I rarely get to see any real kayakers in my area of east central Indiana so when I saw an advertisement for a kayak and canoe race in Ft Wayne on the St Joe River a couple of years ago, I went, thinking it was just a group of locals. When I got there I still didn’t have a clue of who these people really were. There was a 10-mile race and a shorter one of 2 ½ miles I think it was. I signed up for the short one thank God, got a sticker number for my Shooting Star, which everyone was admiring and I felt pretty confident that I could at least finish and get some good experience. But people kept coming in with their boats from all over the country, and groups were discussing paddling technique and river currents and patterns. I was telling one old guy that I found paddling with a flared paddle hard and for now I was using a non flared paddle, and he said see that guy with a non flared paddle warming up on the river,,,he is the currant world champion sea kayak racer and he said there are six former champions here also. I though what in the heck have I gotten into. Well I tried so hard that I made a really poor showing and thought I was going to have a heart attack. It was very embarrassing but it was great to see what real kayakers could do.

John