My husband is a book hound who occasionally drops one into my hands. 'Kayaking Made Easy' by Dennis Stuhaug was a recent find. Amazingly rich with a variety of information, I've been browsing through the chapters and picking out interesting factoids to add to my growing appreciation of the sport. It's also a great way to spend a lunch as the weather slowly warms before recalling a few of the things on my wish list of things to try. Other things such as paddle strokes, and refining them, still need a gotta-see-it refinement, but lots of other stuff is good for the personal dictionary.
A little vocab quiz for you! Wish I could write the answers upside down, but even Marilyn VosSavant got thumbs down for doing that, sooo...Test yourself and mark it A+ if you already know it:
What are 'sponsons'?
What is 'the fetch' in reference to?
(trick question) What is 'Neffie' (or NFE)?
Answers:
Sponsons: A pair of fabric pontoons that strap on either side of a kayak for added stability.
the Fetch: refers to the area of open water over which the wind has blown. Here's a bonus as to why I included this: Do you know what the Beaufort Scale is?
Neffie (NFE): Stands for Not Far Enough. A 'disease' by the author's definition, that causes a paddler to paddle on and on for many hours. (Just one more bend...maybe the next beach will be better, the want for speed)
Hope I've added something new for you!
This weeks Paddling.Net has a good article, too, just in time for early cool weather paddlers:
http://www.paddling.net/guidelines/showArticle.html?557
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