So I have this belief that if you get a new paddle and you ding it accidentally on asphalt or concrete before it touches river water for the first time, the paddle will be cursed. A buddy of mine got a new paddle and he thinks it touched asphalt first. Shortly thereafter it split in two, and all he had used it for was to play in the ocean. I'm guessing that the River Gods don't like that kind behavior and put some kind of a hex on the paddle. Thoughts?

Yeah... I'm Ian's buddy whose paddle broke after one week of use in nothing but ocean surf. Here is what happened... I never even dinged it on land. All I did was stand the paddle up on the asphalt up against my car the first day I went out paddling.

My superstition is this:
Neither paddle nor boat shall touch pavement, until it has first touched a wet rock or sand. Otherwise the paddle or boat shall be cursed.

Here is what happened. I was paddling in 6-8 ft. surf when my paddle began to rotate at the seam and then I came apart on a wave. There was not a single scratch on the paddle and it was not misused in any way.

It was a top of the line paddle worth over $350.00 . Luckily it is under warranty and I am waiting for the new one to come in the mail and this will be a brand new one. I made it clear I could never use the same paddle again.

Anyone have any others?

Peace,
Whitewaterules

Never, Ever, laugh at or otherwise take the p*ss out of a swimmer until the trip is finished and you've got off the water. River gods hate that, oh yes.

Neill

eltopo wrote:

Never, Ever, laugh at or otherwise take the p*ss out of a swimmer until the trip is finished and you've got off the water. River gods hate that, oh yes.

Gotta tell this to the guys I paddle with... they start teasing me about *predicted* swims before we even get on the river and then it doesn't stop for the whole trip (you'd think they were never first-season boaters... bad ju-ju for them;)

My buddy is an awesome paddler. He does have trouble on entering and exiting the boat riverside. When ever I make a crack about it I end up falling in or out of my boat that trip.

Haha Yes This happend to me once...me and this girl were paddling a river and i went into one of the bigger hydrolics and got surfed and it held me and i swam the rapid for about 1/4 mile before i finally got to shore with my boat...well she was laughing about it and all that and then about 45 mins to an hour later, we were in sum class 3 water about 3-4 ft deep.and she was going to surf and she rolled before the wave and smashed her head off a rock( which i heard from on top of the water) and then swam...so i kinda thought that was ironic

If I'm having a great day and havn't rolled I don't say anything till I'm at the take out. The last time I was on a fairly tough run and a friend noticed and said \"You havn't even rolled yet, have you? I hadn't yet but did about 1 minute later. I also think that helping others and picking up a little trash will earn me some good river karma.
Rick

Yeah we pick up trash all the time. We do get a lot of looks though when we take three or four empty beer cans out of our boats and then stand around and have a beer. DAMN FISHERMEN!!

I never ever say the dreaded cursed phrase!!!! It's so powerful I can't even write it down. Even if I did some off you might accidentally mutter the words out loud reading it and then curse yourselves! I'll just say that it's on the subject of swimming and starts off with the words \"I never\". It can be most often heard around beginner boaters who think that they have at last become \"hardcore\" when trying to show off to other boaters they don't know.

I refuse to go on the water with anybody who says it.

Neil

www.swiftwaterrescue.at

We used to tell the raft cutsys that they got good river karma for picking up trash... works really well with kids also when you make it a competition for who can collect the most... fun to see them fighting over plastic bottles just to see who could get the most. Kept the river pretty clean though.

Another one... if you intentionally roll in flat water before a rapid you wont accidently roll in the rapid.

Funny, I've had people comment on me carrying boats backwards and upside down on the car, I've seen them do all kinds of voodoo-like rituals to prevent getting hammered or swimming and warning me to do the same thing or else... Not to mention the people who end up in my hall of shame with pictures of them swimming, getting stuck or doing something really stupid when I have my camera handy. I always hear them say that someday that will come back to haunt me... Sorry, I'm not impressed. Life is what you make of it.

Maybe I'm just too sceptical, but although I like this sport a lot, I will not let it become a religion!

One of the guys I paddle with learned not too hype a river too much this year in the Alps. He was telling 3 of us what a step up the Ubaye Racecourse was for us and how scary we'd find it. By the time we got there 2 hours later he'd totally psyched himself out and swam on the first grade 4, Bacon Slicer. He's still got a haematoma (and its not in a very comfortable place) 3 1/2 months later.

If you have a way to make yourself feel better about the river, stick to it, thats what I say. If you don't its all good.

Not exactly a supperstition, more of an observation- one'S tendancy to screw up on something you have done a billion times increases in direct proportion to one's proximity to a camera or a cute guy/girl (depending on gender and preferences).

Karma karma... like the FORCE...
Life creates it, makes it grow. Its energy surrounds us and binds us. Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter. You must feel the Force around you; here, between you, me, the tree, the rock, everywhere, yes. Even between the land and the ship.”

Yes, the land and ship (boat! / kayk!)...

Every action has a reaction - you laugh, you swim!
anybody who says they NEVER swim, better be wearing noseplugs...

MY BIGGEST BELIEF - You litter, the river will litter YOU... RESPECT the RIVER, pickup some trash, take out what you brought in, participate in a river cleanup day, habitat rehab, or similar. Water is a great force, show it respect, and it will respect you.

And NEVER, ever, go past an unsafe or disrespectful act - if you don't speak up, who will!?

Oopps wrote:

Not exactly a supperstition, more of an observation- one'S tendancy to screw up on something you have done a billion times increases in direct proportion to one's proximity to a camera or a cute guy/girl (depending on gender and preferences).

Yep, I have a whole \"hall of shame\" on my website filled with pictures that prove that observation!

(BTW: interesting that someone gave me a -1 karma to prove their point in this thread)

genreally i try to be respectfull and keep the good vibes going with other paddlers, i dont have to many superstitions obout goods and the like. One i pikced up however, was when me and a group of other guys were paddling the cal salmon. We stopped for lunch and about ahlfway thoguh we noticed about ten rocks stacked up on each other high on a cliff where it seemed pretty much impossible for a human to be, so we figured it was natural. One kid took it upon himself to lob rocks at it until he finally nailed the stack and ruined the phenomen. After that his paddling went downhill and he took a wopping four swims on the rest of the five miles left. Moral of the story, dont mess with the rock piles, theyll get ya every time.