Kayak Philosophy

Kayak Philosophy

The other day I was talking to Ian Macleod, world champion kayak surfer (a South African living in the US). He is building me a new waveski (surf kayak) and we were finalizing details. I asked him how the recent world championships had gone and he replied laconically “I won”. He added that he expected to win but was pleased by the wide margin by which he had won (he gave me the scores). I said that was good to hear, thinking of my own recent declarations of rank. There followed a fairly long discussion of arrogance, fact, truthfulness, demonstrable superiority, narcissism, etc. We both protested our innocence in this regard. I applauded his adherence to reality, even when it concerned his dominance in the sport. It was a heartening meeting of minds. I’m looking forward to getting the boat.