Kayaking Lessons

[hummingway]

Lesson 1: Foulie pants hold lots of water so drain them well.
Lesson 2: The dock is high but a good effort will get you out of the water
Lesson 3: Hold on to your glasses and don't swallow ANY marina water
Lesson 4: Those cheap kayaks are especially tippy fellows and you are in the water before you know it..
Lesson 5: When climbing into your kayak pay attention to what you are doing.

I learned all this in one 10 minute class!!!!

[Adax]

Haha ,good one . I have never been on a kayak , but you describe it so well that I can identify with the experience . Hope you carry a thermos . The water must be freezing still.

[hummingway]

Let's just say the instinct to get out of the water was pretty darn strong.

[Misiu]

Steep learning curve
It might be wise and fun to repeat the class in a proper wetsuit and sit-on-top kayak. You have time to play and you are more buoyant and protected from temperature.

[mintyspilot]

Originally Posted by hummingway

Lesson 1: Foulie pants hold lots of water so drain them well.
Lesson 2: The dock is high but a good effort will get you out of the water
Lesson 3: Hold on to your glasses and don't swallow ANY marina water
Lesson 4: Those cheap kayaks are especially tippy fellows and you are in the water before you know it..
Lesson 5: When climbing into your kayak pay attention to what you are doing.

I learned all this in one 10 minute class!!!!

Yes - they ARE unstable, aren't they?

I've done kayaking. The nearest I eve came to drowning was in a kayak when a friend who was in a row boat, tipped me with his oar and sent me and the kayak (it had no skin across it) to the bottom of the lake. I started to panic then I thought "I'm underwater and I'm a good swimmer" so I calmly got out of the kayak and kicked up to the surface on the other side of the row boat. I could see my friend looking anxiously into the water so I swam under the row boat, reached up and pulled him in.

We actually got the kayak back. Part of it was still full of air and so it hung vertically in the water near the surface. I grabbed the painter and we rowed back towing the kayak.

I've been kayaking since then. My (now) wife and I did an eleven mile trip down the Welsh border in two kayaks. She saw a lot of the river bed......

[Mariness]

Originally Posted by mintyspilot

I could see my friend looking anxiously into the water so I swam under the row boat, reached up and pulled him in.

I believe this is the approved way to complete the maneuver.
I have to wonder what you all are doing in these kayaks though - we kayak quite a bit and I've never fallen out unintentionally.

[nautical62]

I used to kayak before I got into sailing. I was always tipping my kayak over. They are a bit unstable, but since I'm a bit unstable too, it all worked out.



Personally, even in 40 degree weather, I'd have bare legs relying on the boat for some insulation. I used to be an ACA kayak and canoe instructor and still teach kayaking so am happy to answer any questions anyone may have. I'm not the most knowledgeable in all the various models currently available.

One thing about boats, is they have both initial (primary) and secondary stability. How stable it feels and the tip point are not necessarily the same thing. In terms of a kayak used for a dingy, you probably want to select a boat with good primary stability.

Paddle by rotating your body, rather than trying to do it all with your arms.

Mintyspilot: I did some kayaking up near Plas Y Brenin, near Capel Curig near Betws Y Coed in Wales. Beautiful.

[sabray]

Just a bit of a boast. My nephew made the US team Juniors Go
Liam.

[nautical62]

Originally Posted by sabray

Just a bit of a boast. My nephew made the US team Juniors Go
Liam.

Excellent- that's quite an accomplishment! Slalom or flat water?

[mintyspilot]

Originally Posted by Mariness

I believe this is the approved way to complete the maneuver.
I have to wonder what you all are doing in these kayaks though - we kayak quite a bit and I've never fallen out unintentionally.

I didn't fall out intentionally either. My friend was struggling in a row boat and I "zoomed" over to help him out and as I approached him I leaned over and dug the paddle in to bring me to halt "broadside on". He decided to help me stop by sticking his oar against the side of the kayak and since I was heeled over all he did was heel me some more. Quite a bit more.....

He is best kept on dry land. When he tried to get back into the row boat he tried to pull himself over the side rather than over the stern.

[mintyspilot]

Originally Posted by nautical62

Mintyspilot: I did some kayaking up near Plas Y Brenin, near Capel Curig near Betws Y Coed in Wales. Beautiful.

That's in the Snowdonia National Park. I get a really good view of it when I'm flying in the glider. It's about 20 miles west of my club. I've never paddled there but the river that the wife and I did the 11 miles in was the Vyrnwy which starts in Lake Bala which is in the same general area.

What on earth where you doing over here and that far inland?

@Sabray - congrat.s to your nephew.

[nautical62]

Originally Posted by mintyspilot

That's in the Snowdonia National Park. I get a really good view of it when I'm flying in the glider. It's about 20 miles west of my club. I've never paddled there but the river that the wife and I did the 11 miles in was the Vyrnwy which starts in Lake Bala which is in the same general area.

What on earth where you doing over here and that far inland?

I studied in London for a semester in college and took a kayak course at Plas Y Brenin Centre for Mountain Activities during our one week break. After college I went back and did a 10-week internship/educator's course with them. It was amazing. I've unfortunately since forgotten many of the rivers and sea shores we paddled. Lots of ski mountaineering and rock climbing as well. I stomped up Snowdon several times. I nearly killed myself on an ice climb in llanberis pass I think it was. (no injury). That sport makes sailing seem easy and safe.

Wow - the gliding looks amazing and what a wonderful place to do it. Somehow the scenery here in Iowa, USA isn't quite the same.

[hummingway]

Originally Posted by Misiu

Steep learning curve
It might be wise and fun to repeat the class in a proper wetsuit and sit-on-top kayak. You have time to play and you are more buoyant and protected from temperature.

Apparently a friend thought so too. She bought me a wetsuit when she heard my story. Now all I need is a snorkel and mask and I'll never worry about tipping again!

[Misiu]

Originally Posted by hummingway

Apparently a friend thought so too. She bought me a wetsuit when she heard my story. Now all I need is a snorkel and mask and I'll never worry about tipping again!

You have a good friend. She probably appreciates how fast you can become hypothermic.
Mask, snorkel, fins and you are all set for kayak snorkeling

[mintyspilot]

Originally Posted by nautical62

Wow - the gliding looks amazing and what a wonderful place to do it. Somehow the scenery here in Iowa, USA isn't quite the same.

It is fun, but I'm looking forward to the sailing - a sort of "wet" version of what I am doing now. Our former club chairman went the other way from sailing to gliding and he reckoned that although the technical skills were different, the mindset and attitude had a lot in common.

I'll let you know if he was right