Paddling From The Beginning – Why Paddle
January 25th, 2010 | 
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Today on KayakQuixotica we start by going all the way back to the beginning. After being online 5 years and traveling every wandering road in those years it seems a good time come back full circle and meet up with all the folks just coming into the sport here in 2010. It’s also a good reminder for me as a paddler and a coach as to why I got into this gig in the first place. So for the old sea dogs, I invite you to jump in and give your thoughts and advice as I travel down the road from considering paddle sports for the first time to insanely jumping into whitewater or a tidal race. For those of you new to paddling or even just wondering what it’s all about, welcome to page one of a new pre-season series. Along the way I’ll chase down athletes, instructors, shop owners and more. We’ll talk gear you need, and the gear you may want to avoid. We’ll answer questions and share lots of pics from around the world. So join us as KayakQuixotica goes back to the beginning…
What is paddling? Whatever you want it to be…
Paddling is a lot of things. It’s the history of exploration, it’s a multi-million dollar business, it’s a competitive sport, It’s a social activity and for some it’s how you to get away from it all. For each paddler the reason they do it is different. Many have come to paddling from the seat of their parents canoe, while others like me, came to it much later in life. Some got into paddling because it gives them a relaxing way to fish the shallow waters, while others fish for the big one on the open sea. Some find joy is running wild whitewater, others in exploring distant shorelines. Some never go anywhere at all and just sit in one spot and roll, and roll, and roll. Paddling is Canoeing. Paddling is Sea Kayaking. Paddling is taking a small recreational boat out on the local lake. It’s surfing. It’s racing. It’s even done standing up. It’s all paddling. The first lesson of paddling then, is that it’s YOUR thing. Don’t let anyone tell you that you must do this or that or the other.. Find your own place on the water. Make paddling your own.
Discussion… I know there are lots of very experienced paddlers out there. Help me out and share how you got into paddling in the first place.. It’s O.K. Commenting doesn’t hurt!
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When I was a kid, I started paddling an old beat-up fiberglass canoe that seemed to need repairs a couple of times during the summer. We paddled in the backwaters of the Mississippi River. On a whim, I bought a sea kayak in 1997 or 1998. At the time I bought the sea kayak, I was more into climbing, so it didn’t get used a lot–a few camping trips and day trips. I ended up selling the kayak and buying a solo canoe a couple of years later. After I stopped climbing, I dived deeply into canoeing and kayaking again. Now, I own 4 sea kayaks, three canoes, and a white water kayak.
I’m one of those come to it late in life guys. I was teaching judo and running marathons when the nerve to part of my left quadriceps muscle was cut. I was on a rowing machine for exercise and realized I wanted to be outdoors. I had sailed for 20+ years, so I did some googling and found Rutabaga in Madison. Took lessons from a named JB who, as it turns out, lives in my old neighborhood here in Milwaukee. He was also my IDW (along with Sam) and has become a mentor, friend and frequent Paddling companion. And all this happened after I turned 60…and that’s MY thing.
My first paddles were in row boats with my grand parents. It was a way to experience something new and to enrich time during vacations.
Next came a round aluminum through on the farm which we used to paddle around a local watering hole. Nailed a flat board to a stick for a paddle. That was our attempt to re-create Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn.
The fist actual paddling trip was taken down rivers and lakes in a gigantic rubber rescue raft with heavy aluminum single-blade paddles. Paddling on those early excursions was an afterthought–main goal was to transport camping gear effortlessly rather than on one’s back. Rubber rescue rafts were eventually succeeded by 3-person behemoth folding kayaks but the nature of paddling did not change–it remained the means to a goal, not an end in itself. Naturally, that lead to canoeing–the mini-van approach to paddling.
It was not until I first had a chance to paddle in the ocean that mere paddling morphed into sea and surf kayaking and became definitely an end in itself with a web of activities centered around a small fleet in the garage.
http://southwestseakayaking.co.uk/2009/01/19/origins/
Sorry your 2009 sea paddling trip didn’t work out – do you think that you’ll get to paddle on the sea in 2010?
Cheers,
Mark
Thanks for the storys.. Hey Mark.. It’s on my calendar yet.. but whether I can spend the time away from home or not is still up in the air. Thanks for asking. I want to.
I had sailed, snorkeled, and even tried windsurfing as a kid. I really loved sailing, but I always wanted to be in the water, rather than on top of it. My brother in law put me in his Dagger Seeker in 1999 on Thumb lake in the northern lower LP. He pushed me off from shore and I glided (some might say catapulted) off into ten years of kayaking. It was like somebody flipped a light-switch on in my head. I paddled around this pristine lake of crystal blue water where I was finally “in” the water rather away from it.
I was lucky enough to have two of these epiphanies. The first time I tried a dedicated surf boat on Lake Michigan I had my world literally rocked. I remember it was actually the day that I decided I wasn’t going to move to Madison in 2005!!! I went out with my new riot boogie, put the fins in and went out on a beautiful summer day, the wind had pushed up nice 4-6 foot waves. I dropped in suicidally late on a wave, began carving and hit a bottom turn out of it to keep surfing. The moment was so good, I thought for a second Princess Leia in the chainmail bikini had kissed me.
I think surfing a kayak, or probably surfing in general the ocean/great lakes in general is as close as we get to magic as humans. There are so many waves to be caught out there, and each time you think you’ve had the best ride of your life, there’s one more yet to come.
I just want to jump in and say I really dislike rowboats!! LOL!!
I am with you, Derrick. Back in high school I tried to row competitive crew. I thought it would be fun given all the fun I had paddling prior to that–outdoors, on the water, fast. That one year in 8- and 4-person was the Dark Age of my paddling life! To this day I feel the pain in the lower spine and depression associated with the stationary rowing pool contraption.
I thought I did too, but then I tried CLC’s Skerray in waves during training as using it as a rescue boat. It was an absolute blast, especially in rock gardens. I can see the attraction of rowing a small rough water capable row boat on camping trips, especially on Lake Superior. I even thought about building one. You should try it.
I started sea kayaking in 2001. I had just broken my ankle while climbing and was looking for something else to do while my ankle healed. I though, there is a lot of water within easy reach of my home why not try kayaking, so I did. Surprisingly I find sea kayaking much more scarey than climbing! But many of the skills learned over the years while climbing were transferable to sea kayaking. I now kayak more than climb.
Started paddling to help with karate strength. Addicted. Now I paddle in a pack like seaborne bikers. I love the connection with other paddlers, depending on each other, sharing some lunch, bragging about a new paddle and roaming the sea like corsairs. I love it when eight of us turn up on a beach from out of nowhere surprising everyone or pulling up next to a fishing boat out to sea and having a chat with the startled crew. I love telling my landlubber mates my tall tales and true of sharks and swell and storms. Paddling is life and a damn good one.
My way into paddling is not the way you’d think someone would enter a passion, but the gist of it I’m finding surprisingly common. As a young boy, I was a Scout in Western Canada, where we built a cedar-strip canoe and then had several outings as a troop. Loved it! Then fast-forward to me living in the Bay Area in 2001 working for a software start-up. There I met a buddy of mine that was from Holland (they ARE water people!) who took me out in a sit-on-top kayak in Sausalito bay. I had no idea how to paddle, and didn’t even have the core strength to hold myself up in that SOT…very funny story if you ask my friends that were there! Then in 2003, I had moved back to Canada…and was working on my own as an entrepreneur assisting founders and inventors on commercializing their products, doing business plans, and raising financing. That’s when I met these two guys from Saskatchewan that had a hand-built prototype of a new skin-on-frame kayak that performed like a hardshell and fit in a golf bag! I was inspired by the vision. I got DEEPLY involved. Very deeply. After we raised the capital to get the company into production, I took a trip to Galiano Island in BC, stayed at a place called Serenity by the Sea, and took my new TRAK out paddling. I was hooked. The best part is that I have a lot of adventures ahead of me. I’m just 36 yrs old now and have a lot of water to explore! Thanks for posting this Derrick – it was nice to write about my experience. I was drawn in by the picture of that Black TRAK! When was that taken?
Wow great stories!! Hi Nolin. That was my wonderful little black trak that was stolen in Puerto Rico..
Well Derrick – there’s only one Black TRAK on the planet at the moment, so if it shows up, we’ll know it’s the one that got stolen! I think we’ll add that color next year…we’ve had a LOT of interest in the black deck…cheers!
First, love your Blog, first time commenter, long time reader.
Started paddling 12 years ago. I was watching a show on New Jersey Public Television about kayaking the local river estuaries that spill into the Atlantic Ocean close to where I live down in the Southern area of the state. I had grown up in the “shore” area and spent every waking daylight hour of my mislead youth surfing , waves or not, year round. I had since stopped surfing on a regular basis and found myself called to the lure of hopping into a sleek Sea Kayak and exploring the coast again. I went out and bought a Wilderness Systems Tchaika that week. Spent hours and months paddling it, all over the East Coast. Decided I needed more and within the year bought a Current Designs Slipstream. Still have the boat and love it. Although I am lusting for a new P&H Kayak. Soon enough. Anyhow, it is my release, it is my solitude, it is my sanity. Now every time time I see a body of water I feel drawn, like when I was young and I would stare at the swells on the horizon of the Atlantic, drawn to the waves. It is a feeling that you never out grow.
Started paddeling 5 years ago, since then I also built my owne beautifull kayak, and become an experienced paddler. Do it quit a lot with my friends in Opmtimist Kayak Center in Israel. I love to paddle. Paddleing for me is being good with my self and with others.
I had no choice! My parents were both BCU instructors and I grew up with fibreglass boats being built in the living room for scout groups or at pool sessions. The year was punctuated with weekend trips which formed the end point of the courses my father ran. I know my first trip in a kayak was on a still river aged 6 months, sat in my fathers lap in the cockpit of a kayak.
As I got older, my parents bought an open canoe so the whole family could get out on the water and then when I was old enough my father taught me how to paddle a kayak.
As we hit early teens a move to a new location allowed to join a thriving kayak club where there was a slalom focus. This formed the focus of my paddling until late teens when I realised long trips to a good white water river for a slalom event only allowed limited time on the water for practices and official runs, whereas if I visited the river the following weekend I could play all day on the rapids.
From here, instructing qualifications followed, time working in outdoor centres etc and exposure to other forms of paddle sport have led eventually to Sea Kayaking being my passion.
Interestingly my sister rebelled during her teenage years and drifted away from anything to do with the outdoors but in later life has regretted that and come back to the sport. It’s not that my parents were ever pushy, they let her find her own path and never criticised her for not taking part. But deep down I know they’re glad she came back to paddling!
Hey Y’all….. here’s my 2-bits
My wife and I live in Calgary, Alberta Canada and we’ve been avid hikers / backpackers in the Rockies for many years. We began to notice that the mountains we’re getting more and more busy… this coupled with 3 knee surgeries we decided to explore our options and sea kayaks were definitely the perfect fit for us. But then came the task of getting educated on the sport. I went for 10 days kayaking the Queen Charlottes with experienced kayaking friends and was immediately hooked. The big question was which boat is best for us???? Then we discovered TRAK Kayaks manufactured right in Calgary. We found after many hours of considering different boats, the TRAK kayak was perfect for our needs. It’s quite an amazing boat…. Folds into a travel friendly bag, assembles in 10 mins, has great performance, excellent secondary stability, very comfortable, keder access to the stern compartments, very durable…. But most impressive is the adjusting shape via the 3 hydraulic jacks making the boat amazingly versatile. We have taken our boats on a second trip to the Queen Charlottes and paddled for a week. No problems flying with them, arrived there from Calgary in 3 hours! Sweeeet! We had enough storage in each boat to take a ltr. of wine per day on the water! Not exactly a luxury we had when backpacking! We have taken these boats on both flat water and white water and have a howl on both! I really have to say that kayaking has changed the way we view the outdoors and travel + our TRAKs have made it very convenient to access water pretty much anywhere! Any questions on the TRAK Kayak or kayaking around Calgary or the Queen Charlottes, feel free to connect. Cheers, Keith
I’ve always loved being around water. I tried sailing, windsurfing and kayaking and just fell in love with kayaking – it’s something I can do by myself (I’m sure the “rule of three” will be covered later in this “Back to Paddling” series). Like silbs, I come to kayaking later in life. I figure better that I found out later as opposed to never. It took me two years to work up the courage to talk to shop folks and go to demo days (in the meantime, I spent my time in rental kayaks paddling in large circles). Spent far more on my first kayak than I ever thought, but never regretted it. Given the choices at “demo days,” it was hands down the best one for me at the time. No one warned me however, that soon (quite soon), I would want another boat, and then another. Really, it’s nice to be ready for any paddling occasion, though there’s limited room in the garage. If I had a house, I’d just build a bigger garage, but I’m not complaining!
After 20 years of rugby as my main sport, I was involved in a terrible car accident that, amongst the many injuries, left me with a shattered pelvis and broken lower spine. After years of rehab, I needed a sport that didn’t rely on running, and since I’ve always loved other water sports (surfing, sailing etc), paddling seemed like a good idea. That was less than a year ago – now I’m completely addicted and have paddled over a 1000km so far and looking to paddle many thousands more!