When sea kayaking’s founding luminaries wax nostalgic about the good ol’ days, they often lament a particular aspect once central to the sport: the demise of the multi-day trip. In a recent publication, John Dowd, Wayne Horodovich and Brian Henry each found different factors to blame for the decline: Internet addiction; inexpensive recreational kayaks designed for day trips; a focus on certification, and various other culprits. But they may have overlooked another even bigger factor: demographics.
Nostalgia is human nature. It was always better back then, when high-end fiberglass boats lined remote beaches and rugged paddling partners fell from the sky like Pacific Northwest rain. But it struck me that the writers all took up sea kayaking in their early to mid-thirties. This founding generation, now in their sixties and seventies, is part of the most famous generation in history: the Baby Boomers. It’s no surprise that aging Boomers are camping less on remote beaches.
Look at a graph of North America’s population and you’ll see the familiar pattern of ocean swell: crest, trough, crest, trough. The 74 million Boomers are a crest. The following trough is Generation X, some 12 percent smaller at 65 million. The next crest is the Millennials, over 79 million strong, age 18-30. They’re the largest generation in history.
The Boomers came of age on a rising tide for sea kayaking. The back-to-nature ethos of the 1960s and ‘70s, a large population, and technological innovations like the Holloform River Chaser, the fiberglass expedition kayak, and polar fleece long underwear combined to create a potent breeding ground for paddlers. True, those early sea kayakers didn’t have cell phones and Wi-Fi to distract them. But more importantly, they were in the right age bracket at the right time.
THE REVIVAL OF THE LONG EXPERIENCE
Generation X now occupies the age-based sweet spot. The number of people with the health, ability and income is simply smaller, so there are fewer touring kayaks in the water. But behind every trough is another crest.
In the next few years, the Millennials will hit that prime age range for embracing sea kayaking. There’s been no shortage of hand-wringing about whether Millennials will care about the outdoors at all. Pundits describe the generation as famously urban, tech-oriented, saddled with student debt, and craving instant gratification. These factors don’t jive with buying and storing a 17-foot touring kayak and learning to navigate it through fog and swell to a distant beach.
I disagree. I think the millennial generation, like others before them, will slow down after their indestructible twenties, put their GoPros and selfie sticks away, and look for something they can keep enjoying as their knees and backs get creaky. They’ll move out of their urban lofts into larger homes with garages they can fill with boats.
I predict that in a few years, we’ll even see a revival of the long experience. It will be an escape from overstimulation and constant connectivity. It may not be the months-long adventures of Paul Caffyn, Nigel Foster or Jon Turk. But the weeklong trip will return.
We already have the ingredients for another potent breeding ground: a large population entering the prime age for kayak touring, a generation famous for valuing experiences rather than commodities, and another round of innovations in technology—Internet-based kayak-sharing, route beta and community-forming—that makes finding a boat, campsite or paddling partner easier than ever before.
So let’s not pronounce doom just yet. After all, navigating changing waters is what we do best. We can and should find the right balance between affordable boats and performance, between playful and expeditionary, between formal learning and free exploration. Maybe all we need to do is wait.
Neil Schulman celebrates kayaking’s diverse heritage in Reflections.
This article originally appeared in Adventure Kayak Spring 2016 issue.
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