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BCMT’s Paddler Personality Test: What Kind of Paddler Are You?

Who are you on the water? Are you The Resourceful Nomad, The Friendly Good Samaritan, The Gregarious Guide, The Meticulous Planner, or The Nature Lover? Take our Paddler Personality test, and record your answers.

  1. You’re planning a 3-day paddling trip, who do you invite?
    1. No one. To be alone, is to be at peace. The ocean is my only friend.
    2. My family, neighbours, whoever wants to come! More the merrier. “Wait! Do we have enough lifejackets?!”
    3. Well, the roster is full, but I have clients from Texas i’ll squeeze in… they tip extra:)
    4. Whoever fits the trip plan: three experienced paddlers with a combined BMI of 62.5, and gear weight under 118kg. I already sent out the packing spreadsheet.
    5. I have a colleague who studies marine ecosystem dynamics… and everyone from my Birder’s Unite Book Club.

  2. What do you do first when planning trips?
    1. I don’t plan trips, I let them flow. 
    2. Check my work sched and pack enough oreos for a week on the water. Is my bluetooth speaker charged?!
    3. Pack my ukulele for campfire tunes, and unlimited chocolate for h’angry clients. 
    4. I check the BCMT map for First Nations information and research whose territory I plan to visit. Also, weather print-outs.
    5. Pack my binoculars, field microscope, and guide books. Also garbage bags for impromptu beach cleanups.

  3. You come across a field of bull kelp, what’s next?
    1. I slice a 1.5m section and blow Neptune’s didgeridoo for all the dolphins to hear. Then I harvest the blades for kelp lasagna.
    2. They look like mermaids, let’s make puppets! Also,” eww,” they’re kind of slimy.
    3. Did you know that there’s enough carbon monoxide in the bulbs to kill a chicken?
    4. I anchor myself to stop my drift. I planned a break here from the kelp symbol on my chart. Hey, Is that a midden site over there?!
    5. Bull kelp! You mean Nereocystis luetkeana. I get my hand lens and start looking at the microscopic ecology. Holy Moly, kelp crabs! 

  4. You flip your boat, there’s 3 meter swell with whitecaps, what’s next? 
    1. I use one of the 212 different roll techniques I learned in Greenland.
    2. Coastguard! HElllppp!… Is that channel 15 or 16? “Where’s my VHF!?”
    3. I blow the paddle float and perform a flawless self-rescue. All in under 2 minutes. Then I rescue my clients and tow them to shore. Tips galore.
    4. I predicted this low pressure system three days ago when the Aleutian system started to deteriorate, we stayed put and are safe in camp. 
    5. This must be Beaufort Level 4 or 5. Are those CumuloNimbus! Sea otters prefer the lee of islands during the storm season. Ahh! help!

  5. Everything goes wrong on the trip, how do you feel?
    1. Life is an ebb and flow. Being stuck in the back-eddy is another opportunity to watch the world turn.
    2. Ahhhh! Well what can you do? Haha, we’ll laugh about this tonight… If we survive.
    3. The perfect trip has adventure, peace, whales, good food, good company… and a little adrenaline.
    4. The trip didn’t go wrong, I planned everything perfectly.
    5. “Rain or shine” as I always say. The limpet samples make up for everything… Are we missing someone? I knew we shouldn’t have gone tidepooling in rogue waves.

  6. How did Nudibranchs evolve?
    1. The intertidal zone is the harshest ecosystem on earth, they evolved because they had to.
    2. Those colourful slugs?! I love those things; are they edible?
    3. Hmm. Evolution, no clue! I know they steal stingers from anemones. 
    4. Let me consult my online solar-powered Star Link e-guidebook.
    5. Nudibranchs are flamboyant tidepool gems! Although unshelled, they are gastropods—shelled snail ancestors within the Opisthobranch lineage.

  7. Why do you paddle?
    1. To leave society.
    2. To have fun, party on the islands, and make love to the big-blue.
    3. Money. And to be cool at parties in the off season.
    4. I love learning about Indigenous history and culture.
    5. To commune with natural systems, and help clean-up the beaches. 

  8. You’re planning a crossing known for surprise winds and strong currents…
    1. One stroke at a time. Weather is God; ocean is Goddess.
    2. Better sit this one out. Hey, get the crib board! The best days are beach days:)
    3. “Raft up folks, let’s talk whitecaps and warm hands… Alright, follow me!”
    4. There’s a high pressure system over Haida Gwaii, so North Westerlies in the late morning. The tide will be medium ebb, so we better leave at 3:37am.
    5. Whales congregate where nutrients mix. Higher the currents; higher the biodiversity!

  9. What animal do you resonate with?
    1. Lone wolf.
    2. I love harbour seals. So cute! Wait, are they following us?
    3. Mother Orca. I take care of my pod. Or sea otter, I like to party.
    4. Great Pacific Octopus–I’m adaptable and prepared for anything.
    5. Macrocystis is a monospecific kelp genus and a keystone species. I know it’s not an animal, but macro-kelp forests are the home for thousands of creatures!

  10. Where is your favorite paddling destination?
    1. The most remote regions on planet earth. Have you heard of the Lost Coast?
    2. I only get out for weekends, so wherever really. Have you heard of BCMT? They have neato-cool maps and stuff.
    3. The Broughtons, Gulf Islands, and the Broken group. #GuideLife
    4. Island complexity and strong currents means more planning, which I love.
    5. Biodiversity hotspots and intertidal paradises.

  11. What’s the best way to cook while island camping?
    1. Fire, and my trusty cast iron. One sec, i’ll gaff hook a Coho.
    2. My new, nifty Coleman double burner. Wait, will this even fit?!
    3. Also a two burner stove, but with a 5lb propane tank between my legs while I paddle. My camp-kitchen is a 5-star restaurant. Who wants home-made cookies?
    4. 150g Jetboil, and alcohol stove backup. Better ration the dehydrator meals.
    5. My whisperlite doesn’t disturb the birds! 

  12. Plastic or Fibreglass, what’s your gear?
    1. A 1991 Seaward Navigator. I carve cedar greenland paddles and braid my own tow ropes.
    2. Does SportChek have a sale right now? 
    3. Fibreglass. “Function over form” is my motto.
    4. Kevlar. I believe gizmos and gear hacks will save the world.
    5. Whatever works, I’m here for the tidepools and cetaceans.
Art by David Norwell

Results

Mostly A’s:

You’re the Resourceful Nomad. You carry no new equipment, and most of your gear is home-made or jimmy-rigged with an unusual amount of DIY fiberglass work. Your knowledge of the coast is legendary; all the hideouts, nooks, and secret campsites are scribbled in your illegible journal. The reason you paddle is to gain perspective, be alone, and because society is doomed. In the evenings the stars are your companion, and wild-harvested food nourishes your soul. You’re the ocean-philosopher who inspires us to push boundaries, and question what it means to be human.

Mostly B’s:

You’re the Friendly Good Samaritan. Happy to help in any situation, even if you don’t know how. You love to talk, swap stories, and invite yourself into others’ campsites. Frantically underprepared; optimistically unphased is a way of life. You’re often seen paddling in a double with 3 kids and sometimes a dog. Everyone you meet is pretty much family. Who needs SKAGBC training when you have good karma? You lighten the mood on a rainy day, and remind us the joy of paddling.

Mostly C’s:

You’re the Gregarious Guide. Highly knowledgeable of the coast, wilderness first aid, and campfire songs. You cook seven different meals on a double burner Coleman like a boss, but at home you mostly eat spaghetti. You have an ego, and rightfully so… this makes you suspicious of non-guide kayakers, whom you avoid at all costs. At parties, how does someone know you are a kayak guide? You tell them, within the first 5 minutes. Enabling others to circumnavigate islands and see their first whale makes your heart sing.

Mostly D’s:

You’re the Meticulous Planner. You have a GPS, InReach, compass and chart atlas on the deck or on your person at all times. Spreadsheets are your go-to: all meals and gear are labelled according to weight and size… and you have a backup of everything. You use the British Columbia Marine Trails map tool for hours and have completed and viewed over 40 site reports. Sometimes you plan trips, and never go on them. If you head out you prioritize indigenous paddling protocols in the area. You are the friend who is prepared for everything, and often save the day. Thank you.

Mostly E’s:

You’re the Nature Lover. Let’s not beat around the bull kelp, you’re here for the whales, and believe citizen science will save the world. Latin is your second language. You wear binoculars to bed and have a Rite-In-The-Rain journal in your sleeping bag. You decide on campsites based on intertidal biodiversity, and are torn about wild harvesting because you love gastropods more than people. Your clothing is green and brown. Birding and nature journaling is your ideal first date. Nature is your sanctuary and you help keep it clean; you inspire us to bring a guide book and binos on our next adventure.

Each paddler is unique and cannot be put in a single cockpit. We evolve, and the five personalities listed above surface depending on the situation. Spending time on the water is a mirror to understand our habits, vices, and virtues. Each trip, we change, grow, and hopefully become more graceful human beings. The curriculum on-trip is vast and individually catered; as long as we head out open-minded, we will keep learning.

David Norwell & Nathan Slater

David Norwell is an author, illustrator, and world traveler. He holds a BSc in Geography from the University of Victoria, and has worked for six seasons conducting biological and geological surveys In BC, Alberta, and the Yukon. His passion is communicating science in a way that accesses the human heart. David has visited thirty-three countries, sailed across the Atlantic and Indian Ocean, trekked over the Himalayas with a kitten, and hitchhiked over two hundred rides. He is dedicated to understanding the human experience and sharing his findings. When not working on books, he is volunteering at schools, studying Buddhism, and practicing meditation. -------------------- Nathan hails from North Vancouver in Squamish, Musqueam, and Tsleil-Waututh Nation territory. He’s been paddling the West Coast of North America for over a decade and spends much of his time in Haida Gwaii and Clayoquot sound. He is a guide, instructor, and expert personality classifier. He is excited to have had the opportunity to work on this quiz with David and create a new tool for paddlers to use to get to know themselves and their groups.

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