letters


to the


editor


Rolling is so 1960 I thought I’d offer you some of my insights from the recent history of sea kayaking. Tis is prompted by two items: the piece you did on rolling as “the most valuable skill of sea kayaking” (Early Summer 2007) and your 2007 Canadian Sea Kayak Instructor Con- ference—apparently dealing with a concern that a high percentage of those completing sea kayaking courses do not continue pad- dling. It could be that you’re becoming part of the problem. Sea kayaking in North America was planned


You Can Run, But I’m Not Slow I was ready to renew my subscription until I read Dave Quinn’s article (“Hippies, Huck- leberries and Beer,” Summer 2007). I know editors claim that the opinions expressed by writers do not always reflect the publisher’s views. However I am certain that had he in- sulted, say, French Canadians, that would have been red-pencilled. But it seems okay for him to refer to those Americans who fled to Can- ada to avoid the draft as “talented, intelligent Americans.” Tus by contrast those of us who did not run must be inept and rather slow. Inept and slow? Rather a surprise then that I was allowed to skip my master’s degree on the basis of my bachelor’s degree grades and that I completed a seven- to nine-year doctoral program in biology in five years. I wish no ill on those who ran. I don’t even wish them on Canada. I do hope that should Canada ever have a time of dire peril you do not need to depend on the likes of them. (One wonders what Sir Winston Churchill would think of men like them!)


Dr. Kenneth Lewis Delaware, OH


COMING SOON.


So you think we’re saying that A) People who immigrated to the Kootenays are smart, B) You did not immigrate to the Kootenays, there- fore C) You are not smart? Okay. We’re really, really sorry.—Ed


P.S. Churchill was British.


and developed by a very small group of enthu- siasts and businesspeople. We had the benefit of seeing how a sport could go so wrong by watching the British Savage their own sport during the ’60s and ’70s. To avoid the British mistakes, we promoted


a full range of kayaks with an emphasis on large-cockpit, beamier boats (24 inches for the average male, 22 inches for the average female) and doubles, and we actively sought the par- ticipation of women. Contrary to the theme of your rolling issue,


the ability to roll a kayak is not an essential skill. Furthermore, surveys showed that the majority of sea kayakers were turned off by the prospect of having to roll. Kayakers mostly choose sea kayaking for


the freedom it offers. Tis led us to the realiza- tion that it was critical to differentiate between sea kayaking, whitewater kayaking and kayak racing. Indeed we coined the name sea kayak- ing in order to distance the activity (yes, we even resisted calling it a sport) from its pad- dling cousins. More than ever, I am seeing whitewater


skills and attitudes in sea kayaking magazines and courses, and flatwater paddling tech- niques for sea kayakers who are encouraged to paddle a heavily loaded kayak the way rac- ers paddle a 20-pound shell. For the majority of potential sea kayakers, this is a turnoff.


John Dowd Vargas Island, BC


Come off it, John. Everybody knows, the small- er the cockpit, the bigger the man.—Ed


For a complete tour schedule, check out


www.reelpaddlingfilmfestival.com 8 ADVENTURE KAYAK | SPRING 2008


WRITE US: Tell us what you think. Send correspondence to: Editor,Adventure Kayak, P.O. Box 70, Palmer Rapids, ON, K0J 2E0 or email: editor@adventurekayakmag.com. Letters chosen for publication are subject to editing for style and length, and may receive sarcastic replies.


Missed an Issue? Read back issues online www.adventurekayakmag.com


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