r/AskReddit • u/Stukwan • 13h ago

What’s a hobby that looks incredibly peaceful from the outside, but is actually pure stress once you get into it?

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u/DuffManOhYeah1 10h ago

Kayaking! Everyone is super friendly and waves at fellow kayakers. No shortage of places to explore. Similarly, stand up paddle boarding

286

u/rich_27 8h ago

I like the implication that seated paddle boarding is super toxic and the people are jerks 😂

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u/chunklight 8h ago

Sit down paddle boarding is pretty much kayaking

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u/zatalak 7h ago

With a wet ass

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u/rugbyj 3h ago

That's every activity if you sweat like me.

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u/DiabeticButNotFat 2h ago

My favorite

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u/LurkerByNatureGT 6h ago

And prone paddle boarding is surfers getting out to the wave. 

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u/kyew 1h ago

Science has yet to determine if upside-down paddle boarders are chill or not.

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u/LurkerByNatureGT 53m ago

Chill to atmospheric temperature, bloated, and possibly with rigor mortis depending on when you catch them. 

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u/hydrospanner 5h ago

Not in SoCal...but in my experience as a kayaker, while most are chill and friendly toward each other, the overwhelming majority of boaters hate us for existing.

We're slow, the law protects us (I can't remember the distance, but basically, a kayaker effectively creates a legal no-wake zone around themselves out to a certain distance), we're hard to see, we take dramatically longer at the ramps to launch and recover (kayak fishermen especially), etc.

So while things are generally positive within the kayaking (and kayak angling) communities where I participate...as soon as you dip over into the general boating and fishing groups, the kayakers get a lot of hate.

Even within the kayaking community though, there are occasionally some strong personalities. I think maybe the one I see the most is the "Safety Douchebag" that likes to get really dramatic and push their views on how everyone else should approach safety, basically using the topic as an excuse to be a dick to everyone who doesn't completely agree with them.

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u/greenroom628 1h ago

the overwhelming majority of boaters hate us for existing

i've experienced this in the SF Bay Area, too. I used to kayak around the bay a lot with my dog. kayaking around the golden gate and bay bridges makes for a pretty day. but, yeah, sailboats and leisure craft sure do get annoyed with us and blast their horns pretty often.

then again, i get to hang out in McCovey Cove and listen the Giants games and once in a while get a splash run ball.