Labor Day Kayak
My friend Gerri brought her camera and took a couple of me paddling today. It was a beautiful calm morning. We had more fishing boats than usual to navigate around, but we pressed on to the backwaters behind the golf course, and drank in the sunflowers arrayed along the shore.
Along the way, I paddled right through a patch of lily pads, and several patches of duck weed (algae). You have to be just a little careful, because the duck weed wants to wrap itself around your paddle blade and ride along.
I did not take pictures of a duck I nearly snuck up on before she quacked loudly and paddled off in a perpendicular direction. Nor did I capture a photo of the heron that I spotted toward the end of our looping of the lake. Gerri had been looking for him, but she missed seeing him. I watched him rise from one side of the lake and fly low down the length of it. Two or three ducks took off from the water just feet ahead of my bow, too. Awesome.
Then there were the paddle boarders. This is Gerri's stated goal for next Summer: to learn how to stand up on a paddle board and at least paddle standing on a smooth lake. Today it was smooth enough, and we watched three paddle boarders maneuver their craft. Some were kneeling and some standing, but Gerri wanted to see them in the act of getting from kneeling to standing. I did not see it, and I forgot to ask her if she managed to catch that little bit of motion at some point when I wasn't watching.
Today was the last chance to paddle before next weekend's triathlon support activity. Gerri and I negotiated... we will take two cars. Once I know the time we need to be there, I'll calculate when I have to be in her driveway, and then she'll follow me out. This way she can leave earlier than I do, because son's GF isn't going to come back to retrieve her kayak until the race is over (about noonish), and I'll be staying to also work the finish line. It has the added advantage of leaving both Gerri and me in our safe little cocoons of our own cars, and not worrying about Covid-19 delta variant, since she will be working the Husker game the afternoon before, just as she worked the game yesterday.
As we paddled we talked about her work there. Yesterday she was being an elevator operator. She had to ask several people to mask up before getting on, in accordance with the current rules to be able to play to that packed stadium. Nobody gave her a hard time, she said. Hey, they wanted to see the game, right?
Yesterday while tramping the dog park, son suggested that he could be persuaded to lend and hand and get his kayak as well as the GF's out to the lake. Based on this, I gave Gerri the guarantee of gear for her. If the race director can't get one for her, I'll hit up my son, and have both of theirs.
This morning, I also found out the rest of the story about the rescue we saw the start of out at the big lake the day of the wind and waves (see blog Kayaking Adventure in Which Barb Proves to be a Wimp). According to the business owner, it turns out one of the paddlers had a panic attack out on the water. Her kayak sank, and they needed to tow her in. At least they know how to take care of these emergencies, and for this I am grateful. Today it was so smooth, nobody was in danger of panicking.
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| Now doesn't this look calming? |
On to the Pep Talk
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| Prisoner is wishing you good hunting! |
And now it's time to get on with our healthy day! Make the best choices you can manage, this one and only Monday, September 6, 2021 we'll ever get. Choices that support your health: physical, mental, and spiritual! I'm wishing you all moments of peace!
We can do this: establish and maintain habits that support us, for the rest of our lives! Every one of us is worth the effort to do so.
Life is good. Spark on!🔥💖✨🎆🎇
Looks like a beautiful day for kayakking and very smooth. Here the water is pretty choppy. Have a wonderful day! (btw my profile picture vanished and won't stay put, driving me nuts!)
ReplyDeleteGlad you stopped by... seems I needed to re-follow your blog... so now you should show up on my reading list again! Technology is wonderful... until it's not.
DeleteLooks like a lovely trip! Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteHugs and glad that the perso was rescued the other day!
Yes, so glad... that was a scary day with white caps and wind, so someone having a panic attack... heck, that could have been me, with a sunken kayak, had I not been a wimp about the waves.
DeleteFabulous looking lake with you cruising along there! What a delightful outing! Sounds as though next weekend will be people-busy for you! Smart idea to limit time together enclosed, even though you're immunized. Too many breakthroughs! Grands will eb back tomorrow after their respective school days (little guy is 2 half days), so I'll work on chores early. Enjoy your evening!
ReplyDeleteYep, mitigating risks! A good idea for all of us. Judge the risk, and then decide how best to proceed. It's only been two weeks since the Garth Brooks concert, and the sold-out Husker game was just yesterday. Even though our county, where these events happened, has the highest vaccination rate in the state, a lot of folks "travel in" for them, from parts of the state that are not so well covered!
DeletePace yourself and have a good time with those grands!
“Her kayak sank”
ReplyDeleteWait, WHAT?!
That is a big red flag. Properly outfitted kayaks fo not *sink.*. This is actually a very serious safety issue.
Whose kayak was it?? If it belonged to the business, there is a problem with their equipment and I would honestly be leery of renting from them.
Please make sure any kayak you get into has the proper flotation installed. Recreational kayaks of the sort in the photos you’ve posted usually have foam bulkheads that will keep them from sinking, if they capsize. If those foam pieces are removed, they either need to be replaced or the kayak needs to be destroyed. See this sad story:
https://www.mensjournal.com/adventure/couple-sinks-kayaks-maiden-voyage-sues-455000
Touring and whitewater kayaks are usually outfitted with “float bags” (air bladders) I used to bring a spare set of float bags to the river and lend them to my negligent friends who didn’t bother with them. After all, if I had to tow their boat to shore, *I* would be the one endangered by their sunken boat, dragging in the current.
Thanks for the heads up... I had no clue (showing my own inexperience)! I will ask more questions. And given that my son bought his kayak at Dick's I shall ask him about flotation blocks in his bow. If I remember rightly, both his and his GF's kayak did take on water the day we were out at the lake and they went out in the chop, but his drained out whereas hers (the fishing kayak) had to be taken out of the water and flipped over to drain.
DeleteInteresting note, when Gerri asked them about what one should do if we had a problem, the dad of the owner indicated that only the "sit on top" style of kayak would stay afloat. Sounds like he didn't know, either!
All of the "sit-in" style kayaks do have wide openings. They are clearly not meant for whitewater conditions.
Good thing I have an experienced online friend to give me a little push in the right direction. I know the GF did some online research before buying, but I'm not sure how deep her research went!
Sit on top kayaks are entirely enclosed, so although they can flip, they won’t fill with water.
DeleteSit-in kayaks can fill with water but they should have enough foam or enclosed air spaces, (hatches, float bags), not to sink. Even if a sit-in kayak fips over, you should be able to hang onto it, while it floats low in the water.
Here’s a really good website for information and tips about paddling:
https://paddling.com/learn/category/techniques-safety
...and I highly recommend this site too:
http://www.coldwatersafety.org/nccwsRules3.html
❤️
Thanks, Anja, I will check them out. FYI, the lake we were on today? Even if the boat tried to sink, it would not have far to go. You can stand up in most of that "pond".
DeleteGood to know ❤️
Delete...hopefully the bottom is smooth with no things under there that could catch a foot. The fact it’s a lake makes this less of an issue.
Foot entrapment is especially dangerous anywhere there is current - even pretty slow moving water exerts considerable force on anything in its way. One should never wade in current above knee height where there are rocks or anything that could catch and hold a foot.
Why knee high? Because if the water pushes you over, you only have your arms to hold your head up to get air. Your arms are slightly longer than the distance from your knee to the ground. Any deeper than that and you risk drowning. If you’re trapped like that for an extended period of time your arms might even give out.
Rivers are crazy fun. But they demand respect 🙂
I'm kind of leery of current. Have read too many horror stories! Your idea of "fun" might bear a higher level of risk than mine... then again, I overcame a lot of my fears to do the triathlons I did.
DeleteThe lake in question was created by damming a small stream, and the bottom is mostly sand/mud. They dredged it a few years back and it's been much cleaner since.
Seriously, this lake is "the lake of my youth" where I learned to canoe in my young teens, where I swam from shore to shore as an adventure with my sister, I think it was. Could have been my brother, sounds more like something he and I would have done together, but I took the canoe lessons with my sister.
Standup paddle boarding was on my list of Summer activities in 2017 (the car accident nixed those plans) 😔 Waiting for the Dr to approve putting it back on the activities list 😁
ReplyDeletePerhaps we'll be trying it out at the same time, next Summer? Dr. permission allowing, of course.
DeleteStand up paddling is really fun. Make sure to try the first time on a nice wide, stable “recreational” board. I highly recommend a lesson or two, to get started. You’ll have more fun that way 🙂
DeletePS. ALWAYS wear the leash and PFD, while doing this... You’d be surprised how fast the wind can blow the board away from you!
DeleteGood tips, Anja. I noticed the people on the boards were indeed wearing the leash both a few weeks back and today. I wondered what that was all about.
DeleteOut here I’d be doing it in an enclosed section of the beach, not sure how deep it is, I’ll look into everything once I get closer to clearance. Dr said a VERY firm no to ice skating, so 😔 I’ll just keep asking…
DeleteBut, Dee, ice is HARD when you fall on it, and if it's not a breaker, falling into water while moving slowly, much softer! Here's hoping at some point he says "go for it".
DeleteI need a blog lesson...my format sucks. Yours is lovely.
ReplyDeleteWhat is it you don't like about your own? You have the Contempo theme. I have the Watermark Flower theme. I just picked one and went with it, have not experimented with the theme since.
DeleteIf you're happy with your theme, there are still a lot of things one can "play around" with, in the context of the blog entry.
I do play around in the editor with headings, paragraphs, fonts, bold, italic, underlines for text. And I do experiment with photo placement and wrapping a bit.
Then before I publish, I do a preview to see what it looks like, and if I don't like it, I change it up before I hit publish.
Trial and error, Deb, trial and error. Dare I invoke "experiment of One Blog?" Ok, that was a groaner... don't un-friend me, please!
Fun. I would love to paddleboard! Such a good core and balance workout. I would need clean water though as I imagine I'll hit it more often than not!!!
ReplyDeleteOur YMCA does a weird combination class in their pool where you do yoga on top of a paddle board. My friend Gerri said she saw a paddle yoga class come out to the lake sometime last week. Must be advanced students!
DeleteI think I should try in in the mangroves off the Florida Keys. Warm water! LOL
DeleteSounds like a great spot... as long as you avoid the snakes and the 'gaters!
DeleteWow a lovely blog I can almost hear the water dripping off the paddles :)thanks
ReplyDelete💖
DeleteWe can do this: establish and maintain habits that support us, for the rest of our lives!
ReplyDeleteDoing my best to once and for all lay down the foundation of good, healthy habits.
💛💛💛
You're doing great... just keep putting one foot in front of another. With all you've been through in the past year or two, it's been a heavy lift, that one foot. But you are stronger than you think. 💖
DeleteHappy Labor Day! A wonderful way to celebrate the holiday, even during retirement. 😆
ReplyDeleteYou know, that sparks another theme... the place holidays have in our lives, to mark changes in seasons, and milestones in the year, regardless of whether one has a formal "job." We all have the job of LIFE, and these rituals known as holidays are a part of living it! The nature of observances may change as our lives progress, but they have an importance internally, to feeling whole.
DeleteThat sounds like fun, even though you have to distance yourselves a bit. You've got phones! I hope your friend learns how to paddle board too, if she wants. I think it looks like fun, but I read somewhere lately, that it can be dangerous. But you guys are bright ladies. She'll take the class, and learn how to do it right!
ReplyDeleteOh, yes, a class is part of the plan! And... I might decide to join her. I'm sure my trainer would have something to help me in that regard, just as he worked extra on my upper body to support paddling.
DeleteIt sounds like you had lots of fun. It must have been peaceful out there in the water.
ReplyDeleteIt was amazing, I could feel the stress draining away as I floated amid the duckweed and gazed at the sunflowers.
DeleteCatching up after a busy family weekend. Your kayak adventure makes me want to get out there again. Paddleboard? Not for me. Sitting and exploring is my goal.
ReplyDeleteWe shall see what the next year brings. For THIS year, the kayak was enough! Exploring is a fine goal, especially when you live amid so much beauty, as you do!
DeleteSounds like a nice day on the lake. I particularly like the photo of Prisoner.
ReplyDeleteThanks.💖
DeleteSounds like a lovely day on the water. Am glad others have already commented on the reported sinking of a kayak... I will add just one thing re kayaks and whitewater. Many years ago (as in 40 or so) we had what are now classified as "sit in" kayaks had "skirts" to be used in whitewater. On another topic, I agree with you... I would be hesitant to share the water with snakes and gators too!
ReplyDeletePerhaps the presence of white caps on the waves that kept me in the protected cove was my own instinct about the potential of "taking on water". With that broad an open "mouth" in the craft, it did not seem safe to me. Wisdom can be instinctive.
DeleteDefinitely! Knowing your craft, the conditions, your own skill level and comfort zone are all part of making wise and safe choices.
DeleteThe pictures were wonderful and serene . But , the kittie wins the cuteness factor .
ReplyDeleteLOL! Ten years old, and still "cute"... The Prisoner is purring!
DeleteThanks.