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In and out of a canoe

Ed the Editor's personal blog corner

There was some tragic news when a couple of teens drowned while canoeing in County Down, Ireland, England. Fortunately, their buddy was a strong swimmer and reached the shore, where he is recovering from shock. The incident unfolded only 40 feet from safety, which is a bit sad. So near yet so far, and a telling indictment of how dangerous water can be.

As a former dabbler in canoeing, I can understand how easy it is to get in trouble. I once went surfing on a cold winter's day and rolled just a few feet from the shore. It was so cold, I got disoriented and couldn't tell my ass from my elbow and got my paddle jammed in the sand. Luckily I fell out of the boat before it continued on its merry way to the shore. I was stood in the water watching the dumper waves crash down on my boat, a slightly better feeling than if they had been landing on my frozen and embarrassed head.

Another time I did a so-say easy trip down a local river. It was really fast flowing and I went straight over board from the put in! A few hundred yards later I learned that the waterway had sort of evolved over the years into a multi-level canal. Someone said the first drop was coming up. I was advised to keep my paddle to one side and lean away at the bottom. How hard could that be on a glorified stream?! Fuck, it was a 9 foot drop. Straight down, and straight in. There were 3 more man-made waterfalls like that, and yes, great fun, but, bloody cold.

I guess some people are naturals in a small boat, others aren't. I fell literally, into the second category!

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