I remember long ago -
when the sun was shining
Yes and the stars were bright
All through the night
And the sound of your laughter
As I held you tight
So long ago
- genesis

A phrase I’ve heard a couple times recently has been sticking in my mind. It goes something like this. “Circumnavigations are not important, they just provide a logical place to stop”. There is certainly no reason to not to go around something and there’s no reason not to make a note in the records of your life if you were “first”. But I’m beginning to realize that I could be content if I never go around something again. I will, certainly. . (see “provides a logical place to stop”). But I don’t want to miss the point of kayaking either. The kayak for me is there to take me places I may otherwise not be able to reach. When I get there, I should damn well enjoy it!

If you would have asked me last year, I’d have said that each trip builds on the last.  My goal would have been to go bigger and bigger.  Of course I’ve had over a year to think about that now and some interesting experiences in between.  Now I find myself not thinking bigger is better.  New IS important. I get board with the same old shorelines, but bigger??  Now I’m thinking bigger, at least for me would be a  mistake.

When you plan a trip you tend to begin with approximating how long it will take and what sort of realistic distance you should cover per day. 30 miles (48km) is not a bad estimate. That means you’ll be on the water 8-10 hours depending on your speed. Most of the time it’s not like you have better things to do with your day. But the other side of that equation is days OFF the water. What we call “Weather days”. So we do some quick math that says IF I paddle so many miles a day and I have to use up so many weather days then I’ll complete the trip in such and such a time. Fine. But starting out that way tends to overlook why we are there. I was thinking that next time I do a trip I want to spend more time figuring out what I want to see, do and learn wherever I may go. I want to fit in “exploration days”. I may even put them first. So I’ll say. . To really see what I want to see, and take the time to dink and doodle I’ll need this many days. So then I need to add miles per day to make the distance goal and give myself a bit more room for weather. Yeah, weather can be exploration days, but sometimes they are simply sit in the tent and abuse your partner days.   So I don’t want to count on them for exploration time.   In the end it means shorter distances, better experiences.  Well, that’s were I think my thoughts are heading. I can’t help but wonder what good it does to go to some exotic locale and just slip around the outskirts.

I think even sponsors and magazines get a bit goofy about this. I mean, if they really want content over the next year or so that they can use, then the paddler needs time to get it. Not just water-droplet covered cloudy, wavy shots and boats on beaches but great images of beautiful locations, the people that live there, the history, the environment and of course the stories that bring them to life. A race around an island tend to produce limited information or material; The waves were big, the wind howled, and there was this big headland. Of course these are not bad stories. I’ve just read so many that I find myself wandering. In the last year or so I’ve found myself following closely to folks like Jon Bowermaster who use paddling as a means to an end and not a means within itself. People who can bring us unique views of the world around us in sort of an unvarnished anti-Conde Naste sort of way.

So if you’re thinking all this musing about purpose has a reason it does. It’s the itch. I’ve been talking on and off to some folks about a 2009 trip. Thing is, I’m not sure they are strongly committed. So I’m falling back on my dart map. The places I want to see. I’m starting to talk to other paddlers about their 2009 plans. I don’t want an epic. Just a boat, a flight and something intriguing. The itch is telling me to drop some weight, start training again. The itch says, save up more cash. The itch says, you know you’re doing something. . just plan for it. You may not know exactly what it will be but why should that stop you!? The one thing I am sure of is that I want to take my time. Go crazy with cameras and video, write under a tree or in a soggy tent.  Enjoy good company. Make plans to avoid salt rashes and pealing skin. Sooner or later I’ll figure out what I’m planning for. Fate is funny that way.

Related Posts:

1. moody, blustery, bitchy sea
2. Keeping Up Appearances
3. The Effect of Living Backwards
4. wink of an eye