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<DIV><SPAN class=000385419-08072008><FONT face=Arial size=2>For those that read
my Catalina trip report, you know that we met up with a fan of Duane's who was
heading out for Catalina. It was somewhat of an awkward situation, as it seemed
he and his friend would have liked to have been invited along with our group. I
found it a bit surprising that someone who had read of some of Duane's exploits
would think of being invited along last minute on the beach--the disparity
between SOTs and sea kayaks not being even the major consideration! Talking
about it later, we all agreed that plenty of young bucks could gut out the trip
to Catalina especially under the conditions we had for our crossings-even in
small SOTs. But anyone who belongs to CKF or reads our trip reports ought to
come a way with the impression that getting to know your fellow paddlers is an
important part of planning a trip--not to mention required safety
gear!</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=000385419-08072008><FONT face=Arial
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=000385419-08072008><FONT face=Arial size=2>I hope Peter (if I
got his name right) might read this and realize we weren't shunning him on some
personal level and if he really appreciates Duane's accomplishments he might
study a bit on what it takes to make a safe trip. It would have been nice for us
to take the group under our wing, but there was no way for that to turn out
good. We wondered/hoped the group had a safe passage, but we also hoped their
immediate trouble in the surf maybe gave them pause to wonder if they were up to
continue their planned trip.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=000385419-08072008><FONT face=Arial
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=000385419-08072008><FONT face=Arial size=2>I hope they become
members some day and come to appreciate the collective wisdom of our more
experienced paddlers and put their knowledge to good use</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=000385419-08072008><FONT face=Arial
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=000385419-08072008><FONT face=Arial
size=2>Mark</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=000385419-08072008><FONT face=Arial size=2><A
href="http://www.sandmarks.net">www.sandmarks.net</A></FONT></SPAN></DIV></BODY></HTML>