Thats what I was thinking. I listen to music all the time - when driving and as background when Iām sitting around at home. When working in the shop, my head phones have a built in radio.
On the water, I like silence. My sister would talk constantly, which I didnāt mind since I donāt talk back, but if one or two more peope joined the group, invariable someone would seemed to have the urge to whoop it up and scream. I hate noise for the sake of noise.
My favorite time on the water is in fog, when everything is muted, even the sound of passing power boats. I stopped going out on weekends because ithe water is too crowded and so many people feel the need to scream. Boats form in puppy-piles to party and play head banger music, with people screaming as they dive and play grab-ass.
I like the rigor of watching commercial crabbing boats working in silence, with the only sound being the diesels spooling as they power to get to the next pot. Sail boats sliding by in silence, and distant barges plodding up the channel with the drum, drum, drum of the pusher tug as it finally catches up and pushes past. Rythemic waves slapping the side if the kayak, and the faint gurgle of the bow wave. You know youāre in the groove, even with youāre eyes closed, when you canāt hear the paddle strokes. Tracking straight without a rudder require full consentration and instant corrections.
Kayaking is different things to different people. Iād just rather be alone. Even when paddling with a silent partner, the communication is there, but itās implied rather than stated. By staying on station, a wave of the paddle or an arm motion directs attention. Even a break in the rythem signals action ahead. A glance, a nod, or a smile is all the message you need to convey. If a couple is in sync, you donāt need to talk. Two boats gliding noiselessly at a fixed interval of 5 feet, with neither intruding on the other is communicating.
Sharing silence is something we rarely experience in the real world. Working in an office, even if youāre in a room alone, the intensity of the white noise is obvious when the air handlers shut down as maintenance worker change the filters. The otherwise noiseless wall clock ticks the scene from Poeās āTelltale Heart.ā On the water, i donāt have patience for noise. Thatās my time to interact with silence, and itās bests when I donāt intrude on it! Silence makes the air smell fresher; it lets you focus on the wind speed and varying direction. If you pay attention, you can judge your speed by the pressure of the wind. You can tell when the tide changes. Even though Iāve traveled the same course a hundred times, its hard to navigate and talk, and then you miss so much.
