Kayaking Exploits

The blog has been rather quiet of late as life has been full of work and study stuff. However I’ve been intentional in making sure I have ‘playtime’ – specifically on the water! In mid-February I went to CANI’s ‘Paddlefest’ and got the chance to try out some surf kayaking at Rossnowlagh. We got perfect weather even though it was baltic, and the surf was very good (though to be honest I really wouldn’t know!). Unfortunately my surfing skills left a lot to be desired, I spent most of my time capsizing which significantly increased my salt intake – I think I definitely exceeded my sodium RDA! It was both terrifying and exhilarating to try to catch a wave, some of them got pretty big. To be honest February and March have been frustrating months for me as far as kayaking is concerned – I haven’t had much confidence in my skills and have been really frustrated with how slowly I seem to progress. But heigh ho. On the Sunday of Paddlefest I took the option of doing a spot of sea kayaking on Lough Erne (yep, I know, we were nowhere near the sea, but the weather was looking really rough at sea so we opted for something slightly less turbulent – one of the people on the sea-trip the day before had ended up doing a back-flip in his kayak because the waves got so big!) and it was beautiful. Since Paddlefest I’ve been out with the club once on the Bann and 3 times on the Blackwater. Water levels have been pretty good and our instructor has been working us hard on a lot of strokes, technique and safety/rescue stuff. Also we’ve had a number of sessions at the pool to work on bracing (what you do if you’re about to tip into the water to keep yourself from tipping in) and rolling (what you do once you’re capsized). I’ve learnt a lot but I’m still really frustrated with how slowly my body seems to grasp what my brain is telling it. Maybe it’s my brain that’s slow, I don’t know. But I still find it hard not to panic when I capsize and my roll is mostly non-existent these days. All of this training has been in preparation for the club trip to Scotland which is TOMORROW! A dozen of us are heading off for 5 days’ kayaking in the Fortwilliam/Nevis area. I’m the only female! The guys are dead on, everyone looks out for each other and the craic will be good. I had a good day’s kayaking last Saturday so that has lifted my confidence a bit. Plus I got to try out a kayak which was an excellent fit for me and I paddle a lot better in it. There have been a number of times in the last few weeks when I’ve just been wondering if I would be more of a liability than anything else in Scotland, but I think the main thing is having a positive mental attitude and just enjoying it, so I’m actually quite excited about the trip now, though I know I’m going to be so bushed when I get home Sunday night! Prayers for safety would be appreciated. Must go finish packing all my thermals!