“You’re supposed to keep emergency stuff on you, right?” Po asks as we finish packing the kayaks. Pressing a hatch cover into place, I smile, pleased that she has remembered our discussion on ditch kits and survival principles. “Yeah, always…” I glance up and trail off as I watch her carefully stashing a wad of toilet paper in her PFD pocket.
I was once a beginner, too. New to paddling and out of my depth, I had plenty of clumsy, awkward and embarrassing moments. Some I look back on and chuckle. Others I just shake my head—what was I thinking?
Most experts agree: I wasn’t. There’s a tremendous amount of information to absorb even in an entry-level kayaking class. Pedagogical theory recognizes that most new paddlers are struggling to simply remember and imitate. Critical thinking and problem solving come much, much later, when the miles and hours have accumulated into that ultimate mentor: experience.
Silly mistakes are bound to occur when we’re learning. Most will be harmless—like the November camping trip where I packed juicy, softball-sized navel oranges for breakfast and awoke in the morning to find my hatch filled with frozen citrus kettlebells. At least we had ballast for the rest of the trip, should we have needed it.
Or the unfortunate skills certification course where I kept blowing my roll because I’d forgotten to relieve myself before we left the beach and could think of nothing but this now incredibly urgent need. Still, despite the occasional forehead-slapping faux pas, new pad- dlers are both the future of our sport and, often, among its most active and ardent supporters. You don’t need to be an old salt to start a club, organize a shoreline cleanup or advocate for water trails.
First-time sea kayakers Paul Manning-Hunter, Spencer Taft and Daniel Robb had never paddled tidal waters or performed a surf land- ing before their eight-day expedition to British Columbia’s remote Great Bear Rainforest (“A Better Adventure,” page 48). Their inexpe- rience may have cost them a ruined satellite phone and soggy charts. But the three friends not only found their stride in their unfamiliar craft, they returned with stories, images and the makings of a film so they could share their discoveries and encourage celebration and conservation of this threatened wilderness.
Paddling back to the put-in after a thoroughly successful day on the water, Po tells me she’d like to buy her own kayak and explore her local lake. I’m thrilled. The instructor/guide in me rattles off a list of things she’ll need to go along with her new boat.“And you should get a paddle float for solo paddling,” I finish.
She looks perplexed,“Don’t all paddles float?”
Editor Virginia Marshall has many more stories of awkward paddling moments. Buy her a chocolate milk sometime and she’ll tell you a few.
This article originally appeared in Adventure Kayak, Early Summer 2013. Download our free iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch App or Android App or read here for free.
