"...If you want to travel to south Wales, e.mail me and I'll arrange
for a
few of us (adults only) to go out for the day.

Have fun,
Steve (Amman Valley Paddlers)"



Thanks for the offer Steve. South Wales is a bit further than I was
planning to travel (although it is a beautiful place), but I'll bear
you in mind : ). Where do you paddle? I went out on the Wye in a 2 man
canoe back in September and had a great time. I plan to go on an
abseil day there in February, and hopefully will be able to organize
some kayaking the day before (to make a weekend of it and therefore
justify the travelling!)

Liz.

Liz wrote:

I'm new to newsgroups (so hopefully haven't made a pig's ear of it!)

No...

and new to kayaking. What I'd like to know is as a 35 year old
beginner, are my chances of becoming a great paddler less now than if
I'd started as a child or does age not enter the equation?

Your chances of becoming "great" are certainly less. But as long as you
become great *enough* to get something out of it, does that really matter?
In kayaking, as any other sport, the great majority of the participants
are not "great" at it. I'm not-great at a lot of sports (kayaking
(surf, river and sea) included), but participate in and enjoy many of them.

not old but I seem to be the eldest novice in my local club, lol.

You'd be about par for the course in Tayside Sea Kayak. We've had
retired folk come along to take it up.

Also, as a complete "Humbug" I was wondering if any instructors out
there would be willing to give me lessons over the Christmas break. I
live in Southampton, and am yearning to get out of the pool and onto a
river. I'm trying to boycott Xmas this year and can't think of a
better way to spend it : )

Surfing! ;-)

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch University of Dundee
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Medical Physics, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

Peter Clinch wrote in message ...

"...I'm trying to boycott Xmas this year and can't think of a
better way to spend it : )"



Surfing! ;-)

Pete.



Oh yeah, Xmas surfing would be fun too, although I find it very
difficult and very tiring. Or abseiling down a gorge - fun in a
masochistic sort of way! LOL.

Liz.

In message , Liz
writes
Hello

I'm new to newsgroups (so hopefully haven't made a pig's ear of it!)
and new to kayaking. What I'd like to know is as a 35 year old
beginner, are my chances of becoming a great paddler less now than if
I'd started as a child or does age not enter the equation? I know I'm
not old but I seem to be the eldest novice in my local club, lol.

Also, as a complete "Humbug" I was wondering if any instructors out
there would be willing to give me lessons over the Christmas break. I
live in Southampton, and am yearning to get out of the pool and onto a
river. I'm trying to boycott Xmas this year and can't think of a
better way to spend it : )

TIA

Liz.

which club are you with? there are several round Southampton - most will
have some suitable trip going on over Christmas at some point I would
have thought. Many clubs are happy to take 'drop ins' for these sort of
trips if you ask.

The main issue is having suitable kit to keep you warm .

If you haven't paddled outside the pool them you probably don't need
lessons - just a bit of time on the water to sort out going strait - not
as easy as it sounds on a windy river!

Richard

--
Dr Richard Seaby

PISCES Conservation Ltd
IRC House, The Square
Pennington, Lymington
Hants, SO41 8GN
Tel +44 (0)1590 676622/674000 Fax +44 (0)1590 675599
www.irchouse.demon.co.uk www.pisces-conservation.com
www.powerstationeffects.co.uk www.amazonian-fish.co.uk

Richard Seaby wrote in message ...


which club are you with? there are several round Southampton - most will
have some suitable trip going on over Christmas at some point I would
have thought. Many clubs are happy to take 'drop ins' for these sort of
trips if you ask.

The main issue is having suitable kit to keep you warm .

If you haven't paddled outside the pool them you probably don't need
lessons - just a bit of time on the water to sort out going strait - not
as easy as it sounds on a windy river!

Richard



Hello Richard

Good thinking! I'll ask the local clubs if there are any "humbugs" who
would rather paddle than sit in front of the TV watching Christmas
dross : )

I haven't formally joined a club yet but have had a couple of lessons
thanks to Salisbury CC and shall be checking out Ringwood CC tomorrow.
Do you paddle with a local club? Do they accept novices?

I think you may be right about just needing a bit of time on the water
to practice. The pool isn't big enough to get into the swing of it and
learn paddling in a straight line to any degree. The kit issue is a
bit of a problem...oh well, I'll just have to go shopping I suppose
: )

Liz.

Liz wrote:
Hello

I'm new to newsgroups (so hopefully haven't made a pig's ear of it!)

It's refreshing to see someone realise they can post something worth
reading first time round, especially as this group is in need of more
positive input :-)

and new to kayaking. What I'd like to know is as a 35 year old
beginner, are my chances of becoming a great paddler less now than if
I'd started as a child or does age not enter the equation? I know I'm
not old but I seem to be the eldest novice in my local club, lol.

My Dad must have been in his mid 50's when we tricked him into starting
to paddle. He has no ambitions beyond grade 3 but I'm sure there is
plenty of grade 4 he could be running (convincing him to come paddling
with us is more tricky). He is a level 2 coach and spends a lot of time
coaching, fla****er paddling and on easier grade stuff - I would say he
paddles more than me if not as hard! He also likes sea kayaking - which
is a wonderful leveller, endurance being worth more than speed, where
the youngsters can find themselves disadvantaged compared to older
paddlers! I wouldn't class him as a great paddler but he gets absolutely
everything he wants and possibly more out of the sport, and you are 20
odd years younger, so no worries!

Sure the human body deteriorates and as we age we might need to build in
extra exercise (or get out more often on fla****er) to maintain it for
the sport but the governing factor really isn't age, it's enthusiasm and
determination!

Also, as a complete "Humbug" I was wondering if any instructors out
there would be willing to give me lessons over the Christmas break. I
live in Southampton, and am yearning to get out of the pool and onto a
river. I'm trying to boycott Xmas this year and can't think of a
better way to spend it : )

I'm too far away to know specifics for your area, but most paddling in
the UK is done over the winter - people will be running rivers over the
xmas break, although these might be trips for the more experienced.
Obviously there are different ways things can run - there is club style
training for free, and there is commercial training for a price - if you
are interested in the latter I would say get in touch with
kayakojacko.com and see if they will be running anything over the break.
If all else fails I'm sure they will be spending time on the weirs so if
you are at a stage to try playboating that might help.

Most clubs arrange some kind of trip over the xmas/new year period, some
go away for the period, others have a local run they always do - these
things vary in difficulty but there is bound to be someone doing
something at your level from your area. Personally I'll be in the
highlands waiting for a warm, wet spell to make the hard rivers/burns
runnable!

Good luck, there are a lot of fanatical paddlers who would paddle rather
than do xmas if they could get away with it, you just have to track down
ones that can! Which reminds me of a xmas eve spent on the Tees white
water course with my Dad, brother and a friend - at one point 2 other
people appeared....... a nice quiet day out!

JIM

On 13 Nov 2003 10:03:07 -0800, (Liz) wrote:

Hello

I'm new to newsgroups (so hopefully haven't made a pig's ear of it!)
and new to kayaking. What I'd like to know is as a 35 year old
beginner, are my chances of becoming a great paddler less now than if
I'd started as a child or does age not enter the equation? I know I'm
not old but I seem to be the eldest novice in my local club, lol.

Also, as a complete "Humbug" I was wondering if any instructors out
there would be willing to give me lessons over the Christmas break. I
live in Southampton, and am yearning to get out of the pool and onto a
river. I'm trying to boycott Xmas this year and can't think of a
better way to spend it : )

So far all the posts have been from those who have seen others do it.

Well I've done it.

I paddled a litle bit when I was at school. A very little bit which
finished with me going over a wier on the Clyde sideways and refusing
to get bak in a kayak/ canoe until I was in my late 30's.


I only really got serious about paddling three years ago, at the age
of 44. I'm now a L2 Coach and working towards 4Star CCK.

Has age made a difference? Yes and No.

I'm a bit stiffer than i used to be, my health is not what it was when
I was younger - both impact on my "fears". If I take a dip in too icy
water it could have a more serious impact upon me now than when I was
20. That does make me a little less committed to new strokes on moving
water - I really don't want to go in - and that is as a result of my
age. However. I coach regularly and am probably a better coach than I
am a paddler, and I see the same fears in most kids. So, maybe age
doesn't matter too much after all.

Go out and do it. You'll find you get better and better the more you
do. There will always be some flash get out there who can do it better
and bigger, just do your own thing and take it where you want to go.

Ewan Scott


http://www.claytonwestscouts.org.uk