Editorial: The Future of Paddling

October-November 2001

This is an article from WaveLength Magazine, available in print in North America and globally on the web.
To download a pdf copy of the magazine click here: > DOWNLOAD

by Alan Wilson

COVER PHOTO:Anacapa Islands, California by Chuck Graham

What does the Future of Paddling look like? Here's what I see.

As those in the vast 'baby boom' generation are getting older, they (ok, 'we'...) are turning to lower impact activities like kayaking and canoeing. Men and women equally. This suggests years of sustained growth ahead for paddling.

And it's not just the boomers. People of all ages enjoy the experience of human-powered travel-feeling their own energy move them. They like the exercise, the feeling of buoyancy and balance, the exposure to nature, the sense of freedom and independence, access to wilderness, peace and quiet.

It's a kind of moving meditation.

And where better than the ocean to find the 'oceanic' experience that poets and mystics talk about?

By opening to the wild, we get back in touch with the great pulse of things.
...Orcas blowing just off shore, eagles swooping into salmon-rich seas....

And maybe, if enough people experience the wilderness, the ocean, and our fluid natures, we will choose to preserve these generative places and restore the life they can support.

But there's more to paddling than that, of course. There's plenty of excitement out there too.

There are challenges of winds and waves, tidal rapids, and surf zones. There's a host of paddling skills to learn,and careers to explore in guiding, instruction, designing, building. The whole Ecotourism economy is there, the leading edge of the world's largest industry-Tourism.

The first step is picking up a paddle.

Welcome to the future.