James thanks for the forum!!  Ash, I know you will do a kick a** job as moderator!

Oops, sorry, forgot to log Adam off and log myself in - this is Megan

Arielle, Julie, Mary, Marlo, Ashley, Megan, Jeff (when you want to paddle the pink Rocker J),

Add me to your list of women who want to get together and paddle 2-3 stuff.  I want to do more, but I need to acquire the skills first.  Class III is good for me at the moment.

As for women boaters… I really enjoy paddling with excellent women boaters.  I learn a lot from mentors and through the examples of female boaters.  I glean a lot by watching other women successfully navigate the rivers and the river scene (the social scene can wipe a gal out of her boat too).  They inspire me, and they help me see where I can go.  I recognize that I also have a place in this sport and I’m not such an odd-ball-out. 

Don't get me wrong, I don't not like boating with guys.  Many of them have been my great teachers (and my great crushes :) and I am grateful for them.  I have felt welcomed and encouraged by my male counterparts, even when I’m the only girl on their man trip.  I have generally found them encouraging and respectively curious about my female boating prowess J.  There have been exceptions, but any guy worth my time isn’t intimidated by a woman in a boat.

I have, however, found that we have some differences (surprise, I know!).  Part of this may be coming from my rafting background, but I set up early, and I look at the whole rapid.  In that light, I don’t run rapids like a lot of guys run rapids.  And so, I usually don’t want to follow a guy’s line!  Male boaters are the only ones I have ever heard this little line from: “Stay right behind me and follow my line.”  I want to read my own water and be responsible for my own carnage!  I'm not looking to muscle my way through a line if I can set up a clean run from the get go.  If there is a hole center right around the second corner that I can’t see right now, tell me that if you want to (I’d appreciate it), maybe even tell me where you plan to go (ask Bryon—if you get cocky, the river eats you), but I’m kayaking here folks!  I’m not practicing synchronized swimming with a paddle and a helmet.   

I’m learning that there are some women kayaking groups out there.  Anna Levesque started a company devoted to kayaking for women called “Girls at Play” (see http://watergirlsatplay.com/).  She also made the first video series on women specific kayaking skills, and leads women kayaking tours for everyone from the novice to the expert (as soon as I can save $3,000, I’m going!).  I have heard that PDXGirlPaddler is a large women’s paddling group out of Portland, and NRS has a

Women Boater Discussion Group at http://www.nrsweb.com/Boating_Tips/Women_Boaters_Discussion.asp that I really enjoyed.  Everything from long hair and gaskets to the color of your HydroSilk shirt.  It’s nice to know we have some commonalities.