In 1979, when my son and I learned to kayak, we were taught the basic art
during eight 3-hour sessions, 6 students and 2 instructors, on successive
weekends by volunteer instructors who were members of the San Francisco
River Touring Chapter of the Sierra Club. Use of the Chapter's 6 kayaks and
paddles were included at a total cost to the students of the grand fee of
$25 plus gas for the instructors cars (filled with the students). There were
four separate classes on the weekend mornings and afternoons with just the 6
boats and paddles in the CA foothill streams and rivers. Every Tuesday night
all year long the Chapter rented the Richmond, CA, indoor pool for pool
sessions - mostly rolling practice at a very modest fee per attandee. After
the 8 lessons, a last graduation session for each class with four
instructors took the students down the South Fork of the Sacramento on the
"Gorge" run, a low class 3. The students were then included in the many
private trips planned each weekend during the year. Thus the Chapter added
24 whitewater kayakers in the spring and in the fall of each year. Many of
them complete addicts (and good comrades) boating 40 to 50 weekends per
year.

Many of the students helped in the following years as instructors. After we
learned the art, my son and I helped to train many future friends and
comrades.

The training I saw other kayakers getting from "professional" instructors
was far below the standard of the SF River Touring Chapter of the Sierra
Club.

John Adams

"William R. Watt" wrote in message
...
mann ) writes:
I'm just kinda getting started in kayaking and I have a Dagger Bayou
recreational-type kayak. It's flat and short. I, of course, want to
get a real touring kayak at some time, but I can't really right now.

And here I was thinking all kayaks were "recreational-type" craft. Until I
learned in this newsgroup that for a few idots of lowered brain activity
it is not recreation at all but a substitute for religious experience,
without all the hard stuff like a theological structure and adhering to a
moral code.


Anyway, my question: want to take it to a pool session sometime within
the next month and work on some wet exits and rescues. I know you
don't know anything about me, physically, but do you think it's worth
trying to learn a roll in this thing, or should I wait on that until I
have a better kayak?

pool sessions are nothing more than a paddling extremist's substitute for
baptism. they dunk you in the water a few times in a boat, collect their
fee, and leave you feeling you have joined a fraternity of faith. its not
about skill. its about psychology and mental conditioning. let them get
you into a pool and they 've got you for life. you won't be able to paddle
a single stroke without first paying for lessons from the priests of your
new
religion.

beware of ceritified paddling instruction. if you get hooked we do have
certified deconditioning agents but they cost a lot of money. we have to
isolate in safe house for up to 6 weeks for the therapy to work. I don't
recommend it except as a last resort. Better to avoid gettign hooked in
the first place.

--
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
William R Watt National Capital FreeNet Ottawa's free community
network
homepage: www.ncf.ca/~ag384/top.htm
warning: non-freenet email must have "notspam" in subject or it's returned