Kudos for the Webmasters: Who've you met through the forum?

[NZMatt]

I talked to some friends during the Swiss Armada and we thought this would be an interesting survey, plus give some awesome kudos to our devoted webmasters!

So, for me I think the most important "who" that I met would have to be my good friend Sir Adam himself...in a funny way of events I nearly met him 2 years before I really did when he offerred to chaperone a newbie down the Hudson and teach me some OC1 stuff...unfortunately I got my car stuck on an Adirondack back road in the wet spring and never made the rendezvous. But then I did 2 years later at the Armada (after talking to him online a bunch through the forum). And recently he visited me here in Switzerland...

I recall a couple of years ago talking to someone in Russia and someone in NZ on the same day through the forum...

I've started to meet up with Swiss, French, UK and German c-boaters through the site - it's great when you move somewhere new. Hi to Fez, Sandie, Swisscanoeist, Taniwha, and Steve B. Europe isn't the heart of the forum, but it's still a gathering point.

I've met and paddled with a ton of folks in the US and Canada - too many to name, but everyone cool! People are the heart of this thing we call cforum. Thank you everyone for being a part of it!

Thank you Adam! Thank you Kenneth!

So, who have you met? What cool stories do you have to tell?

NZMatt
(aka Matt Steven)

[kenneth]

What's interesting to me is that, as webmaster, I have come to meet some OTHER paddling website webmasters:

Eric Z from AngstKayak.com
Wayne from npmb.com

[Sandie_]

Hi to Fez, Sandie, Swisscanoeist, Taniwha, and Steve B. Europe isn't the heart of the forum, but it's still a gathering point.

Hi matt. I was so gutted about missing your armada and only by one week too! Next time, with luck.

See you next summer. My winter trip is to slovenia this year.

Everyone loved our club trip this year. There is talk of making the trip an open boat trip next year and letting the kayakers do there own thing. I can't see it working with our lot but fingers crossed.

Have you done your Scotland trip yet? Good luck / How was it?

Sandie

P.S. Ocoee roll worked on Saturday

[Sir Adam]

I must say I never envisioned the forum growing to what it has when I asked Kenneth to help me get up and running years ago. I'm honored that so many folks check here so frequently, and am thrilled how many new folks have gotten a lot of help here, and how understanding everyone has been of each other, and of the time it takes me to get things up sometimes .

I've met MANY cool folks through this forum, one of the most rewarding definitely being NZMatt . It's been interesting corresponding not only with the greats of whitewater, such as John Sweet, John Berry, John Frachella, Peter Zurflieh, Kaz, Davey Hearn, Jim Michaud, and others, but other folks who I think will be considered greats in the future, whether they are folks who are truely passionate about the sport, like NZMatt, PAC, SBroam, MikeW, LEW, SpaceCanoe, Craig Smerda and numerous others, or just really interesting folks to know, like Kalin (or Alden, for that matter ). There are many others (you know who you are) that have influenced my paddling and this board, and I'm sure there will be many others in the future. It's great to hear other folks are having similar experiences, and I hope it continues to happen - I think we've all followed other boards that become clickish and new folks feel left out, and I hope we all remain open minded enough to always welcome new folks in to the fold.

Thank you all for making this forum, and site, for that matter, what it is, and will become.

Your (occasionally) humble admin
Adam

[fez]

First I got to know NZMatt through the cforum. I did meet him and Jo after a long correspondence by mail this spring in Southern France.

Matt gave to me the phone number of a c-paddler that he got to know on the ww-channel in Hüningen. I gave this guy (Arno) a call, we met and paddled togehter and meanwhile our families are friends.

4 weeks before the Swiss Armada I got a mail from Harald, a guy from Karlsruhe (my hometown ! I couldn`t believe it). He asked if we should drive to the gathering together.... Now we are paddling often together.

Together with my 2 yakker friends (great guys, they infected me with the paddle virus and helped me maybe 2000 times when I swam...) and Harald we went to the Swiss Armada and got to know Steve, Tamiwha, Reto, Marcus....

I really appreciate that the forum brought all this people together. I love to paddle with you guys.

Greetings Frank

[Alden]

Thanks, Adam. Perhaps we'll paddle together again some day.
Alden