ever see moving water again.
Brad -------------------
Brad Snow paddler@mosquitonet.com
"Alaska isn't the Last Frontier - It's the Last Bite on the plate."
Ed Abbey.
From: J. Pheasant-Albright <jules@u.washington.edu>
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: Thu, 20 May 1999 13:11:33 -0700
I'd tell you my age, but then I'd have to kill you.
I'm a former climber, avid skiier,bike rider, hiker, and paddler.
My husband got into paddling in a serious way in 1983, and was boating 150 days a year (not bad for a person with a real job) so I decided to join him. I actually took a class on a bet...
So, I started in 1984, in a truly hideous fiberglass boat, then a borrowed
Mirage. a Dancer, a Freefall, a couple of Crossfires, now I have a composite
Photon and am looking at a Kix. For 8 years I was the editor of the local
kayak club (one of the oldest in the country, see www.wakayakclub.com
Last year I was the President of the club, and helped put on the first
Rodeo we've had here in Washington since the late lamented Wenatchee Rodeo
in 1989.
Most years I've paddled between 75-100 days a year, but this year we've had such a fantastic ski year, and the snowpack still hasn't melted...we're looking towards a real bigwater spring.
I usually paddle class III, but have been known to do some class IV,usually in Idaho. Most years I can be found lurking around the Wenatchee most of the spring, the White Salmon later in the summer, and the Payette in September, or at the Powerhouse most any time.
Claim to Fame : Ran a Stolen Boat Page and got a notorious boat thief
put in jail, 1996.
Julie ===============================================================================
"Le coeur a ses raisons que la raison ne connait point."
"The heart has its reasons which reason knows nothing of."- Pascal ===============================================================================
From: Baron Stephens <wh2orat@bellsouth.net>
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: Thu, 20 May 1999 20:43:22 GMT
My name is Baron Stephens, I'm 35 years old, and have been paddling
for 3 years now.
I started the day after Christmas, paddling an Old Town Appalachian
with my black Lab, "Roxie". Immediately we became addicted to white water
paddling, although I had become a fairly proficient paddler, it wasn't
until the first time that I paddled with a club that I realized people
did not paddle in jeans and flannel shirts. : ) Hell, I could paddle class
III and not get wet, but after my 67th river trip (or by the end May) I
made the switch to the "Dark Side". Currently I consider myself a solid
class IV boater, and paddle mainly in the southeast. My alter ego has been
sighted on picnic tables at many campgrounds preaching about the wonders
of the river and the power of belief.
Because if you beleeive you might swim, you most certainly will!!
However, for the newbie paddler, we'll let them consider it a Baptism! : )
Just rember, when your riding on the highway of faith, and headed towards
the put-in of life, the glorious and righteous pastor of the paddle, the
one and only Rev. Will E. Paddlemore may be there to great you. And, when
you see him just shout out, "AMEN"!
Keep the Faith, for it is better to save than be saved.
From: Dancewater <dancewater@aol.comnospam>
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: 20 May 1999 21:07:52 GMT
Hi there....
I'm Susan, although "dance" and "dancewater" are becoming more common as nicknames....I am 43 (this is middle-age, folks, not old), single, living in Asheville, NC, USA. I love this area.
I am a down-river runner, and I never did get a lot out of playing holes, waves, etc. I love running a clean line, however... I run Class 2 to 4. I cannot imagine why folks would pay money to see videos of boaters messing up on WW rivers. You can see that for free on the Ocoee every weekend....
I started boating in 84, and I am now on my third boat (had a dancer for 12 years!) and fourth paddle. I paddle a Noah SQ, which I am pretty happy with, although I wish it was shorter and tracked better. I bent up one paddle running Tablesaw (yes, I remember the tablesaw, and the bull's eye at Hell Hole), lost one paddle at Tablesaw when a raft guide threw me a rope and said "let go of your paddle" and gave one paddle away. I have a Silver Creek now, which is a work of art. I do have my name on my paddle, but I don't think I will be losing any gear anytime soon. I am prone, lately, to leaving it behind inadvertently, however....
Never had an injury beyond a bruise. (well, I got Giardia twice...) Seen lots of other folks have really bad days on a river, I could count on one hand the times I had a bad day... always due to unforeseeable bad weather or equipment problems or other folk's having a really bad day..
I have boated (this year): the Nolichucky, Ocoee, Chattooga, Tellico, Pigeon, French Broad, James, Maury, Shannadoah, Rappahanock, Nantahala....Tried to get on: Big South Fork, Citico, Clear Creek, upper Green, Laurel Fork, Obed-Emory rivers....... but weather or water levels were not right. (It doesn't matter... I will get a chance again later.) My three favorite rivers (right now) are: Tellico, Tellico, Tellico. It is just so beautiful.
The best part of boating has been all the wonderful, wonderful, wacky, wacky, friends I have made over the years.... I am still friends with folks I boated with in 1984. (Hi Bud!) And have made many more. I started reading RBP in 95... thanks for all the laughs!!
I have seen the squirt boats come and mostly go... all the while thinking, "those are way dangerous for down-river running". I think the playboats now seen on the river are also way-dangerous for down-river running.....
There has been a significant increase in the number of WW boaters out
there, and an even more significant increase in the number of deaths. I
would never have believed this back in 84-85...... I think boating can
be done safely, and nearly all of these deaths are avoidable..... I am,
quite frankly, having a hard time with this....
I also think safety mostly happens, or does not happen, before you
put on the river.
boat safely please,
Susan dancewater
From: Gregg Silk <greggsilk@aol.com>
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: 20 May 1999 21:10:06 GMT
I grew up near the Lower Yough in the 70's, rafted it many times including a trip in a 4' long survival raft. I lost most of the following decade to marriage and grad school, spent the 90's workin in the DC biotech industry. When I got RIFed last year, I decided I had enough of the instability, sacrafice, unpaid overtime, exhaustion, sickness, and poverty of working in R&D. I've now switched to an IT firm, where my entry-level position pays as well as my previous job running a commercial genetic testing lab, and I work about 15 hours a week less. I'm enjoying the extra time for simple things like laundry, sleep, and paddling.
I started paddling about the time of my divorce some 8 years ago. I spend every other weekend with my daughter. We paddle flat water and camp. Last year she did the Smoke Hole with plenty of water in her Dancer xs. Otherwise I'm usually on the Potomac in my New Wave Attitude, which I can hit on the way home from work. I paddle class III-IV+, will never run Great Falls, hope to never get worked in a class V hole.
I expect things will improve rapidly now that I am out of science, although I'd like to find a use for my scientific training. I'm just trying to keep my poor VW on the road a few more months. I'd like to get a dog to take camping (possibly a Welsh terrier). For now it's just me and my hamster. I may remarry some day, but until then the wild stallion must run free.
Gregg
From: AMCCKKAYAK <amcckkayak@aol.com>
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: 20 May 1999 23:44:55 GMT
We are the world. We are the paddlers. We are the one's who take a wave and make it a better place. There's a choice were're making. Are we saving our own lives. HUMM HUmm Humm
Once there was a Ratt, who rode upon a hat. One day at the cheat, he
decided to retreat and hit the road in place of the darkness. May teh force
be with you.
Chris Kiehl, 32 AKron Ohio
From: RealDriftr <realdriftr@aol.com>
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: 21 May 1999 03:40:53 GMT
How old are we, how long have we been paddling,
what type of paddling do we do, and where do we live?
Nearing 56: built my first boat - a dog of a canvas covered 'yak - from plans in Popular Mechanics - about 1958 - first tripped on the Monongahela dodging steam powered (HONEST!) paddle wheel tugs pushing coal barges, about 1959.
My first introduction to white water was when I saw Emory Kolb's movie at Grand Canyon Village about 1957, at age 14. Seemed like something I'd want to do.
Made my living guiding river trips since '73. California, Utah, Arizona etc. So far have spent about 10% of my life in the Grand Canyon and my only regret is that I didn't start sooner.
The wife and I own and use the following boats: inflatable kayaks (one each); rafts (16' and 18'); sea kayaks (one each + an extra); Grumman 17' square stern canoe; misc "toy store" inflatables for canyoneering - 2; etc.
I spend 25-35% of my time "on the water" somewhere....Class I to ClassIV..and
Riverman really needs to write the definitive account of our Class V put-in
on the Verde sometime...
Live in Flagstaff, AZ...
Drifter Smith
From: Ted <ted@caiw.nl>
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: Fri, 21 May 1999 09:58:24 GMT
On Tue, 18 May 1999 22:05:58 +0300, riverman
<myronb@american.hasharon.k12.il> wrote:
Taking a hint from news.groups and Paddlewise, let me ask: who are the posters here on rbp? How old are we, how long have we been paddling, what type of paddling do we do, and where do we live?
Ok then...
My name is Ted, age 32, living in the Netherlands, between The Hague
and Rotterdam. I work as an aircraft maintenance technician. Living together
with boaterbabe Diana for many years now, no kids yet, there is one due
for August :-)
We started kayakking about 7 years ago with a course on the Ubaye river in France. We have been doing courses for quite some years, and still enjoy whitewater a lot. We limit difficulty to grade 4 maximum, and we like to play our way down. Most of the time we practice kayaksurfing nowadays, luckily we live pretty close to the coast, and are members of the best surfingclub in the Netherlands :-)
We have had a fair amount of boats, Diana started with a Pyranha Rotobat,
then a Perception Sabre, a Rainbow Circus and nowadays a Prijon Alien.
I started out with a Eskimo Gattino, then a Prijon Hurricane and nowadays
a Perception Whiplash. Recently I tried a 3D, which I liked a lot, so I'm
started to think about upgrading to a more modern boat. Perhaps a Wavesport
Z, though Wavesport tends to be really expensive over here....
Bye,
Ted
-- Email; ted@caiw.nl Homepage; http://www.caiw.nl/~ted
From: Andy Kravetz <akravetz@pjstar.com>
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: Fri, 21 May 1999 11:26:25 GMT
Hi, Andy Kravetz here. Been WW kayaking for about five years now and
before that, was into canoing for as long as I can remember. Fortunately,
I learned which was right and which was wrong. :)
I'm 29, a newspaper reporter and live in Peoria, Illinois but learned
to boat while living in Missouri and Washington DC. I tend to like Class
III-IV rivers, but that's mainly because I haven't had a chance to try
harder which is fine by me. Some rivers I've done are the Yough, Ocoee,
St. Francis, Chattoga and Mississippi.
Now, I paddle an RPM but am looking to pick up either a Medival or another funky boat like that. Maybe a creek boat since I plan to move to a city with better paddling opportunities. Who knows.
"If my words did glow...." -------------
Andy Kravetz
akravetz@pjstar.com
From: Craig Sanders <CaKayaker@canoemail.com>
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: Fri, 21 May 1999 07:52:06 -0700
Hi,
I'm Craig Sanders, I don't post much but read regularly. I'm 39, been
paddling for about five years, year round probably about 60 days a year.
Mostly Class III and IV but I'm inching my way towards Class V. I'm a newspaper
photographer and usually have a camera with me on the river. Once I get
my website up I'll post the URL. Until then you can see some of my photos
on the Dreamflows site at
http://www.goldrush.com/~cbshack/
I am also the Snewsletter Editor for the Gold Country Paddlers here in Ca So if anyone has a nice article send it my way. I like to use articles from other places too. We have about 500 members. Our only purpose is to paddle.
Craig
From: Gary Pagac <gpagac@nextdim.com>
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: Fri, 21 May 1999 14:50:12 GMT
On 19 May 1999 19:55:46 GMT, kstreletzk@aol.comMOTHRA (KSTRELETZK) wrote:
41 years young
been paddling open canoes on ww since 91; started dabbling with kayaks
in fall of 96 - converted to the dark side in summer of 97.
hehehe "The Dark Side". I usually find myself in the company of a lot
of canoers. There are a lot of influences getting me into a canoe, however.
Grrr...gotta take a couple classes now that my fiance has a canoe. We were
on a local slow river Sunday removing a downed tree and i had to ferry
across the river in a canoe on a spur of the moment. I said to Eric, "Just
remember, i know the J-Stroke and that's it." We get into the current and
he says "Draw Left" -- grrrRRR!!!
From: Jordan Ross <jross@iquest.net>
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: Fri, 21 May 1999 16:50:43 GMT
Jordan Ross, Age 49, Indianapolis, Indiana
In the third grade I drew a crayon picture of an eskimo in a kayak. My mother kept it. Prophetic.
Grew up in Washington, DC. As a teenager floated the Potomac in rented canoes (Sycamore Island) and a Klepper Aerius. Worked at Angler's Inn during high school, college. Saw my first whitewater kayak in the '72 Hurricane Agnes paddling solo on flooded Rock Creek as it raged through the National Zoo where I worked (who was that boater?). Did my first whitewater paddling in a rented aluminum Grumman - horse-collar lifejacket, no flotation, lunch in a paper bag. Wrecked the canoe so bad we had to buy it.
Bought one of the first plastic kayaks (RiverRunner) from Springriver in the mid 70's, hung out at the Maryland Chute and Rocky Island. Taught myself to roll from a book, made my wetsuit and gear from Walbridge kits. Met Hoyt Reel and Bob Alexander who took me on my first river adventures. They thought it was OK to do the Upper Gauley as your third river (yikes!).
Moved to Chicago for professional school, thought I'd have to give up whitewater, found the CWA and lots of boaters. Learned to build fiberglass boats using John Kobak's molds, switched to C-1 for a while and tried slalom racing (one amateur Wausau race, one C-1 entered (me), blue ribbon, perfect start and end of slalom career).
Married, moved to Indy, met Hoosier Canoe Club and K-1'd my way gradually to Russell Fork level and content to stay there. Love the new playboats, paddle 50 - 60 days a year mostly with people half my age, outlast most of them on the river even if I can't do all the tricks, though I can stern squirt well enough to piss off the locals...
Did I mention that paddling is my LIFE?
Cheers, Jordan
From: John Fereira <jaf30@cornell.edu>
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: Fri, 21 May 1999 16:56:31 GMT
My name is John Fereira. I'm 45. I did my first paddling about 20 years ago when I bought a 17' Coleman, primarily as a fishing vessel. I paddled it in SF bay area lakes, a couple of coastal estuararies, the harbor in Half Moon Bay and a bunch of trips to high sierra lakes. I sold it after about five years. I live in northern California up until I turned 40 then moved to Ithaca, NY (it was partly initiated through an Internet romance).
A year prior to that I met up with a group of about 25 people from another newsgroup on the Hiwasee river and paddled a Duckie. A year later (after I had moved) the same group met and rafted the Lower Yough. Our raft was the only one in our group of a dozen or so that *didn't* have some take an unintentional swim. We actually got booed during the post-paddle viewing of the video because we weren't supplying any carnage. It was during that trip that I got to see hard boat kayakers playing the river and admired the way they seemed be able to go wherever they wanted in the river instead of essentially just floating down it.
I have always had a strong connection with the water. I got my first fishing rod when I was a mere ute. My uncle was a commercial fisherman his entire life, and I'm Portuguese so it sort of runs in the family. While going to school I spent almost every day during the summers at the high school swimming pool, water skiing in area lakes with my family, or grabbing a fishing rod and heading to a local reservoir. I started flyfishing about 25 years ago and currently own 9 flyrods, three of which I built or refinished myself (two of them are bamboo). It's still my major passion. When I get into a hobby or sport I never do it half-assed. When I played on the company softball team I ended up playing on three separate teams three days a week and was one of the league equipment and Stats manager. I've been downhill skiing since I was 17. While working at Hewlett Packard I joined their racing team and competed for the company for three years. About 8 years ago I picked up a set of darts at a local pub. After a couple of months I joined the pub sponsered team. After a couple of years I was playing on three different teams and in tournaments at least once a week. I've played against a guy that was the first American to throw a perfect game in International team and another that had just beat the number one ranked player in North America. A couple of years ago when I decided to buy a kayak I figured I would become similarly passionate about the sport.
About two years ago I bought an Aquaterra Caspia, thinking it would be a good boat to learn how to paddle and something I could fish out of. A couple of weeks later I took a sea kayaking course through the University and had a chance to paddle several *real* kayaks. One of the instructors asked if I was interested in going paddling the day after the class and I got to try a couple of more. About a month after I bought the Caspia I bought a fiberglass VCP Skerray. Last summer, while driving through the Adirondacks during a long weekend vacation we stopped to use the bathroom at MountainMan outdoors and left a couple of hours later with a new royelex canoe on our car. I bought a used Eskimo Diablo last winter. I attended the LL Bean sea kayaking symposium last summer and had the opportunity to take a class from Derek Hutchinson. The formal instruction and *lots* of reading has helped my skill level improve quickly.
I primarily paddle the Skerray at this point, mostly because of the physical proximity of Cayuga lake. I now keep my sea kayak and canoe at that friend that taught the class's shop right on the water. I hope to get a lot more time this summer in the Diablo and Canoe.
John Fereira Ithaca, NY
jaf30@cornell.edu
From: Steve Jernigan <jernigan@chester.uccs.edu>
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: Fri, 21 May 1999 17:00:07 GMT
Hi All! Steve Jernigan here. I'm 44 and live in Palmer Lake Colorado.
I am a semiconductor process and process equipment engineer, and run the
Microelectronics Research Laboratory at the University of Colorado in Colorado
Springs. I'm an outdoor kinda guy, rockclimbing, mountaineering, dirt biking,
mountain biking; XC skiing and snowmobiling in the winter, the usual stuff.
Lately, these activities have had to take somewhat of a back seat, as I
have discovered that I also like to paddle. M'ladys fault, really; she
talked me into getting a canoe to take on vacation, just something to take
fishing, you understand. I quickly discovered that I'd rather paddle than
fish, and the Ms. quickly discovered "trolling". ;-) Demoed and fell in
love with a wenonah prism solo boat. Subsequently, so did Judy, resulting
in my needing to get another solo, a used C1W. The kids are learning to
paddle the tandem, and a wee little Blackhawk Zephyr solo boat. We hope
to do some week-long canoe trips this season (way more fun than backpacking
for a week . . .), and maybe head north for the summer in a couple of years.
Judy is also an electrical engineer specializing in microwave communications
systems. We share a love of the outdoors and enjoy many of the same activities.
In addition, we are both licensed amateur radio operators. I am licensed
as KG0MB, Judy is KC0BVA. Our household is rounded out with the two young'ns
aged 10 and 12; Judys from a previous marriage. Also, two dogs, four bunnies,
two very tame rats, a green iguana, three fat goldfish, two crawdaddies,
a parakeet, a cranky amazon parrot, and a large black cricket named Ronnie.
Life is good.
ByeBye! S.
Reply to this message
From: Sylvain Fauvel
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: 25 May 1999 18:29:21 GMT
My name is Sylvain Fauvel. I just got 40 years old and have been
paddling OC1 and OC2 for about 7 years (mostly class II and III with
occasional IV). I mostly lurk on RBP but post once in a while.
I probably checked RBP for the first time when i started paddling
seriously but i can't remember exactly when. This made me realize
i dont know when RBP was created. Anyone does?
I have been in a kayak a few time in the 80's but never got to
do it seriously. I paddled flat water occasionally and read
all of Bill Mason books when i was young but never did any
tripping or left for more than an hour or two. Around 1992 i
joined the "Club des aventuriers du Quebec" for hiking and
XC skiing and had my first tandem classes. I have been paddling
regularly with the club since then. I am on the water almost
every week-end of spring and summer and did several week long
expeditions in the wilderness. I also attended several canoing
and river rescue courses, lead a few trips every year and got
involved in my club organization.
I have been paddling a Dagger Caption solo for five years and
will probably buy another one when i get tired of patching it.
I paddle almost exclusively in the province of Quebec, around
Montreal and Quebec City. I have been as far as north of Lac
Saint Jean and paddled only a few time in the US.
===============================================================================
Sylvain Fauvel fauvel@inrs-telecom.uquebec.ca aventuriers@sijm.com
Club des Aventuriers du Quebec. http://www.sijm.com/aventuriers (514)342-5388
From: blarris
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: Tue, 25 May 1999 21:49:11 GMT
Why canoing? - Well, could hardly live without it. I'll soon be 55 years
old, but when I was a child I sometimes went with my parents in my uncles
canoe for day-outings on the beautyful lakes north of Copenhagen. It was
a huge- maybe 22' wood and canvas canoe rigged with a kind of tunnel-tent
so we could sleep in it. When I was 12 years old, my uncle gave me a key
to the canoe, and for some 5 years I had it nearly as my own- fine for
a gang of teen-agers or a few times with a nice girlfriend.
I moved from Copenhagen, had wife and kids, and then, in '79 we rented
canoes with our best friends in southern Sweden for a week- 4 grownups,
4 kids and 3 canoes. Fantastic. Two years later, we did it again, and then
my wife, our youngest son and his best friend (the son of our friends)
for a real backcountry-trip, again in southern Sweden for two weeks.
Now we have our own canoe, an Old Town Discovery 164, and it is fantastic.
The main reason not to keep renting was, that it got more and more difficult
to get a nice canoe to hire. The canoe-keepers (quite understandable) prefere
those aluminum trashbins, while we prefere a silent and warm canoe.
Standard use of our canoe now is: in the springtime a 3-days trip to
Sweden with kids (now 25 and 28), some of their friends and maybe one of
our friends.
In the summer, 10 to 14 days in Sweden just for me and my wife- we
use to call it "Our love-holyday", because that is, what it is. Lots of
time, not to long distances, some 15-20 kilometers a day, small creeks
(the smaller the better), islands in the lakes, a little whitewater, class
2 and a bit more with the packed canoe is what we manage. Time for sunbathing
(my wife), fishing, walks in the forest finding chanterelles, watching
birds, camping, cooking, loving. And we (nearly) never put up our tent
in an organized place. And we try to fin waters, where other people don't
go.
Then, small day or afternoon outings, sometimes in the lokal creek
(that is not very exiting) or to the sea, where there are some very good
and protected waters in our neighbourhood.
We have the pleasure, that our son and his friend now are very fond
of backcountrytrips in the canoe- the friend calls me "his teacher in backcountrylife
and canoing", and is now studying biologi and backcountryteaching- and
is much more skilled, than I will ever be. Bo, Denmark
From: Byron Funnell
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: Thu, 27 May 1999 14:02:01 -0700
My name is Byron Funnell. I was born in 1962, making me 37 currently. While in college (1983) a buddy of mine and I went to Quetico for two weeks. After that I said that if I ever did another canoe trip it would be on a river. My wife, Pat, talked me into going on a whitewater canoe trip w/ some friends in 1989. Got hooked about two trips later. Now I make it out about 25 days per year.
We live in the relatively flat NE Indiana. We have lots of choices as far as whitewater, but they are all 8-12 hours awaay. We have paddled in 13 states so far. Our boat selection is currently Mohawk Viper12, Mohawk Viper11, Dagger Encore, Dagger Atom, Hydra Duet, and an old wood and canvas boat that needs restored.
We have had several great trips w/ other R.B.P. boaters and are looking
forward to more.
Byron
-- Byron Funnell - The CADMaker
e-mail: cadmaker@tk7.net
http://www.cadmaker.com/ http://www.vinelife.org/
From: C. Ramko
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: Fri, 28 May 1999 13:00:02 -0700
One of the last stragglers on this question, most likely. Chris Ramko, 35 yrs., male, complete novice(started paddling in March) whitewater paddler, Seattle, WA. Trying to keep myself upright in my Scorpion and getting better balance; at this point, I'm doing class II and flatwater only, but happy with that. My learning curve will probably be quite slow as I don't have nearly as much time as I would like to paddle. Hoping to change that this year sometime.
Chris
Reply to this message
From: Tempest Gules
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: Sat, 29 May 1999 01:33:03 GMT
I'm fairly new to kayaking, though I've wanted to do it for years, ever since a white-water rafting trip on the Ocoee (sp?) with some coworkers. We were rafting along, feeling all adventurous and stuff, until I saw some kayakers playing, and suddenly, the raft was a bus, and I was in love with a new sport.
But I didn't live near water, or have time (whine, whine), and years passed. Then on a trip to Monterey, I went kayaking a couple of times, and then on a trip to the Poconos, I went again... but two months ago, I moved to Connecticut, and last month I bought a kayak (a red Storm), and I've been trying to learn here on the Sound.
It's not white-water, but it's fun. And someday I'll live near enough to a decent river to learn how to do that.
Happy paddling, Some guy in CT
"A Tempest, Gules".
From: RWFarnum
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: 23 May 1999 22:22:27 GMT
I'm Ray, 54, live in Rhode Island, USA and now work for the Lord year
round. Married over 30 years to the same great girl.
Got started sea kayaking in my late 40's and once, when we were out sea kayaking in the ocean in winter, the surf picked up incredibly. A friend asked "I wonder if we can make it to the shore through that shore break" It was by my then current standards huge surf (maybe 6-7' and dumping). I was terrified but he went in towards shore and disappeared. It was decision time and I went.
I survived that experiment by broaching almost immediately and getting shot sideways faster that I had ever paddled with the bow facing forward. I exited the boat on shore with very weak legs and was hooked on .kayak surfing.!
Eventually got a white water boat .cause I got tired turning that 17' 6" sea kayak around to go back out through the surf break. Have surfed the current Pirouette maybe 4 years now? I boat (surf) every swell in the winter 6 months and as many as I can during the "summer" 6 month season (May - October). Surf almost exclusively in the company of board surfers or solo as most kayakers aren.t out in the conditions I love. Don't count but probably average at least twice a week year round and occasionally twice in a day if there.s storm surf and the conditions are good during the warmer months.
Have managed the winter RI Canoe/Kayak Association rolling clinic as well as their Sea Kayak Rescue Clinic for a number of years (retired from both this year as clinics often came during good surf) and have taught a number of friends to paddle and hands roll. I always wear a pfd and helmet in surf and dress for immersion temperatures. It saved my life once so those are requirements, not options, for this boater.
Can be virtually found at quietwatersdotorg_anisation where surfing
(kayak and otherwise) is one of the topics. Wasn.t going to post to this
thread but found the uk url summary of this thread so interesting thought
I.d jump in and try the water . . .
-Ray
From: Mary Malmros
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
See Also: Paddle Boats
My name's Mary Malmros. I'm 36 years old. I live in Boston, about three
blocks from Fenway Park. I've been paddling for not quite one year, since
my last birthday: my introduction to paddling was a birthday present from
two dear friends, and the rest is history. I had brief and off-putting
experiences with canoeing (OC2), the usual stuff, summer camp or your big
brother bossing you around from the stern, etc. I come from a sailing background,
so almost everything about paddling has been new for me. My first experience
was duckying, and I knew I wanted to do more, but illness and injury kept
me out of it for nearly all of last summer. In the fall I took up sea kayaking,
which I love but don't get to do as much as I would like -- mostly because
I live in an apartment and don't have anywhere to keep a nice fast long
kayak. I get enough strange looks as it is, walking around my neighborhood
with a whitewater kayak on my shoulder or carrying it up the stairs to
the top floor of my building. I paddle class II and am about ready to start
trying class III. My boat's a Rip, and unlike most paddlers, I gave her
a name: the Mermaid Queen, or simply the Queen for short. It's a sailing
thing, I guess. I also raft whenever and wherever I get the chance -- I
just blew an opportunity to run some whitewater in Malaysia, and I am still
kicking myself. My biggest problem with paddling is that there are so many
things I want to do, and not enough time to do them all. I want to do big
long wilderness trips in a kayak, and ocean trips, and I want to learn
how to paddle my boat in ocean surf, and I want to learn more about playing
in whitewater, and I want to try slalom, and I want to try expedition kayaking
and big ol' long multi-week raft trips to who knows where...As for right
now, I'm mostly paddling rivers of New England with hopefully some coastal
stuff this summer, and hoping for opportunities to travel to other places
as well. Look for me on the Deerfield!
-- :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Mary Malmros Very Small Being malmros@shore.net
"I would not exchange the sorrows of my heart
for the joys of the multitude"
From: Steve Cramer
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: Mon, 24 May 1999 09:31:33 -0400
I once told part of this story in a "Can you tell if he's lying?" icebreaker at a board of directors retreat. It was the board of our local Georgia Canoeing Association, and more than half of them didn't believe me. The alternative story that they did believe was about my fictitious, although dreamt of, sports car racing career. But I assure you that everything you read here will be true.
I did a little canoeing at Scout camp, but nothing serious. About 20 years ago I wanted a little boat to fish out of in the Santee Cooper lakes, so I went to Charleston and bought a kit to build a rigid Folboat. It took about 2 months, and for most of that time it lived in our living room. I paddled that for a couple of years, patched it several times, and sold it for the price of the kit.
I didn't do any boating for a long time after that. One Saturday, I went with my son's Cub pack rafting on the Nantahala. We bumbled along in that giant gray tub and had a nice time. At the takeout, I was fascinated watching the kayakers surf the waves near the Center. We had spent the day more or less at the whim if the river currents, and here were these guys in little brightly colored boats *sitting still* in the middle of the roaring flow. Now, I know about eddies and surfing waves. Then, I thought it was magic.
A couple of months later, I was at a cocktail party given by some of my wife's fellow med students. "And what do you do with your time?" I was asked. "Oh, I work at the Department of Education, and do some research and statistical consulting, and teach a class at Emory Medical, and advise MPH and MSN students." "No, I mean what do you do for fun?"
For fun? This was a novel concept to me right then. It hit me like a brick that I wasn't doing anything for fun, except for the time I spent with my family. Fun. I need some fun. What would be fun? Those guys in the little brightly colored boats on the Nantahala. That looked like fun.
So together with my 10 year old son, I bought a couple of white water kayaks, and started boating seriously at the age of 40. I was in a very high-pressure job then, and I was thrilled to discover that I could spend the day on the river and not think about the office once. As Jim Harrison said "The river is as far as you can get from the world of numbers."
Evan of course far exceeded my skills by the time he was 13. He has a shelf of Juniors slalom trophies he won. Unfortunately, his buddies seduced him into soccer and football in high school, so he never became the great paddler he could have. Now, he's merely good enough to run the Gauley with a grin on his face and play in the Maury at high water. He also likes surf kayaking at the beach with cartwheels, endos, and all of that. He has a great job lined up for the summer: teaching kayak in Jackson Hole.
After a few years, I wanted to try solo open WW canoeing, and got one of those, and a couple of years later became certified as an ACA OC instructor in WW. The next year, I became Training Director for GCA, a post I've only just been about to get out of after 3+ years.
For the last 10 years, I've been paddling Class II-III (occasionally IV) white water in either kayak, C-1, or OC-1, depending on the temperature, intensity of the water, and my whim of the day. Current WW kayak is a Godzilla. My open boats are a Viper 12 and a glass Edge 13. I don't do hair boating. The Ocoee is about the biggest thing I do.
About 4 years ago, I was going up to Carlton, MN to officiate a Champion International WW Series slalom race (did I mention I've also got an International Canoe Federation Official's ticket?) and my son was racing, so the whole family came along. After the race we needed something to do, so we drove over to the Apostle Islands and did a 4 day trip with Trek & Trail in double SKs with Balogh sail rigs.
I had been wanting to get my wife, Meg, involved in paddling so I didn't have to leave her at home when we went off for the day, but she didn't like white water. She really took to sea kayaking, though, and we've since done a good bit of it on the east coast of Georgia, South Carolina, and Florida, and in Tomales Bay, CA. We also spend some time on some of the mountain lakes north of here, like Calderwood Reservoir in NC.
I paddle a Sea Lion that I'm very fond of. I'm resisting trying out a glass SK, because I don't want to covet one. As it is, our boat census is 2 WW OC-1s (one Kevlar), 4 WW kayaks (2 with my son at college), 1 plastic C-1, 1 glass slalom C-1, the Sea Lion and Meg's Shadow, and a 1972 Munich Olympic slalom kayak that is for display only. I'm also providing garage space for a friend's Narpa.
I've been trying to get people around here hooked on SKing, so we have people to paddle with, but there is a shortage of instructors, and few people want to invest in a $1350 boat without trying it first. As an alternative, I've been taking groups down to Coastal Expeditions in Charleston for training. They've done an excellent job, and Anne down there is encouraging me to become an instructor myself. Soon, I hope.
Steve --
Test Scoring & Reporting Services Sometimes, you never can University
of Georgia always tell what you Athens, GA 30602-5593 least expect the
most.
From: slim jim
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: 24 May 1999 23:08:30 GMT
The riverman wrote: "Who are y'all?"
Jim Stuart Curriculum Vitae
Favorite creek: Sideling Hill @1000CFS Best run: Upper Yough @3.2' Sang
Run
Favorite quote: "If you want to go there - - - go there!" [Dutch Downey]
First exposed to the host carrier in summer of 1955 (age 5) in the Chesapeake Bay. Method of transmission was direct contact, but pathogenesis was likely a variant of the Piscataway strain. Indications exhibited soon after, expressed as unsuccessful attempt to construct a bamboo frame and skin kayak.
A canvas K2 appeared in 1962, and the fever escalated to WW in 1963 [Klepper T67]. An acute, full blown, severe outbreak began in 1964, with the incubation period having run its course. Proper conditions for activity was provided, and abnormal temperature and pulse peaked in the late 1960's. Continuous conditions of IV/V up to grade VI required exploratory research, classification, naming descriptions and documentation. Excesses were mitigated by slalom, wildwater, and flatwater [K1, K2, K4, C1, C2, and OCs all of strange and unusual design], with the response mediation partially successful.
Acute contact dermatitis side effects developed in late 1960s, and1970s, brought on by catalyzing the reactions between substrates during obsessive kayak propagation. Production of molds, hulls, decks was stimulated, accompanied by proliferation of blade, seal, and skullcap (etc.) technologies. Other disturbing symptoms included compulsive organizational psychoses, which differentiated into coaching, organizing, judging, course gate-keeping [CCA, LFWC, BCE, ACA, PATC, AWA, ICF].
A period of remission and dormancy ensued due to MMDD (Military/Marriage/Discharge/Divorce), followed by single parenting. Immune suppressor activated, and animation was suspended. Son Jonathan Leander (now 22) has less lethal saturation, but effects may be latent. His destiny appears to march to a different drummer.
The persistent course of relapse has settled down to chronic levels, but potency is consistent, with flashes of retrograde exuberance. Interesting, but inconclusive therapies include biking, packing, raft guiding, climbing, skating, ice-yachting, and snow skiing. Systemic habituation is fully integrated, and needed for all life functions. Current episodic frequency is four (4) days per week
An alarming recent development is the appearance of bizarre zoomorphic and petroglyphic rashes on equipment and shuttle vehicle, accompanied by unexplained imperative to move to New Mexico.
There is no cure. There is no treatment. There is no spoon!*
*http://www.whatisthematrix.com/ [Take the BLUE pill!]
From: Larry K.
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: Tue, 25 May 1999 06:53:38 GMT
The Dirty Dozen: 12 IAQs (Infrequently Asked Questions) of Larry K.
1. Age: "49. Yeah, I know I don't look it, but for the first time in
my life I'm starting to feel it. I'm also getting a little testy about
all these membership invitations I'm starting to receive from AARP."
2. Home: "Born and raised in Louisville, KY. Last 22 years in Denver, CO area."
3. Comfort Zones: "Locked in on a front surf on a pure glass wave (Class III - IV). Close second is skiing deep powder between perfectly spaced Ponderosa pines."
4. Phobias: "Marriage. Did it twice, didn't like it either time."
5. If I Forgot Your Name, How Would I Describe You to Your Friends So They Would Know Who I Was Talking About?: "Funny guy, very outgoing, but major food wimp--wouldn't eat anything spicy like Mexican or Cajun."
6. Smartest Decision You Ever Made: "Don't smoke, don't drink and have never done drugs. I have enough trouble climbing stairs and finding my car in parking lots without chemical interference."
7. Equipment: "Dagger Animas (me), Corsica S (soon-to-be ex and step-daughter), Dagger Response (YOURS for $100 or best offer. Still good teaching or flat water boat despite hairline crack in cockpit rim.) Honorable mention: Volkl Snow Rangers, 190 cm.
8. Favorite Scene: "Right after Butch and Sundance get off the train in Bolivia. Butch, surveying the blighted landscape tries to put a positive spin on the situation: 'Well, ya know it could be worse. You get a lot more for your money in Bolivia. I checked on it.' Responds Sundance: 'What could they have here that you could possibly want to buy?"
9. Time Travel: " Arkansas River: 2 hrs. 30 mins.; Cache La Poudre: 1 hr. 30 mins.; Clear Creek: 40 mins.; Green & Yampa in Dinosaur Natl. Monument, approx. 6 hrs."
10. Unfulfilled Fantasies: "Surfing the North Shore of Oahu and watching a live shuttle launch at Kennedy Space Center."
11. Theme Songs: "Everybody Loves a Clown, Gary Lewis; Crazy, Patsy Cline; Dirty Laundry, Don Henley; Surfing USA, The Beach Boys.
12. If I Wanted to Stereotype You By Occupational Category, What Should
I Know: "20 years experience as a magazine writer, photographer and corporate
communications specialist in public relations and graphic design. Former
customer service agent for regional airline. Graduate, Republican National
Committee Campaign Managment College. Currently working as Account Manager
for Optical Networking for major telecommunications firm......Good luck."
Larry K.
From: John William Kuthe
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: 19 May 1999 15:20:24 -0500
Starting a Midwest paddler's thread:
I'm John Kuthe (pronounced COO-thee), I'm 39 (how'd that happen?), I've been paddling for 6+ years, having started on canoe-full-of-beer float trips on the beautiful rivers of the Missouri Ozarks. Seeking the adrenaline rush, I graduated from pushing barge-like canoes around with an inneffectual single-bladed pole to a Kiwi Kopapa, in which I found more fun on the river than I ever could have imagined! I began dragging my son Zachary around, plopping him in a Kopapa at the age of 6 (he's now 11, and paddling a Blast). I paddle(d)/own(ed) the following:
Kopapa\Extreme\Outburst\007
My home river is the Saint Francis, 100 miles south of St Louis, my home city. I joined the Missouri Whitewater Association, our local club, and discovered it's true name is "The MWA ... and *driving* club", and have boated rivers in CO, TN, NC, WVA, AR, IN and Costa Rica (no, we flew, silly!)
I'm a real pain in the neck, especially on the following message board:
http://home.i1.net/~akravetz/bin/wwwboard/wwwboard.html
-- John Kuthe, aka cec.wustl.edu@jwk1, St. Louis, Missouri | MWA Homepage:
| First Job of Government: Protect people from government.| home.i1.net/
| Second Job of Government: Protect people from each other.| ~akravetz/mwa.html
| It must *never* become the job of government to protect people from themselves!
From: MSloanC1
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: 22 May 1999 02:24:51 GMT
Hi,
My name is Mike Sloan. I have been paddling for about 20 years. Would have started earlier, but my father's law partner drowned in Mule Creek Canyon on the Rogue River at about the time I wanted to start spending time on the river.
Set the time table back a few years. Taught myself how to roll in my
swimming pool when I was in High School, then learned to paddle with Ledyard
Canoe Club in my senior year at College. Switched from kayak to C1 about
14 years ago after hurting my back running Great Falls. Couldn't sit in
a kayak, but didn't see any reason to stop paddling. Met my true love Melissa
sitting in the eddy at Rocky Island on the Potomac waiting to surf. Outdoors
activities (generally paddling, but also biking, hiking, skiing, and climbing)
represent the foundation of my physical and mental health.
From: Roy D
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: Sat, 22 May 1999 01:05:04 -0500 (CDT)
My name is Roy I'm 56 years old. I've been paddling for over 30 years. Started in Grunman's. I have been a Canoe Outfitter in Arkansas, a Raft outfitter in Colorado, a raft guide for many years. I've paddled canoe's kayaks, and paddled and rowed rafts onmany different rivers. Now I have to work at a real job so I don't get out on the river as much as I like. Any river that has clear water is ok by me. I now own a 14' solo Mowhawk and a 14' raft which I plain on using on the Green in Utah in June. All I can say is I LOVE being on a nice river.
From: Frank Fichtm|ller
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: Sat, 22 May 1999 13:51:28 +0200
My name ist Frank Fichtmueller, I4m 49 and live in Southern Germany
right in sight of the Lake of Constance (some 70 x 15 kms - more?) at the
western end, the so called "Untersee" Opposite of me - I just see it from
my window is the swiss border. I use a Klepper Aerius I Exp. and do what
we call in german "Wanderfahren" - about 1000 - 1200 kms / year since 1995
Though it might be a bit difficult I wouldnt mind hosting one or another
of you and tour with you over here [call 0049-7735-2074 or 0049-7735-2776
to get you from the train]. At the moment it is rather exiting to kajak
over here since the Lake of Constance - like most southern german rivers
and lakes - is approximately 180 cms above regular and 70 cms above high
water level. What about kajaking Steckborns Main Street next week? Frank
From: curt wong
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: Sun, 23 May 1999 02:12:56 -0400
My name is Curt Wong. I.m 46 and a PG13-rated kayaker. Gee, guys, I
don.t know, maybe I'm a class IV boater, maybe IV+ if you factor in age
and physical limitations - 5.6" and a well-hidden (sorry boater women,
that.s spelled h-i-d-d-e-n) 160lbs. Yes, I.m of Chinese decent - a 4th
generation ABC (American-born Chinese) born and raised in SE Michigan.
I.m married to a New Englander of Irish decent and we have a delightful
daughter genetically optimized to build railroads, who BTW turns 9 today.
I started paddling canoes on annual neighborhood father-son river trips
when I was 10. I saw some skimpy TV coverage of the whitewater slalom events
in the .72 Olympics in Germany (I think) and thought that ww kayaking was
something that I wanted to do.
Bought my first boat in .77, a 17-foot aluminum Michicraft canoe, the finest barge - ah, I mean boat - ever to float. Bought my first kayak in .84, a Phoenix Wildfire, the finest barge - ah, I mean boat - ever to float. Taught myself how to roll, popping up after 12 wet exits. My first ww decent was down the Lower Yough in April of .85 at 3.5 ft. This was the trip that earned me the nickname Wong Way (almost used it as my RBP name) having errantly run several lines I was advised not to take. I paddled like crazy that year, making the 7-hr drive down to the Yough about twice a month. I finished my rookie season that October on the Ottawa R., Ontario with an epic Wong Way surf in the mighty Phil.s Hole.
I haven.t been able to get out on the rivers very much over the past 11 years. Last year I opened the season on the Cheat and Top Yough and ended it on the Black and the Bottom Moose, with 2 Lower Yough trips in between for a big year of 8 river days. The Upper Yough and the Gauley are still on my *to do* list, but a couple trips a year sharpen only my memory of how rusty I.ve become and not my skills.
As I posted previously, I paddle a frog-green Diablo and look like Jackie Chan, only different. If you see me on the river, paddle over and say hi. I.d like to meet you. You may also see me this year in a blue Topo Duo with my daughter (if she is interested, I hope, I hope), who looks like me, only different.
Oh, yes, and I also do some tripping/touring in a tandem sea kayak (a red Valley Aleut Sea II) with my daughter riding in the center cargo hatch and my wife riding - ah, I mean paddling - in the front.
-curt-
From: Shot25x25
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: 23 May 1999 18:05:34 GMT
We are the people our parents warned us about.
I'm Collin, 21 years old from Cincinnati. I just started paddling in March, so I really don't know what the hell I'm talking about. I've got a couple of Old Towne kayaks, and am looking for a Pirouette right now. I'm the one on the river with a cooler strapped to the forward deck, and drinking a beer while floating merrily along. I paddle the healthy way: beer, cigarettes, and boats. After the first time I paddled on the river, I noticed how much crap was floating in it. There was not really a whole lot, but enough that it irritated me. Now, everytime I paddle, I take a garbage bag. I float along and pick up any trash I see along the way. Maybe we should all start doing this, it makes for a better river for all.
Collin A relatively new paddler
Jordan Ross, Age 49, Indianapolis, Indiana
In the third grade I drew a crayon picture of an eskimo in a kayak. My mother kept it. Prophetic.
Grew up in Washington, DC. As a teenager floated the Potomac in rented canoes (Sycamore Island) and a Klepper Aerius. Worked at Angler's Inn during high school, college. Saw my first whitewater kayak in the '72 Hurricane Agnes paddling solo on flooded Rock Creek as it raged through the National Zoo where I worked (who was that boater?). Did my first whitewater paddling in a rented aluminum Grumman - horse-collar lifejacket, no flotation, lunch in a paper bag. Wrecked the canoe so bad we had to buy it.
Bought one of the first plastic kayaks (RiverRunner) from Springriver in the mid 70's, hung out at the Maryland Chute and Rocky Island. Taught myself to roll from a book, made my wetsuit and gear from Walbridge kits. Met Hoyt Reel and Bob Alexander who took me on my first river adventures. They thought it was OK to do the Upper Gauley as your third river (yikes!).
Moved to Chicago for professional school, thought I'd have to give up whitewater, found the CWA and lots of boaters. Learned to build fiberglass boats using John Kobak's molds, switched to C-1 for a while and tried slalom racing (one amateur Wausau race, one C-1 entered (me), blue ribbon, perfect start and end of slalom career).
Married, moved to Indy, met Hoosier Canoe Club and K-1'd my way gradually to Russell Fork level and content to stay there. Love the new playboats, paddle 50 - 60 days a year mostly with people half my age, outlast most of them on the river even if I can't do all the tricks, though I can stern squirt well enough to piss off the locals...
Did I mention that paddling is my LIFE?
Cheers, Jordan
From: John Fereira
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Message: 104 of 135 (In response to Courtney Nipper)
Sent: Fri, 21 May 1999 16:56:31 GMT
See Also: Paddle Boats
My name is John Fereira. I'm 45. I did my first paddling about 20 years ago when I bought a 17' Coleman, primarily as a fishing vessel. I paddled it in SF bay area lakes, a couple of coastal estuararies, the harbor in Half Moon Bay and a bunch of trips to high sierra lakes. I sold it after about five years. I live in northern California up until I turned 40 then moved to Ithaca, NY (it was partly initiated through an Internet romance).
A year prior to that I met up with a group of about 25 people from another newsgroup on the Hiwasee river and paddled a Duckie. A year later (after I had moved) the same group met and rafted the Lower Yough. Our raft was the only one in our group of a dozen or so that *didn't* have some take an unintentional swim. We actually got booed during the post-paddle viewing of the video because we weren't supplying any carnage. It was during that trip that I got to see hard boat kayakers playing the river and admired the way they seemed be able to go wherever they wanted in the river instead of essentially just floating down it.
I have always had a strong connection with the water. I got my first fishing rod when I was a mere ute. My uncle was a commercial fisherman his entire life, and I'm Portuguese so it sort of runs in the family. While going to school I spent almost every day during the summers at the high school swimming pool, water skiing in area lakes with my family, or grabbing a fishing rod and heading to a local reservoir. I started flyfishing about 25 years ago and currently own 9 flyrods, three of which I built or refinished myself (two of them are bamboo). It's still my major passion. When I get into a hobby or sport I never do it half-assed. When I played on the company softball team I ended up playing on three separate teams three days a week and was one of the league equipment and Stats manager. I've been downhill skiing since I was 17. While working at Hewlett Packard I joined their racing team and competed for the company for three years. About 8 years ago I picked up a set of darts at a local pub. After a couple of months I joined the pub sponsered team. After a couple of years I was playing on three different teams and in tournaments at least once a week. I've played against a guy that was the first American to throw a perfect game in International team and another that had just beat the number one ranked player in North America. A couple of years ago when I decided to buy a kayak I figured I would become similarly passionate about the sport.
About two years ago I bought an Aquaterra Caspia, thinking it would be a good boat to learn how to paddle and something I could fish out of. A couple of weeks later I took a sea kayaking course through the University and had a chance to paddle several *real* kayaks. One of the instructors asked if I was interested in going paddling the day after the class and I got to try a couple of more. About a month after I bought the Caspia I bought a fiberglass VCP Skerray. Last summer, while driving through the Adirondacks during a long weekend vacation we stopped to use the bathroom at MountainMan outdoors and left a couple of hours later with a new royelex canoe on our car. I bought a used Eskimo Diablo last winter. I attended the LL Bean sea kayaking symposium last summer and had the opportunity to take a class from Derek Hutchinson. The formal instruction and *lots* of reading has helped my skill level improve quickly.
I primarily paddle the Skerray at this point, mostly because of the physical proximity of Cayuga lake. I now keep my sea kayak and canoe at that friend that taught the class's shop right on the water. I hope to get a lot more time this summer in the Diablo and Canoe.
John Fereira Ithaca, NY
jaf30@cornell.edu
From: Steve Jernigan
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: Fri, 21 May 1999 17:00:07 GMT
Hi All! Steve Jernigan here. I'm 44 and live in Palmer Lake Colorado.
I am a semiconductor process and process equipment engineer, and run the
Microelectronics Research Laboratory at the University of Colorado in Colorado
Springs. I'm an outdoor kinda guy, rockclimbing, mountaineering, dirt biking,
mountain biking; XC skiing and snowmobiling in the winter, the usual stuff.
Lately, these activities have had to take somewhat of a back seat, as I
have discovered that I also like to paddle. M'ladys fault, really; she
talked me into getting a canoe to take on vacation, just something to take
fishing, you understand. I quickly discovered that I'd rather paddle than
fish, and the Ms. quickly discovered "trolling". ;-) Demoed and fell in
love with a wenonah prism solo boat. Subsequently, so did Judy, resulting
in my needing to get another solo, a used C1W. The kids are learning to
paddle the tandem, and a wee little Blackhawk Zephyr solo boat. We hope
to do some week-long canoe trips this season (way more fun than backpacking
for a week . . .), and maybe head north for the summer in a couple of years.
Judy is also an electrical engineer specializing in microwave communications
systems. We share a love of the outdoors and enjoy many of the same activities.
In addition, we are both licensed amateur radio operators. I am licensed
as KG0MB, Judy is KC0BVA. Our household is rounded out with the two young'ns
aged 10 and 12; Judys from a previous marriage. Also, two dogs, four bunnies,
two very tame rats, a green iguana, three fat goldfish, two crawdaddies,
a parakeet, a cranky amazon parrot, and a large black cricket named Ronnie.
Life is good.
ByeBye! S.
From: Edward Hansen
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: Fri, 21 May 1999 12:42:03 -0600
Hello fellow RBPers. I'm Edward Hansen, 25 years old. I'm a bit of a
newbie.... I've been paddling since October 1998, (approx). That at least
is as long as I've been Kayaking. I've enjoyed paddling around canoes and
rowboats off and on through the years I was in the Boy Scouts and many
family vacations in and around Utah, where I grew up.
It was July or August of '98 that I was on a rafting trip through Browns
Canyon on the Arkansas River here in Colorado that I saw a dozon too many
whitewater kayaks seeming to have more fun than me that kinda sorta forced
me to have a strong desire to try it out. I finally got around to it in
October. One pool session and I was hooked.
I'm active duty military, (Ft. Carson, Colorado), and the outdoor recreation program offered $6-one hour classes. They gave one class each weekend, and after 3 classes they told me my on and of side rolls were strong enough for lake water trial..... Did that and a week or two later I was on my first moving water... The Parkdale run above The Royal Gorge on The Arkansas River.
I learned in a Dagger Animas, though the government fundage gave the program about a dozen ww kayaks to chose from, Stubby, Piedra, Animas, Frankenstein, RPM, and others that I can't remember. (all use covered in the $6, to include all gear) a great deal!!! anyway....
I bought my boat in November(?) a good used Croassfire and have since been down the Parkdale run about 18 or so times, The Royal Garge twice to date and up on the Northfork of the South Platte once, and just waiting for the water to return before I go back to play in the boulder field and all the drops again.
I have also been to the Clearcreek whitewater park in Golden CO. There.. that's it... small list, I know.
One of the best thing a beginner can do is join an organized club, and
I found and joined Pikes Peak Whitewater Club.
http://pcisys.net/~dsmiley/ppwcmain.htm
They had about 3 months or weekly, 2 hour pool practices that I found helpful to find paddling buddies, I enjoyed the rool practice too, although my rolls (to include handrolls) were pretty good since I was boating all winter long and hadn't given any "cobwebs" a chance to form yet.
I invested in a bunch of cold-weather gear at the same time I got my boat, so even a day that is snowing can be a good paddle day.
I classify myself as a class III-IV whitewater boater, and have been down soom class V's, or so they tell me. (parts of the Gorge, North Fork.)
That's pretty much my story in what brings me to the sport and where
I am now,
--ps. I'm always looking for paddle buddies.....SYOTR!
hansen@pcisys.net or wolfhowlmoon@hotmail.com
From: Marc Pottier
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: Fri, 21 May 1999 13:04:52 -0700
Greetings!
I'm Marc, I'm 30, and I've been WW kayaking for a little over a year now. Not a whole lot of time compared to the folks on this newsgroup, but I like to think that getting out 2-4 times a week has given me enough river miles to have a little experience... What can I say, the sport is highly addictive and has litterally changed my lifestyle.
I also owe meeting my true love to this sport! She's incredible, she's beautiful, and she kayaks! Perfection.
I can mostly be found on northwestern rivers (Washington, Oregon, Idaho), and mostly on class III+/IV. I haven't worked up enough nerve to try any class V, and don't really have that much a desire to yet. I figure there's always enough time to get into harder stuff later. Regardless, washington has to be the most beautiful state I've been to, and the paddling here is exceptional. I highly recommend it...
I typically donate at least one day a week to helping with the Mountaineers kayaking classes. I've found instructing, teaching the roll, and running support for beginners on their first trips to be highly rewarding. It's great to give back to people just getting into the sport!
Until recently I paddled an ARC (my first boat), but have recently moved up to a Z. I'm rediscovering the sport again as I gradually try to get more and more into rodeo... It's wonderful to discover a whole new dimension to the sport beyond river running.
'tis about it!
A few of my kayaking pictures can be found at http://www.pottier.com/
ciao!
-Marc
______________________________________________________
Marc Pottier "The limitations of the information Product Designer age will not be set by speed with Founding Team which the human mind can read".
Cartia, Inc. -SPIRE Team, 1995 (425) 468-9054
From: Conor O'Neill
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: 04 June 1999 17:02
Conor O'Neill, aged 35. Occasional poster on rec.boats.paddle, but finds
that there is too much dross in the newsgroup to keep up with it
completely.
Started paddling (kayaking) around age 12 in the Scouts, on flat water
(canals and lakes). At university I progressed to slalom and white
water, but dislocated my shoulder 3 times and so stopped paddling.
I
carried on as an active social member of the canoe club.
Five years later I started paddling again, with Bristol Canoe Club here
in the UK. Progressed into whitewater and slalom again, then dislocated
my shoulder again when surfing. I have had an operation to strengthen
this shoulder, and now paddle 'normally'. I met my wife Lisa through
the
canoe club. We paddle rivers up to grade 4, and I reached div 3 slalom
while Lisa reached div 2, but we no longer bother with slalom given
the
BCU's attitude to paddlers and clubs. Bristol Canoe club is very active,
with over 100 members, so we end up paddling most weekends. Lisa also
plays canoe polo with the club.
--
Conor O'Neill, at home in Bristol, UK
Bristol Canoe Club Web Page:
http://www.puddle.demon.co.uk/BCC/
From: Art Balajthy
Topic: Re: WHO ARE WE?
Sent: 04 October 1999 16:31
Art Balajthy, ab257@epix.net, home.epix.net/~ab257
46 years old (in 1999), been boating whitewater since 1978. Former
Lehigh river raft guide with Whitewater Challengers. Did a lot
of
kayaking and C-1ing up and down the east coast USA until my wife and
I
started a family (she is also a former river guide). Now we spend
time mostly on the Lehigh and local boating, rafting with the kids
(starting to do Class II with them in boats), and keeping my web pages
up and running.
From: Wayne Powell (w-powell@erols.com)
Topic: Website Login
Sent: 09 October 1999
Forty-two year old male in No. Va. used to kyak alot of class 5 stuff.
A six and two year old have cept me from paddling more that 5-7 times a
year in last couple of years. Will be doing OC-2 stuff with the 6 year
old soon. Love to camp in out of the way places and dring a beer or two
(off the river). Have been know to also carry golf clubs on extended outings.
From: Christian Murray (darkman@port1.citx.net)
Topic: Website Login
Sent: 23 October 1999
22yrs old single dude...
i like running flooded stuff, class III-V is cool
zambezi next summer anyone?
im a "senior" at temple univ. in philly
live at home in the 'burbs
always looking for people to paddle with....
RIOT rules......
From: Frank Hays
Topic: Website Login
Sent: 25 October 1999
23, whitewater yakker, paddle mostly in ozarks and oklahoma, just started kayaking this year so still new to the game, if pushed I may admit to some open boating experience though you may have to push hard. other then that, email me or ask me on the river for more info.
cheers!!
-frank
From: Hal Tutor (halharry@unbounded.com)
Topic: Website Login
Sent: 28 October 1999
mostly a lurker
2 years paddling WW. boats: started in a Dagger Blast, Got an RPM, have a new Vengeance now.
rivers I've done: Hiwassee, Cartecay, Nantahala, Ocoee, Upper Ocoee, French Broad, Nolichucky, Locust Fork, Rock Island, Gauley (Lower and Upper), Obed/Emory (Daddy's and Clear Creeks), Chattooga (III and IV), Pigeon, Chickamauga Creek (Bowling Alley section)
single, retired, so paddle a LOT when the bod and weather permit.
live about 1 1/2 hours west of Chattanooga, TN
home page: http://personalweb.edge.net/~htutor or
http://surf.to/hal (same page)
other hobbies: gardening, weight training, racquetball, camping, hiking
From: Parkin Hunter (t.hunter@scbar.org)
Topic: Website Login
Sent: 12 November 1999
My home river is the Saluda in Columbia, SC. I'm a 49 year old male
who cannot keep up with his 15 year old son. I paddle whitewater, coastal
rivers, and saltwater. My homepage is: http://www.geocities.com/Yosemite/Geyser/6857
.
I'm 47 and from the south, living in NC. Started paddling last year
doing easy whitewater, then had hand surgery and two shoulder injuries,
which stopped the WW stuff. I still paddled flat water in my touring boats.
I work in law enforcement and do sculpture and play music when I'm not
working or paddling. I'm married to the lovely Maria, who has a Ph.D in
biochem. from the University in Bonn, Germany, but obviously isn't as smart
as you'd think, 'cause she married the likes of me. We have two demented
dogs that we love dearly (Apple, an Great Pyr. mix, and Dancer, a lab/golden
mix). Dancer loves the water, and Apple believes she'll sink. Experience
has shown this to be true. Me, I wear a pfd.
Hello everyone! I'm Melissa, 41, living for the moment in Ocean Shores, WA (considering a move to Alaska). I'm a Baroque 'cellist (currently taking a break from performing). I've played since I was very young, and shall continue until I'm dust.
I'm relatively new to paddling (about three years), but
in this short time, I've put thousands of hours in my wake. Ever since
I first climbed into a kayak, I knew I had another life-long passion. From
that first day, I've paddled almost every day - year-round, for 3 to 8
hours a day. I paddle a Current Designs Caribou (pre-skeg, thankfully),
and I love my 'boo! Her name, by the way, is Bonny Wee Boaty. You can see
a picture of me and Boaty on the cover of Sea Kayaker Magazine, April '99.
(Some have complained about my lack of helmet in the shot, and they are
quite right to do so - that won't happen again). I love Yak surfing as
well, and hope to get a 'surf boat' soon, but for now, I'm very happy surfing
with the 'boo - she surfs very nicely indeed! There's a large bay where
I live (Grays Harbor), and we have eight resident grey whales here. I paddle
with them almost every day, and we've become good friends. I feel very
privileged to have such magnificent friends.
As most inhabitants of RBP know I am actually still that stubborn, obnoxious 29 year old kid that plays polo and likes to paddle the North Sea Surf (I'm from the Netherlands, Europe) and occaisionally some white water. Love to do more WW but currently I lack the time to do so..
Playing for Natsec (div 2 team), we currently train 6 times a week. This training consists of a lot of indoor wall climbing which has actually led to me having a second hobby now :-)
Just for the record: I started out paddling when I was 12 after a teacher at school took the entire class out for a day of paddling. After some initial flatwater racing I got into playing polo. Currently I am involved in getting new people to play polo and work for the Dutch Canoe Association (NKB). During working hours I spend my time as a computer programmer which is a lot of fun too and allows me to recover from yesterday's training ;-)
Happy paddling all,
Michiel
From: Tim Galyon waterdogG@peoplepc.com
I have watched the rivers and creeks from the windows and have always wondered where they go when they leave the road. Now I know. (some of them at least). I have done some of the unknowns right here in my back door. I believe I have the first decent of the Upper Sewee Creek Gorge in Meigs County/McMinn County Tennessee. (believe it or not...White water in Meigs county). In high water it goes class II to III. No one knows about it and it is a short run of maybe 3/4 mile. I have two Dagger Boats and am looking foward to learning bigger water this year.
"Bring em Danno, they gotta be better that the last two."
From: Jim Kennedy atlanticseakayaking@eircom.net
44 years of age.Kayaking for the past 25 years.Owns and runs Atlantic Sea Kayaking with his partner Maria..Sea Kayak training officer with the Irish Canoe Union. Level 4 Sea Kayaking Coach / Instructor I. C. U. Level 4 River Coach/Instructor I.C.U. Raced on the Irish team at 2 sprint world championships. Raced on the Irish team at 2 marathon world championships. Has been Irish sprint and marathon kayak champion. Has been British sprint and marathon kayak champion. Has won the International Devizes to Westminster 126 mile non-stop kayak marathon. Is a coaching tutor with the national coaching training centre of Ireland. N.C.T.C. Leads Sea Kayaking expeditions in Ireland, Spain and Mexico.
From: Nanook of the Nashwaak nashwaak@email.com
I've been paddling for 20 years. Smashed my first boat on the Chase Rapids on the Allagash (fiberglass Rental, no great loss). My canoeing is confined to New Brunswick nowadays, love the rivers of the Miramichi basin. Don't care if the river is flat or roller-coaster rapids, getting out on the water in the woods is all that matters ... well, not too flat, please. I have this obsession for smaller rivers that no one else paddles, must be a sub-conscious desire to re-enter the womb. The only thing that riles me is river litterbugs. Sometimes lurk on rbp as Joebogan, have been known to troll (true confession time). Never again, I promise, he said.
Visit me at http://www.geocities.com/canoenb/index.htm
From: Simon stekarsim@tinyworld.co.uk
Hi, my name is Simon I am 15 years of age. I am tottally mad about kayaking. I started about 4 years ago at scouts using a perception dancer. At frist I wasn't that keen on the sport, bt then I started to go to a club. I soon got more and more hooked,I have recently baught a pyranha attak. One of my favoret trips was on the river Rother, it was for 12 miles and I played one some great fish steps.
From: Guillo Guillo@creek-high.8m.com
I am a paddler from Northern California. I like to play
boat and love to paddle small creeks. I like to go paddling often. My local
rivers are the Smith, Salmon, Trinity, and the Klamath.
