April 17, 2005

Spring Flexing

I was a little unnerved by last weekend's outing. The 'stiffness' I was feeling and lack of ability to get my kayak on edge left me feeling as though it had been a year since paddling.

I decided to wear my dry suit today. Over the week the water had dropped from the low 60's down to the high 50's and I wanted to to spend time getting my flexibility back. That is, I planned to get wet :)

When I launched I zigged and zagged around anything I could find floating in the water. There wasn't a trace of the stiffness I felt last weekend. Did that wet suit make that big of a difference?

I decided to paddle around the neck and out to the Potomac to play in some chop. Although nearly windless, the constant stream of boats leaving the marinas up the Occoquan gave plenty of agitation to the water. I danced along the break walls in the clapotis and try as I may I just couldn't find that uneasiness from last weekend.

At the heron rookery I could see the herons on the nests. The leaves are coming out and in another week or two the nests will be invisible from the water.

I continued around High Point and in to the Potomac, watching all the birds hoping around on the ground looking for food in the new grasses. Around the old dock I turned around and headed back.

When I got to the rookery, I see some Night Herons have joined in the trees. This was a great surprise to me to see Great Blues and these white birds sharing the same trees, often side by side.

When I returned back to Mason Neck I put the kayak on extreme edge and paddled along as if I had been doing this for years. I rolled on both sides, high braced and felt confident last weekend was a fluke, or at least induced a bit by the wet suit I had been wearing.

After a few rolls I heard a voice behind me and turned to find John paddling up. We chatted for a few minutes and then I returned to playing a bit more. But I was satisfied my skills were not as bad as I had imagined all week, so I paddled in to shore.

So was it the new wet suit that had caused me to wonder all week if I was losing my skills? I guess another outing in it will tell me for sure.

Woody