July 3, 2005

Learning to Stand (Part II)

On Saturday I tried again. I'd put my legs out of the cockpit and then wiggle my butt up on to the rear deck. Sculling furiously I would put my feet in the cockpit and immediately capsize.

When Cyndi came back from her training run I got her to give it a try. But her wing paddle wasn't making it easy so I pulled out my paddle from the car and exchanged it for the wing.

When she first started she said 'there is no way I can stand up in this boat', but before I left I saw her do it twice.

On Sunday morning I got to the park an hour before Joan so I could practice. I learned something from watching Cyndi the day before - I could just sit on the rear deck in shallow water and lift my feet. If I started to capsize I could just put my feet down.

I started by sitting on the rear deck with my legs held very far out from the kayak. Whenever I would start to capsize I would instinctively hug the kayak with my legs, which only made the problem worse. It took a while to break the habit, but I finally got to the point I would push my legs out away from the kayak to get my stability back.

Over time I progressed to putting my legs back in the boat. Much more tippy. But I continued to practice by sculling, bracing, and generally trying to stay on the oxygen rich side of the water line. Over the course of the hour I got pretty good at keeping my balance with my legs in the boat, sculling on either side.

The last thing I tried before Joan arrived was using one arm to scull with an extended paddle. I felt I was getting close to trying to stand, but not just yet.

Joan and I met a new paddler and paddled with her to explore Kanes Creek. When we returned I attempted to stand up, but I don't think I ever made it fully upright. After climbing back in and pumping out the boat, Joan and I paddled out to Conrad Island to have lunch. While paddling back to Mason Neck I decided I would try to stand again...

It lasted all of 4/10ths of a microsecond. But long enough that Joan was able to take a picture.