July 3, 1999

From Beginning Kayaker To Beginning Teacher

Trip #32

8.5 miles

It started out simple enough. I insisted a friend try out a few kayaks before buying one. Little did I know then that I'd be driving to Rockville Maryland on a Friday afternoon to pick up the rental.

I picked up Pat early Saturday morning and after unloading the kayaks and spending some time going over self and assisted rescues, we were off on our adventure. Several things about the Atlantis Dagger that I immediately didn't like:

1) The control cable that unlocks the integrated rudder didn't. There also wasn't an adjustable connection for the cable either. We would later shove a stick in to the handle to unlock the rudder.

2) The rear rubber hatch looked like it would get blown off if hit by a wave of any size. It certainly wasn't watertight. The front hatch cover seemed a bit tighter.

This was just the beginning, and there were a thing or two more that I should have noticed before going out but didn't.

Pat is a big guy. At 6' and 250 pounds he was too big for this boat even though he told the folks at Spring River how big he was before they suggested the Atlantis. More than that, the boat wasn't deep enough and with Pat sitting in it, it was obviously top heavy. But he said he was comfortable so we started out slow and I gave him a few paddling tips after he collided with the Railroad Bridge that ran across the creek.

Everything was sort of uneventful for a while until we got about 3/4 of a mile from the launch site and I looked over to see that unmistakable look of someone about to go over. I was already pointed in his direction when he went over. I should have shown him bracing but didn't think about it since the water was like glass. We performed a "T" rescue and I was a little surprised how much water was still in his boat when he got back in. After pumping out the kayak Pat mentioned that it still felt unstable. It wasn't till we landed that we found out why: The rear bulkhead had such a huge gap in it that water could run freely from the cockpit to the stern.

For the rest of the trip Pat continued to have problems going straight. At the lunch break I jammed a stick into the rudder release handle so Pat would have use of it. I also took the boat out myself to see how well it tracked and it tracked well. Maybe because my kayak tracks so poorly did it seem that way, but it seemed to track straight as an arrow. Just for grins I even rolled it and found it rolled easier than my kayak. I think the extra weight gave more momentum to my hip snap since I felt the paddle provided little leverage.

After lunch Pat started to have a lot of problems with his back. The low backrest provided no support and Pat needed to stop frequently to give his back a rest. He turned down the offer for a tow several times. I eventually wedged the paddlefloat between him and the rear coaming and this helped a lot. We had to leave the spray skirt unattached but I felt this was pretty low risk since the water had remained flat all day.

Unlocking the rudder had helped him go a little straighter, but not much. I think the sliding foot rails were a big pain for him to use.

Back at the launch site while Pat walked off his cramped back I tried several self-rescue techniques. The big one I had read about and wanted to try was "paddling" with the paddle to try and catch up to my kayak. In the conditions at the launch site I found swimming with one hand on the paddle that I could not keep up with my kayak being blown away and carried by the current.

Turning loose of the paddle I could then "swim" fast enough to catch my kayak. Giving up my paddle didn't bother me because I knew the spare was on the rear deck.

Paddling with the paddle was somewhere between swimming with one hand and swimming without the paddle. I seemed to keep pace with my kayak but never quite caught up to it. It required a lot of effort as well. I'll practice this a few more times to give it a fair shot, but giving up the paddle to swim after the kayak may be my best bet, assuming there is a paddle on the rear deck when I get there. In any case, choosing between the paddle and the boat I think I'll choose the boat first since it can get away much faster than the paddle.

I also tried a re-entry and roll. I got close, but need a little more practice I think and need to slow down and not hurry so much.

I was afraid that Pat would have gotten discouraged from this first day of kayaking. Instead I found him more than eager when I talked to him Sunday. But now he was convinced he had to paddle more boats to find the right one...

Woody

What follows is Pat's version of the same trip...

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I didn't sleep well the night before. I was pretty excited to start a new adventure. I was also a little apprehensive about kayaking my first time. Woody arrived a little early. I was in the bathroom which is not at all uncommon when I'm a little nervous. So began the big adventure a little before 7:00 on Saturday.

The drive from Manassas to Quantico went quickly as I reviewed what Woody had told me about kayaking over the past couple of weeks. Over and over in my mind I watched Woody demonstrate a kayak roll in our office chair. I'm still pretty convinced I can do one.

After about 15 minutes of prep time, which I wisely used to stow my camera and half my lunch in Woody's truck, we struck out for the far side of the Potomac. I knew right away that Kayaking was not the same as canoeing. No matter how I tried to slip to the side of the bridge abutments I was drawn to them like a moth. Not once, but twice, I hit them (there were only two and I hit them both) before Woody was kind enough to show me that a kayak paddle has a front and backside. In no time we were off again. Woody headed due East while I weathercock due south. Woody asked a few times if I knew we were headed to the other side of the river. I knew where we wanted to go but I was having a hard time convincing my kayak of our decision. At one point the kayak and I got into a bit of a struggle. I was convinced if I paddled harder the boat would have no choice but to turn for shore. It turned but not towards shore. I'm nothing, if not buoyant. In no time Woody was at my side doing his best to conceal what appeared to be a belly laugh as genuine concern. Woody's a much better kayaker' than actor.

In no time I was swimming in the cockpit as Woody demonstrated how to use a bilge pump. Soon we were back on our way to the far bank. I say far bank with far being the operative word. By the time we made land I was feeling like I'd scouted the entire river in a criss-cross pattern. I was sure something was wrong with my kayak. Much to my chagrin Woody dumped a few gallons of water that had seeped past the bulkhead (see Woody's rule on two kinds of bulkheads) and played "watch me go straight" for a few minutes. "Yep, it's a true tracker Pat", "Wish my kayak would hold a line this well" and other words of encouragement made me ever so eager to try again.

We spent the next hour exploring the sunken boats and wildlife of Mallows Bay. I really enjoyed this part. It was especially nice to see a bald eagle. We ate our lunch, or at least the part that wasn't still in the truck. By the time we started back my back was aching and I was dreaming of my bed. Woody offered a tow and an occasional word of encouragement. It would have been a little nicer if he would've at least feigned fatigue. Instead he continued to head directly across the river as I seesawed back and forth in my never-ending battle to keep my kayak pointed towards the shore. Occasionally Woody would take a break and practice his Eskimo roll. I'm not sure, but I believe I may have wished him ill once or twice. Nothing big, but it would have done my heart good to see him forced to do a water exit. Instead he always managed to pop back up like some kind of Kayak Weeble.

By the time we were half way across the river, my back was getting sore. After many attempts by "McGuyver" to help me out, he hit upon the idea of blowing up my paddle float to force the seat back to stay in place. It felt so much better. I thought about mentioning that I was now securely wedged in the cockpit and a roll would certainly spell disaster but I was afraid he'd pull it out. When we finally struck land my ill feelings for Woody seemed somehow to ebb away. I was truly exhausted and to my surprise totally hooked on kayaking. I'm now in search of my one that will fit my frame. No doubt this is just one many adventures to follow.