Kayaking

Windrider

Plus-sized tuxedo model
Kayaking has become my number one way of getting away from it all. There's something wonderful being out on the water no matter what the conditions. I live a very short distance from the ocean and am lucky enough to work from home. Since I start my work day at 6:30 AM, I can be on the water by 4:00 most of the time.

I'm a big guy and have been through a lot health-wise. I was always pretty big, but when I was diagnosed with bladder cancer a few years ago the treatments made me feel terrible for two years. I consoled myself with food and video games and ended up packing on over a hundred pounds. Now, I'm losing the weight slowly and getting active.

I started out, mainly because of the weight, with an inflatable kayak. We called it "the pool toy" and it really wasn't much more than that but it got me out on the water. The next year, I bought a Sit on top kayak that I still use for fishing. Sit on tops trade speed for stability so my kayaking friends with their ten foot recreational boats and I were about even in speed. Last year, I bought a 14 foot sit inside boat that is quite capable of handling almost anything short of small craft warnings and is the fastest boat I've owned. I leave my friends in their ten footers in the dust.

I took a self-rescue class and carry every piece of safety equipment I can afford (I'm saving for a VHF radio). I wear my PFD so much that I often forget to take it off on shore. I carry an extra paddle, paddle float, bilge pump, whistle, paddling knife and rescue stirrup along with a first aid kit in my dry bag.

The thing I love about paddling is the sense of working with the sea. I had a rough day with some customers last week so I told my wife I was going to take it out on my paddle :). I put in at one of my usual spots, a boat ramp at the most protected part of the harbor, and paddled out to an island a couple of miles off shore. The seas were running at about three feet and my boat was punching through some of the waves and riding over the others. It was amazing, it was dangerous and an absolute blast.

The next day, the water was like a mirror. I paddled out of the harbor into the open sea while gentle swells lifted and cradled me like being embraced by the Grand Architect Himself. The Cormorants were diving for small fish and a gentle breeze kept me cool. An Osprey flew by with a fish in his talons. Feeling the water flow under me and using the power of my whole body to glide along brings me closer to Him that made me and saved me.
 

Custer148

Masonic Traveler
Windrider, it sounds as if you have found the perfect (for you) activity. I applaud you efforts at improving your physical health as well as your mental state. Sounds like a great time.

For me it is working with metal to make ornamental yard and wall items. I can take a few hours in the shop getting dirty and feel so much better than when I went in that it is amazing, and I don't even have to finish anything, just the work does it for me. Sometimes just thinking about a project does it, but the bending of the metal seems to take all my frustrations and send them elsewhere.
 

Windrider

Plus-sized tuxedo model
My lovely wife gave me a VHF Marine radio fro my birthday :) She seems to want me around.
 
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Windrider

Plus-sized tuxedo model
Something great that you can use.
Sometimes we just have to drop enough hints and our wives will pick up and act on them.LOL
I'm in a wonderful marriage that proves that opposites attract. My wife's biggest fear is drowning. I'm a certified wreck diving and salvage specialist (NAUI), a former lifeguard and water safety instructor, and avid kayaker.

We discussed the risks I take and how they can be reduced. I carry a paddle float, rescue stirrup, cell phone in a water-tight case, and of course wear a PFD. There is a first aid kit in my dry bag. I also carry a towing rig and spare paddle. In other words, I have all the equipment I can carry to help myself or others in an emergency. The only thing I was missing was a way to call for help if I needed it from the USCG or a Harbormaster and that's what the VHF radio is for.

After reading the rules for these radios, I now keep it on whenever I'm out on the ocean monitoring channel 16, the emergency and hailing channel. It's been interesting. One evening, I heard a call from the Boston Fire Department to Coast Guard Station Boston informing them of a boat fire and that they were on the way to assist. The next morning, my wife and I were watching the news when the boat fire story came on. I, somewhat smugly, told my wife I already knew about it from the radio she gave me :)
 

Bob Franks

Past District Deputy Grand Lecturer
Windrider, it sounds as if you have found the perfect (for you) activity. I applaud you efforts at improving your physical health as well as your mental state. Sounds like a great time.

For me it is working with metal to make ornamental yard and wall items. I can take a few hours in the shop getting dirty and feel so much better than when I went in that it is amazing, and I don't even have to finish anything, just the work does it for me. Sometimes just thinking about a project does it, but the bending of the metal seems to take all my frustrations and send them elsewhere.
Brother Custer-
I built a folding reflector oven years ago, from a plan in a reprint from Boy's Life (the Boy Scout magazine) in the Litepak series. The materials were sheet metal and welding rod, stripped of the flux coating. I really enjoyed following the instructions, building with my hands...then eating the biscuits I baked in front of the campfire with it!
Any idea where I could find other sheet metal projects an amateur could complete?
I don't seem to put the right search terms in Google.

S&F
 

Custer148

Masonic Traveler
Brother Custer-
I built a folding reflector oven years ago, from a plan in a reprint from Boy's Life (the Boy Scout magazine) in the Litepak series. The materials were sheet metal and welding rod, stripped of the flux coating. I really enjoyed following the instructions, building with my hands...then eating the biscuits I baked in front of the campfire with it!
Any idea where I could find other sheet metal projects an amateur could complete?
I don't seem to put the right search terms in Google.

S&F
Everything I make is made from, for the most part, nothing thinner than 1/4 or 3/16 flat iron. I will check my information to see if there is anything that would help you out and send you the info.
 
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