Hey ya!

My pleasure. Big surf has been up and down the coast. I heard that Todos Santo down on Baja was double overhead the last couple days. Right here, Black's was seeing 12-15 footers, great form, same up at Trestles at the north end of Camp Pendleton MCB. Going to be a good winter I think.

: Thanks for taking the time to respond. I`m in Maine, where we have had some
: good swell the last couple of weeks, but nothing like you`re getting.
: NoCal has been seeing some wild weather this past couple of months.

: Are you Navy?

Long time ago, 78-85, but flew. I have some real good bros in the SEALs. Also, my Dad, the 78 year old stud that can't act his age, was UDT then a plank SEAL himself before retiring in 1972. So that and time in the Air Force (CANG federalized),flying close support on two SEAL ops, Panama and the Gulf, got me accepted into the community...actually, they like Rikki...they just tolerate me.

: Sorry to hear about your paddle. I`ve had a couple of Werner canoe paddles,
: and I have to say I`m not a big fan. If you are going to replace it you
: might check out Adventure Technology. I bought one of their bent shaft
: paddles last year, and it is butter. It`s like using a really nice tool
: that is perfect for the job. It`s like a Lie-Nielsen plane. Can`t speak to
: their durability compared to your Werner, but they have gotten rave
: reviews from Sea Kayaker mag.

Actually, Werner was real nice about the Kalliste. They acknowledge it's limitations: it's not for rocks or abuse. They did send me a Camano bent-shaft graphite 230 to try out and after a couple thousand miles, and a bunch of abuse, we bought one for Rikki, too. Friends have the AT and love 'em...I tried them out and just like the Werner feel...then again, I still have the same Camano since it first came out years ago so I think I'm used to the throw and feel of their paddles. It all really comes down to personal happiness; what's good for one isn't for another, and life is about being happy and having fun.

: Thanks again, Matthew

Thank you! How's the paddling up that-a-way? One real memorable paddle we went on was from out of the basin near Pillar Point, out and around to off from Mavericks on a real big day. Let me tell you, that was awesome going up and down those monster swells, watching the waves rear up inshore of us on the outside reef. That was too cool!

Life is such a good thing