You’d fit in just fine with our picture taking drifters in the Canoe and Kayak club. But not the Sea Kayak club.
Yeah, I pretty much already figured out that a group of sea kayakers don’t want to see me. Don’t know exactly where everyone is located but I will look into what might be going on in the upstate South Carolina area.
To me, just the fact that you’re asking on here means you’ll fit in fine. 
I’ve generally found paddlers to be super-nice people, even if sometimes somewhat eccentric (which I personally like.)
Don’t expect the group to conform to you. I used to paddle with a group in San Diego, mostly guys in their 60s. It was a workout paddle with a break for coffee and dinner. All were welcome but you were on your own. I was in my 30s then and it was hard to keep up
I used to belong to a mountain trail four wheel drive group. The thing to remember is that activity groups like this need new people, or the group will die. You will find that groups have core members who have been around the longest and do all the background work. And then you have folks who will show up and be active for some time. Some will stay and become part of the core and some will fade away. But successful groups need new people. Fresh faces brings new energy and new friendships…
Start your own group. Make the rules whatever you want them to be. 
That what I did. Unfortunately there are few that paddle like I do so I ended up abandoning the idea after a few years.
If you can get some attractive, competent women to join, membership #s won’t be a problem.
You are not likely to get attractive competent women if they get even a whiff that they are being recruited to bring in guys. More likely the women will form their own group.
@Celia said:
You are not likely to get attractive competent women if they get even a whiff that they are being recruited to bring in guys. More likely the women will form their own group.
Unless there’s some high-quality chocolate involved.
The ones I paddle with come because I helped them get started and I treat them like paddlers. And they have met and been approved of by my wife.
I don’t paddle with groups, other than my annual trip to Maine with paddling friends. This is due to my own style of paddling. I enjoy paddeling fast and long distances. Even in a group, I won’t wait, I can’t help myself, I will paddle fast.
@Celia said:
You are not likely to get attractive competent women if they get even a whiff that they are being recruited to bring in guys. More likely the women will form their own group.
Our experience is that they are likely to group instead of go it alone. Guys that look for those appearance things should look into the mirror first then make what is attractive judgements on a equal basis. We paddle with a lot of single women that drive their own RV rigs, load their own boats and make a good camp fire. Many are retired, some early retirement. All of them look pretty good when they are smiling.
I appreciate the thought that guys need to look at themselves first. As should women who show up in a group looking for other than what the group is about. There are occasionally individuals who join groups, including paddling, to find dates first and paddle second. It can be very disruptive regardless of gender. If anyone here has a long time association in a paddle group without this ever happening, I would be surprised.
I know many of the women in the inland group back home tend to paddle together. But for the most part they also don’t ,do really open water. I currently may be the only one except for a couple who are primarily WW that can roll (as putrid as my roll currently is). Here in Maine I either miss going more than 20 ft from shore or paddle further out alone, albeit cautiously. The bigger paddling groups are south of here.
Point is, I am typical for what I do. Most women I know who paddle bigger water have to be independent. But the female persuasion gets lumped together so it is worth mentioning that a woman can make a good campfire (any old GS had that down by 13) or loads a boat solo. Which I was doing from the outset even married because I wanted to roll sooner than Jim did.
Smiling improves anyone’s looks. Guys too. BTW, chocolate does not get me to come to things. OK but not my fave.
Some good suggestions here…but the answer is dependent upon the structure of the group - an organized trip or a spontaneous decision. Perhaps the following Paddling.com safety tip will offer some considerations: https://paddling.com/learn/the-group-paddle-preparation-group-dynamics/
I never understood the chocolate thing.
Fine, more for me. 
My old GP (who was also my gynecologist, since he had been one for the WACS when he was in the Army during the Korean War) told me that women’s predilection for chocolate (compared to that of men) was due to the fact that it contains nutrients which offset some of the negative chemical imbalances (low magnesium and drop in antioxidants) that arise during the menstrual cycle. It also mimics serotonin and can be a mood booster. Even for post-menopausal women, magnesium has been shown to be useful in preventing osteoporosis as it aids in calcium absorption.
My more recent GP, who is very holistic and does a lot of research on the effects of diet, recommends consuming about an ounce of 85% or higher ratio dark chocolate daily – it has a high proportion of flavanols which have been proven to reduce cell damage in heart disease as well as improve vascular function and lower blood pressure.
The research on chocolate does indeed show some benefits. Some not dissimilar to red wine. These are pretty solid benefits.
My personal situation may have rendered chocolate benefits less noticeable. I have been taking daily vitamins with added electrolytes and minerals, plus keeping lots of electrolyte drinks around since I was 30 due to the Crohns. Bone density has meant weight bearing exercise all along and some drugs to help a bit earlier than most start. It has all worked pretty decently, but any impact from food is probably muted by things like free weights and some of my other activities. I seem to have won the genetic lottery on cholesterol and vascular issues.
The only chocolate I like is dark, semi sweet. Probably because my mother always had some around for cooking.
Didn’t mamma teach your to keep your GD hands off her chocolate?