Going No Where...Slowly...Alone

The old adage among sailors is that sailing is the art of going no where, slowly and in great discomfort. Some of this may or may not apply to paddling. This all comes to mind as I sit with several recent issues of various paddling magazines and read the articles about who is paddling around what.

If some "outsiders" were to read our mags they just might think that it is the desire of every paddler (kayak paddlers, that is) to go on a solo expedition around some island not previously circumnavigated and to do so alone. I don't believe that is so...or even close to the truth. Most of us, I am guessing, make short day trips with a Friend or two or with a small group. I wager that most paddles are not long enough to require one to have food along and that they end at the spot from which they began.
Perhaps it is a sign of age, but I prefer day paddles, even when camping. I'm okay making an overnight to that island over there and returning in a day or two. In general, however, putting up and taking down tents, packing and unpacking boats, etc., are not my thing. So what do I like?

Well, I used to be a sailor, so I am okay with going slowly. Certainly there are times when I go down to the local shore for a "work out" paddle. After all, it isn't likely I will see anything new there. When in a new area, on the other hand, I like to dawdle, go off course, paddle into shore and get a look at what's there. May take a phot or two. Sometimes my course is so erratic that I really do go no where and do so slowly.

Frequently, during the warmer months, I go somewhere nearby and launch my Romany and head off into the wind. I go slowly and make little progress, most of the time. It reduces stress and has a near meditative feel to it. I am responsible to only myself. Try it, you might like it.

Paddle safe...

DS