I remember 25 years ago when we got our first 9 foot long , (and almost as wide) Keowees and we had to research what a “feathered” paddle was.
Now that we know, I figure we must be almost intermediate paddlers
Make sure they’re goose feathers, not the cheaper duck feathers…
“paddle like a pro”… Perhaps they define professional what? We only assume they mean pro paddler. But what would that be? Field is wide and diverse yet true numbers are small.
Clicked on the link. Now Paddling net wants to know if I want to date rich women.
@SeaDart said:
Clicked on the link. Now Paddling net wants to know if I want to date rich women.
Depends. What kind of boat does she paddle?
OK, I must complain about sexism. I just clicked on the link and no one asked me if I wanted to date rich men!!
(I’d be willing to give it a try.)
Why discriminate? There’s always the rich women…
Winter seems to be setting in.
"I feel that the 90 minute guide not only increased my knowledge in the sport of kayaking, but it made me feel comfortable enough with all that I’ve learned that I can go out on the water armed with the proper knowledge to have a safe and pleasurable journey.
What I liked the most was that there are plenty of diagrams, photos, and links to videos to reinforce the descriptions of the topics covered in the book. This information, along with regular kayaking sessions will make me an expert in paddling in no time."
Its dropped from 90 minutes to “no time.”
PS-(I’m potentially available for rich or poor women. PM me for an application)
My Mom said it was just as easy to love a rich one as a poor one.
@string said:
Winter seems to be setting in.
Not until tomorrow at 5:23 p.m. Then the daylight increases and we’re only 89 days until spring!
We have another chilly deluge happening. Looks and feels like winter.
It hit 52 in SW Michigan today. The ground is soft and the parks and put-ins are super muddy, and I don’t mind a bit.
@TomL said:
It hit 52 in SW Michigan today. The ground is soft and the parks and put-ins are super muddy, and I don’t mind a bit.
Almost identical here. A long way South.
To be a “pro” at something, don’t you have to be able to earn a real living from it? Isn’t a “pro” someone who can, for example, pay a mortgage, feed oneself, maybe raise a child or two? By paddling? In that vid there better be a lot of info on writing books or making movies, soliciting sponsors, giving lectures, maybe a list of uncompleted first descents or circumnavigations. That’s pretty rarefied air. Perhaps there are other more practical professions (cancer research? plumbing? architecture?) one could pursue with that 90 mins.
A Professional gets paid for what they do. However, an Expert knows what they are doing. Can be a Professional without being a Expert. The two don’t necessarily go together. So…this video teaches what?
@roym said:
A Professional gets paid for what they do. However, an Expert knows what they are doing.
Well summarized.
@Overstreet said:
“paddle like a pro”… Perhaps they define professional what? We only assume they mean pro paddler. But what would that be? Field is wide and diverse yet true numbers are small.
If I wanted to paddle long distance in big water I’d want to paddle like a professional computer programmer…………….just not any programmer. If I wanted to paddle fast I’d want to paddle like a professional welder I know or a professional building professional. Reality is “paddling” is often a adjective not a noun.
Yeah, roym hit it, IMHO. But I expect there are quite a few legitimate experts (some on this board, for example) for whom it would be a bit of a stretch to make a claim of professionalism. Isn’t professionalism a bit more than a “side hustle” as I hear some calling it these days? The occasional guiding job or instructional gig, however expert the teacher (and I’m sure not questioning anyone’s expertise), well, would you really call such a person a “pro?” Guys like Verlon Kruger, Bill Mason (and family), a few full time Grand Canyon guides, (we all can think of a few such names from recent times), but they’re few and far between. What, maybe two or three dozen out of a world population of ~ 7 billion? Those are the real “pros.”
When I hear a promotional phrase like “paddle like a pro” (and in 90 mins, no less) alarm bells go off in my head and I think if this is video is meant to teach anything it must be how to impersonate a competent paddler. Besides, even Mason (expert as he was) made his living as an artist and film maker. Kruger had a plumbing business. The end of the international trapping and fur trade really hit professional paddlers badly.
A fellow who I briefly met recently, and who just married the daughter of a friend of mine, just finished a winter circumnavigation of Vancouver Island. That’s some very serious paddling and there is no small amount of expertise displayed in doing such a thing, in my opinion. But its hard to make a profession of that…