Re: New Member Experiences
I remember pulling into the parking area at the Slatersville Reservoir for the first trip with the club. I had my brand new Old Town Dirigo (which had come loose on the way there and started to fall off the car, I had to resecure it in Brigedo's parking lot). There were about a dozen people there who obviously knew what they were doing and I was a little nervous. I had paddled a couple times on summer vacations but was very much the novice. The wonderful people at Great Canadian (I really miss that place) where I had bought the boat had told me about RICKA and the BVPC as great way to find places to paddle in the area and people to paddle with. As I was unstrapping my boat someone came over to offer help, introduced themselves, and when I said this was my first paddle with the club introduced me to a few others. Everyone was welcoming and helpful. The paddle was great, I remember being awed by the old bridge abutments early in the paddle and the twists and turns in the Branch River. Some of those people that looked like they knew what they were doing REALLY DID know what they were doing and I learned a bunch of things on my first few paddles, including stuff I still use today. 14 years later I'm still with the club and looking forward to seeing this year's schedule and what I can learn this year.
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