It's been said that a bad day on the water is better than a good day at the office. I'm fortunate that I live within striking distance of so many lakes, rivers, and even the ocean. While my preferred method of water travel is a sailboat, on lakes and rivers, it's a kayak.
For scooting around hidden inlets and exploring estuaries, nothing beats these vessels for maneuverability and ease of beaching. I've written previously how I'm fortunate Andrea shares this draw. We've spent a couple of wedding anniversaries on paddling trips, and used to go on monthly excursions with friends on full moon nights on the Chesapeake.
While we prefer ocean kayaks to the white water variety as they're more stable and allow you to carry gear, none of our excursions have been beyond sight of the coastline. I'm amazed by stories of people transiting the English Channel, the Gulf of Mexico, and even the Atlantic on a kayak. One guy, Aleksander Doba crossed the Atlantic 3 times, the last passage was when he was 70. His achievements are both an inspiration and a bit of a reproach for my reticence to venture further.
For my part, it hinges on my skillset. One November, I was paddling alone on the Severn River just outside Annapolis harbor. I was just bobbing on the water attempting to get my zen on when some jackhole in a speedboat came ripping out of nowhere. He kicked up a big enough wake to swamp me and I rolled over. While I was wearing a wetsuit, it was also November, and the water was frigid. Submerged upside down I was thinking, "You know, Wayne, if you'd bothered to master an Eskimo roll you could probably extricate yourself from this situation." But I didn't and as I was running out of air, my options were limited. I popped the skirt and bailed out of the cockpit. Did I mention the water was freezing? I was able to right the vessel, but without a paddle float, I wasn't having much luck getting back into the cockpit.
Luckily a Good Samaritan boater came along to render assistance. I hung out with him and his wife long enough to shake off the chill. As he passed me a cup of coffee he asked the obvious, "Son, don't you know how cold that water is?" Through chattering teeth, I stammered, "I do now."
One summer, Andrea and I were in a tandem kayak in Puget Sound. We were gliding over a grove of kelp, and in the crystal clear water, you could see the green fronds undulating gracefully in the current. I paused paddling to reach out to one of the stalks and was stung by the chill of the water. Just then, Andrea, in the front cockpit, was looking rapidly over both sides of the kayak, having spotted a seal weaving through the kelp. In her gleeful excitement, she started rocking the boat and I was having flashbacks to my dunking in the Severn.
While we didn't get dunked in the Sound, it's just more impetus to take that R&W class to learn an Eskimo roll and other self-rescue techniques. Until then, groove on this Peter Gabriel track. Back in 2016, Paddling Life released their ultimate album side of songs to take on a kayak run. Their description of this cut is apt in that it describes the healing power of being on the water.
Peter Gabriel - "Washing Of The Water"
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