R I V E R S I G N A L S
We’d all rather a little Spanish Fly over a spider on the mind. PHOTO AMIE KEE
A Splash of credit Taking the pitch
so you’ll read ‘em maul My husband is a rugby player from Toronto who paddles a purple Spanish Fly. Rapid is glued to his hands for days after he receives it. I am sending you an adorable picture of him trying to read your magazine while our son is also seek- ing his attention—what a multi-tasker! I thought as a special surprise I could somehow get this picture in your magazine? You can’t know how happy it would make him. Thanks for producing a magazine that Geoff enjoys so much!
Amie Kee MARKHAM, ON
A couple more
drops in the bucket I absolutely agree with Scott MacGregor’s, “A Drop in the Bucket” editorial (Off the Tongue, Rapid V9 I3). I practice the buy-where-you-pad- dle philosophy and encourage others to do like- wise. When I buy locally, I always tell the people how much I enjoy paddling there so they know that I, as a paddler, directly contribute to their local economy. Many years ago I was making a presentation to the Ontario Parks Council as part of a group opposing further damming of the Spanish River. After making my pitch to preserve the river for paddlers, the MPP for Sudbury told me how little he thought of us. He said pad- dlers were cheapskates who brought their own food and gear, slept in their cars and bought gas farther south to save pennies per litre. He made some additional unflattering comparisons of us to the hunters, fishermen and snowmobil- ers who pump millions of bucks into his local economy. The message was simple; if you don’t support us, why should we support you?
Bill Ness TORONTO, ON
Your editorial “A Drop in the Bucket” is right on the mark. I have jumped onto the same soap- box with my friends at Bow Waters Canoe Club and other members of the No-Impact-Tourism tribe. Typically, we drive to a small town, look for free camping, bring our own food and sup- plies and pride ourselves on being self-support- ing. In contrast, the motorized crowd rolls into town, rents motel rooms, buys groceries, goes to restaurants and otherwise contributes to the local economy. So what? Well, when the towns- folk and their political representatives consider whom they would rather have visit, money sure- ly sways the decision. So spend some money locally; offer a work party to clean up the local park or put-in; or build an outhouse on a remote camping spot. We won’t get the respect we think we deserve until we do something to earn it.
Howard Heffler CALGARY, AB
8
I am a 15-year-old open boater and I am glad to see you are giving the Splash coverage in your magazine. I think the Splash is a great idea because it gives younger kids an opportunity to get into the sport. However, I feel you should have given more credit to Andrew Phillips in the Summer 2007 issue (Rapid V9 I3). I know An- drew spends a lot of his own time building the boats, and the material is a special composite only produced by Composite Creations. I really think that Andrew’s efforts are bringing kids into the sport. In fact, he recently supplied a number of Splashes to Madawaska Kanu Centre for their open boat kids’ clinic, some of which he made specifically for the class.
Stephen Farr ETOBICOKE, ON
Standard deviation
I find myself without resources and companions to practice what I learned in my five-day intro- ductory course. I tried paddling with members of a club over a weekend and ended up being ostracized on the second day because of my limited abilities—even though I explained my beginner skill level to the coordinator many days before. This experience was quite discouraging and made me think about Scott MacGregor’s statistical assertion “…about 95 per cent of in- troductory paddling course students don’t stick with it.” I was ready to join the 95 per cent club that weekend. I reiterate my call for help and would be very grateful if you could direct me to the right people.
Jocelyne Ménard TORONTO, ON
Whitewater by its very nature is a sport that re- quires both skill and experience to feel comfort- able on your own on the river. You get this by tak- ing courses, but also by just being on the water. Clubs have historically filled this need. However, lately many of the long-time members are tired and past their instructional years, and new mem- bers are still too excited about paddling them- selves to bother with teaching beginners. Also, whitewater underwent a fundamental shift in the last 10 years or so, from river running to more play-oriented experience. With this it changed how new paddlers are brought along, or in some cases, are not. When I started paddling you’d bring along beginners who’d scout and paddle rapids that fit their abilities and walk the rest. Ei- ther way, they benefited from the whole trip, and were not ostracized at the top of big rapids or while the rest of the group played for hours. The good news is that many clubs are recognizing this through decreasing memberships and are now putting more effort into appealing to new paddlers. River running and adventure is on the rise again, as are boats that are going to make you happier in your first season or two. And fi- nally, I’m convinced that if paddling schools or clubs offer guided instruction-based river trips they will do very well fulfilling the niche you have outlined. Stick with it, it’s worth it.—SM
Rapid welcomes reader comments and letters to the editor. Send correspondence to:
editor@rapidmag.com. Letters chosen for publica- tion are subject to editing for style and length.
write us
RAPID
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52