c l a s s i c l i n e s
End of the
British
2003
Invasion
British-style and North American-style
kayaking finally crawled in bed to-
It is difficult to imagine a four- gether. At first the British trend seemed
metre-long, 3,500-kilogram mound
like an invasion. In 2003 we heralded
of snoring, gassy flab “sneaking up”
the Wilderness Systems Tempest 170
on anything, especially on a gravel
as a “Romany for the West Coast” and
Washington–based Werner Paddles
beach, but there he was.
announced it was making British-
Dave Quinn, “Pure Patagonia,” issue 2
style paddles with short shafts and
large blades. In 2004 Alex Matthews
I talked to your neighbour and some lamented “the blind rush to British-style kayaks,” and we reviewed Necky’s Chatham 16, noting its Brit-
guy who works in your office just last
ish-style rubber hatches and skeg. After a while the novelty wore off and in 2008 we announced the
week. Everywhere I go I meet people
death of the divide, saying, “It’s time to give the old schism a good sea burial.” It’s all just kayaking now.
Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be…
who know you. You’re the guy down
the street who kayaks, or you’re
the woman upstairs in accounting Quit Your
who paddles in the harbour on your
Job and
lunch break.
Scott MacGregor, “Sufferin’ Succotash,” issue 4
Go Kayaking
Quitting your job and simplifying your
2004
life to spend more time kayaking has
been a favourite theme, notably in
our Expedition Issue when we sought
advice from long-distance paddlers
Expeditions should really be
on how to organize your life around
planned on the back of a napkin, expeditions. “Clear away everything
sitting in a bar.
else. Quit your job, sell your house and
Leon Sommé, “Utopia in the North Atlantic,”
car, and take off,” said John Dowd and
issue 2.
pretty much everyone else we inter-
viewed. Our editor liked the idea so much that he quit and moved to Vancouver Island, but then came
There is a long tradition of making
back a year later, got married, bought a house and had a kid. And so it goes.
paddling part of life. The men and
women who began the companies
Okay, Keep
that build the boats we escape in
just wanted to paddle, and when
Your Job and
life came knocking they, like me and
Go Kayaking
every other paddler over 30, built a Yes, life gets in the way. And it’s not
life for themselves around the water.
just us. “In the past 15 years,” wrote
Scott MacGregor, “Paddling Away from the Rat
Neil Schulman in 2008, “the average
Race,” issue 3
length of a wilderness outing has gone
from six days to three hours.” Retailers
Kayaks are like lovers and potato
told us they were selling more and
more rec boats and fitness kayaks to
chips. It’s hard to have just one.
day-paddlers and fewer touring kayaks.
Tim Shuff, “the Capella RM,” issue 4
We recognized this back in 2001 and
introduced our Urban Adventures column about backyard escapes. In 2007 we followed up with a
2005
profile of urban kayaking guru Dubside and tips on how to paddle 100 days a year close to home. We
know at least one person who did it—and wrote us a letter after day 100.
An ounce of prevention is worth 40
Dead in the Water
pounds of paddle floats.
Gear we recommended that didn’t take off includes the Zippered
Alex Matthews, “Safety For Sale, While
Sprayskirt by Brooks Wetsuits (2001). We said, “The practicality of the
Supplies Last,” issue 3
cockpit access with the zip is unsurpassed.” You said, “Screw it, we’d
rather pull the cord.” Ditto the GSI Lexan Java Press, since brewing
Unless you’re slow dancing to Pink
boiling-hot drinks in polycarbonate containers went out of fashion
Floyd at a junior high school dance, sometime between the time that outdoor stores stopped selling
it’s actually very difficult to be
Lexan water bottles and Health Canada proposed banning the mate-
comfortably numb.
rial from baby bottles. And then there’s 2004’s Vortex Hand-Crank
Ian Merringer, “Gasket Cases,” issue 4
Blender—still on the market but we have yet to meet a kayaker who
uses one. Who needs a blender if you don’t have ice?
2 ADvENTuRE KAYAK | Spring 2010
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