Quote:
Originally Posted by GWC...
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Maybe you should just start a "Bash Evenstar" thread. Frankly I'm getting a bit sick of constantly having to defend myself here.
That post of mine that you quoted is
3 years old! It would have been nice if you had mentioned that. I happen to be a very fast learner, and a very dedicated kayaker and sailor.
I have learned a great deal over the past 3 boating seasons.
I have paddled roughly 800 miles on NH lakes since then (I keep a journal).
I have attended a navagation workshop (on coastal navigation) at UNH.
I had attended two advanced paddling seminars.
I have white water kayaked on class III Rapids.
I have kayaked on coastal waters.
I am employed by the athletic department at my university, where I am responsible for the instruction and supervision of kayaks used by students, and have had rescue training (where I operate a Zodiac on the bay), as well as cpr and first-aid training.
I am also an NCAA athlete, as a member of my university's sailing team, and a registered member of the Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association. My team is currently ranked 8th in North America (out of 118 colleges). I am training with and competing with likely future Olympic athletes. My coach also competes in international sailing regattas.
I have to study and know the "Racing Rules of Sailing", which includes both the International Sailing Federation Racing Rules and the US Sailing Rules. The book is an inch thick.
My last race was on Nov. 3rd, at MIT, on the day that a huricane was just off the east coast.
I think that quallifies me as being "a very experienced boater."
If you still don't believe that I'm very experienced, you're invited to try kayaking with me sometime, or perhaps you would like to try ocean sailing in Feburary on Naragansette Bay in a 13 foot Vanguard. I doubt that you would last 30 minutes out there - we have 3 hour practice sessions on the two bays here, 4 days a week. And then we spend weekends competing all over New England.