And I'll make one small but key change to fit with the rest of your post:
"Is this bad? Well I guess it depends on how YOU look at it. If there only goal is to get outside on the water, then I guess it works for them."
It depends on how THEY look at it!
The goal is to be outside, whether that's paddling or splashing. THEY are doing it, not some self-righteous jerk watching them and taking it upon himself to tell them splashing is something to be ashamed of.
Hard for many here to believe, kayaking is NOT a "sport" for most. It's a recreation akin to lawn bowling.
Well, it’s not paddling-related… … and, of course, the whole post was a reaction to the “see if I care” thing. Anyway, a buddy of mine spent a few years doing tech support by telephone for people using a particular kind of software for business accounting. In a way, his role was being an “instructor”. He said that women were easy to work with, but in general, men were very aggravating to work with. That’s because the men would typically start out with the attitude that they already knew what the problem was, a tough thing to deal with when my buddy’s job was to find out what was “really” the problem and set the person straight. This sort of thing probably happens in every field you can name.
OP The Troll? IMO, the best trolling post I’ve seen in a while on any of the forums. Insulting and condescending, designed to be offensive to anyone with a grain of civility. The OP has declared himself better than 99% of the “so called” newbies, sweepingly elevating himself to a status of board prophet, “speaking the unspeakable and preaching to the heaven”. Good luck to him. I find admirable his concern for public spending, people’s safety and etc. Apparently the OP has never drank a fluid ounce of alcohol, ate unhealthy food or did anything rash that might in the long run result in the spending on public funds on helping him one way or another… While not being an “expert” he nevertheless eager to share with us his highly educated opinion reg. behavior of people 99.999% of whom he has never met nor will… The attempt is commendable, but I would say it is an utter fail.
The hallmark of a professional in any sport is understanding that no everyone want to be the top 10%. The real pros are usually quiet-spoken, easy going folk. Dubside, anyone? The real half-way-somewhere wannabes are the loud-mouth-I-know-better-type who would jump out of their boat, erm, skin… to prove that their technique is better than the next guy and that they do forward stroke better than 99% of the rest of the gang on the water.
two different situations 1. I live in a place that has cold water. About 4 years back I saw a group of kayaks and canoes going to a launch area. Latter in the day I went down there to see what was up as the forecast was not very good. It was a group of scouts from out of the area. The water at the moment was calm and all looked ok. There was a big tide change and the forecast was for wind to rise. The combination was not very good for the open water crossing they were going to do. I talked with the leaders about possible conditions and they assured me they had it all under control. I looked at the beach and there was a combination of double kayaks, some sea kayaks, 2 or 3 recreational kayaks and several canoes. I was uncomfortable enough with what I saw to talk with a local deputy about the situation as he would have to be involved with the rescue if one was needed. He went and talked with the group and they decided on a different and safer route for their overnight trip.
2. A local man in his mid to late 60’s was interested in paddling. He had been talking with some local instructors and he had come to the conclusion that real kayaking was only done with a “true sea kayak”. He purchased a british kayak that he was never able to get comfortable with. This was no surprise as he had no kayaking background and his balance at his age was not what it had been as a younger man. He took classes and tried to get comfortable with edging, leaning, bracing…Four years later he sold the boat as he was tired of it hanging in his garage.
For a man of his age and caution there were many boats on the market that would have worked well for him. He could have bought a nice sea kayak (not a recreational kayak) and had some good years of paddling.
Two different cases. In the first people and leaders that were not prepared for the conditions they would have encountered and in the 2nd people that were so invested in their style kayaking that if one was not paddling a british boat with advanced skills they were not kayaking
Rolling instead 102 on Sunday, 105 degrees Monday, and today is looking hundred-ish, too, which would make it 5 days in a row over 100 degrees.
I paddled on three of those 5 days, and it was definitely nicer for the rolling practice than the rest of the paddling practice. Back at it again tomorrow, when it might be “only” 99 degrees.
Upsurge in motorcycle and scooter use A couple years ago people around here got scared by rising gas prices and bought motorcycles and scooters by the drove. (It was only a temporary phenomenon, of course, akin to driving more sanely to increase mpg.)
There was an increased rate of wrecks and injuries from the motorcycle part of that (don’t know about the scooter stats). It was attributed to the relatively high percentage of new motorcyclists who lacked skills and judgment despite having driven cars for decades.
The big diff? If you’re on two wheels–whether motorcycle, scooter, or bicycle–your vulnerability multiplies compared with being in a car. If you don’t already have the instincts to drive defensively, you’ll be in for a rude shock. Someone I know bought a scooter back then and he commented on how scary it was and that he had to drive defensively. I had to bite my tongue to stop from asking, “You don’t drive defensively in your car?” To me, having gotten into cycling in a big way before I learned to drive, riding defensively was second nature, 100% of the time.
This is one of the diffs also in boating. Experience in any kind of boating has got to be useful to a paddler, but some things are specific to the type of boat. If you’re a kayaker or canoeist, “driving defensively” HAS to be part of your mindset on waters with lots of powerboaters. If you come into paddling from a powerboating background, I don’t think you’ll have this same mindset at the beginning.
I know of a group (primarily whitewater, but professes to be for all types of paddling)… and if a newbie joins and posts something like “Hi, can someone advise me on a good boat? I’m looking to paddle easy rivers, lakes, take pictures and look at wildlife… nothing dangerous or challenging.”
The response will almost always be a recommendation for the person to buy a used whitewater kayak (they won’t SAY it’s a whitewater kayak, they’ll just name a few specific boats, like a Dagger Outburst, or a Perception Arc, etc.). These folks simply can’t get out of their own heads, and can’t fathom why anybody would bother paddling lakes or slow rivers.
Then to make it even worse, sometimes (rarely, but it has happened) someone else will jump in and say “Why waste time with a beginner boat? After a couple of months you’ll want to move up in skill level so just go ahead and buy a (insert whitewater playboat names here) to start with.” So THIS person is not only missing the whole point of the person wanting to do recreational kayaking, they advise the person to start with a VERY tippy (to a newbie) whitewater playboat!!! In-effing-credible.
I wonder how many of those newbies take that advice and end up giving up on paddling because of it.
People just want to paddle I’ve yet to run into a paddling partner who had an interest in regularly practicing rescues or any techniques. It requires a certain amount of discipline, and people don’t paddle for discipline. I am somewhat guilty of it myself.
I’ll never understand why… …there are always busybodies who feel compelled to call the cops at every opportunity or exemplify people on account of their failings. So they were heading in difficult conditions. So they bought a boat that was not suitable for them. So what? They are informed adults capable of making their own mind. Do you think inviting cops to “talk to” (read “threaten”) to anyone who are intent on disagreeing with you is “the way”? I’ve passed scores of people doing stupid and outright dangerous things on the water, including drinking hard spirits in a rowboat in the middle of the cold fjord. NOT MY PROBLEM. Their choice, their life, their consequences. As soon as they pass out of earshot, they seize to occupy my attention. I will do my best to help people asking for help and I have done that, but why would I care about someone who is adult and determined to do stupid things? It’s called “natural selection”. It works for stupidity, too!
forward stroke 99% newbies don’t have a proper forward stroke. Neither do I, but it hasn’t stopped me from paddling thousands of miles or winning a few races. You have to define proper. Proper can have different meanings for different people and nobody has even addressed the genetics issue. Could you be born with these skills? Passed down from a different generation? I have taken lessons and it has helped and I have passed on some of this education, but not my forward stroke. It’s mine…all mine.
The real half-way-somewhere wannabes are the loud-mouth-I-know-better-type who would jump out of their boat, erm, skin… to prove that their technique is better than the next guy and that they do forward stroke better than 99% of the rest of the gang on the water.