One man's rush to jump on the kayaking bandwagon

Today's goal was to determine if I'm really into the whole kayak thing or not. We rented a couple of kayaks from Paddle Creek and took them to Falls Lake. Jean and Suzanne joined us.

We rented a Tsunami 140 and a Cape Horn 160. We all swapped boats throughout the day. Both Suzanne and I really liked the Tsunami 140. The Cape Horn didn't do it for anyone. It may have had something to do with me getting wet while trying to get out of it. Silly me.

Since this was an official Dalton Event, we packed a lunch. It was a nice day, but the wind was blowing quite hard. At one point, we had a few little whitecaps.

I really do like the Tsunami 140. It fit's just right. It's easy to get in and out of. It feels fairly quick. And I like the color. I may have found my new boat.

"No, I don't want to buy your kayak for $500. I want to know if $500 is a good price for one just like yours. But there's a catch. It has a hole." My father in law seemed to think it was a decent price, depending on the hole.

The hole didn't seem all that bad. A paperclip test seemed to indicate that it was about 1/8th" deep and didn't go all the way through. It seemed like some simple filler would solve the problem. But, it was around 2:00PM and this was an REI garage sale. How could anything worth anything still be around at 2:00PM? Would it still be there at 4:00PM?

Here was an Old Town Dirigo 140, the exact kayak Heath wanted. Even the color was right.

We went for it. The hole was quickly filled, sanded and it seems like new.

Heath and i went out in Jean's kayaks today. She was in the SOT and I was in here little blue bathtub.

We rode up and down on the boat wakes in the channel for a while and actually made a little progress against the current. I had a blast. Heath really wants to get kayaks and I think I'm sold on the idea as well.

Heath and I went to Morrea for our honeymoon. Moorea is a small island near Tahiti in French Polynesia. The resort where we stayed had kayaks for rent so one afternoon we got one and paddled around the islands that make up the resort.

Heath had a great time, but it just wasn't working for me. It was only the second time I'd even been kayaking. I'm not sure I'll do it again.

It was the smell that did it for me. That lingering mildew smell. The smell of something that hasn't been dry in months. According to my mother, I'm allergic to mildew.

Heath, Susan, Jean, and Kathy were all very excited about kayaking in Glacier Bay. I wasn't so sure it was something that I would enjoy. That water is cold.

We headed down to equipment shacks after breakfast. We put on the rubber waders, the rain jacket, the PDF and headed for the beach. We carried the heavy boats down to the waterline. Heath and I were in a double, Jean and Kathy were in a double, and Susan was in a single. The guide helped my adjust the rudder, and then pushed us out into the water.

The boats were nice and wide, but I felt like I was going to go over at any minute. Knowing that the water temperature was in the mid 30's didn't help. I was convinced that if I fell in, I'd die.

Then it started raining.

I was cold, anxious, and tired of hearing Heath complain about my inability to use the rudder. I hate rudders. I hate tandems. The back seat is for steering and the front for complaining about the steering.

We paddled across Barlet Cove and then came back. We were not out long, but it was way too long for me.

We took a boat tour of the bay and while we were out, we stopped to pick up some kayakers. They seemed quite happy, but then, the insane usually are.