Should I Stay or Should I Go?

That's me, stuck on a downed tree during my last kayak camping trip.

Stay in town for the weekend, or go on the annual Sabine River kayak trip, that is.  It's a three-day kayak camping trip that takes place along the Texas / Louisianna border each Labor Day weekend. 


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The new tropical disturbance in the Gulf is frightening me.  I want to go, but I'm not sure my paddling skills are adequate to cope with 50 mph winds and flooding rivers if that storm develops.

Not only would it be a much-needed weekend escape, it would make a great post for my new travel blog.  I may have to sit this one out, though.  Maybe I remember enough details to post about my Village Creek trip...         

Dreaming of Kayaks



I'm in the green one.



It's a rental.  I went kayak camping with BCO and except for the rudder that I couldn't use because my legs are too short, I fell in love with this boat.  I want one.  It's got 2 hatches - one in the front and one in the back.  I packed it with all my gear and had plenty of room for more.  

Guess what?  I'm up $1300!  I won it playing blackjack.  I was tempted to play some more, but started thinking about the kayak I wanted.  I came home with the money to buy it.  Woohoo!!!!

  

Someone suggested I rig a pulley system in my garage to raise and lower the kayak so I don't have to lift it onto my car alone.  That sounds like an excellent idea, but I haven't the foggiest idea how to do it.  I'll figure something out.     

Mokulua Islands Seabird Sanctuary

We paddled out to the island on the left. 

I signed up for a guided kayak tour (click link for more info) out to Mokulua Island where the seabird sanctuary is located.  Ocean kayaking is much more strenuous than I expected.  Paddling the lake is tiring, but paddling against a current that wants to either push you in to shore or out to sea is exhausting.  I believe I would have made it eventually, but I was slower than the rest of the group.  Other than one of our two guides, I was the only woman in a solo kayak, the others were paddling tandem.  I was grateful for the assistance when the guides hooked up a line to my boat and helped pull me along.  It took around an hour to reach the island.  I also got a little seasick.  Thankfully, the guides had some Dramamine.




Wedge-Tailed Shearwater


Once ashore, we hiked around to the back side of the island to view some of the birds and the Queen's Bath.  There is a large tidepool around 6 feet deep that the queen and her children used to bathe in.  Some of the guys jumped in.  A few large waves hit, tossed them around, and bloodied their arms and legs.  I would not recommend letting your children jump in unless they are excellent swimmers.  There were several fledgling birds along the trail that seemed to not be bothered by our presence at all.  I took a photo of a wedge-tailed shearwater that looked back at us from his resting spot among some rocks. 

Lanakai Beach

Next, we paddled to Lanakai beach for lunch.  I caught a wave on the way.  I heard it coming up behind me, paddled as hard as I could, and zoomed past the guide who said, "You didn't tell me you knew how to kayak surf!"  I don't really.  It was almost an accident.  I caught another one completely by accident as I was landing on the shore.

The tour guides packed sandwiches, chips, and drinks for us, and provided snorkels for those who wanted to explore the reef.  Everyone was saying they couldn't see much and I was tired, so I just relaxed in the sand.  A local guy came up and started talking to me.  He was telling me about island life and how doing business here is different from the mainland.  Everyone has been so nice to me.  It really is a laid-back place.  No one is ever in a hurry.

After lunch, it was much easier to paddle back to Kailua Beach because the current was pushing somewhat in that direction and we didn't have to fight as much.  The guides helped me out a little bit along the way, but I did most of the paddling myself.  Even when they were towing, I kept paddling and didn't make them do all the work.  I was exhausted.  I went back to my hotel and went to sleep.      

A Couple of Kayak Pics

I'm on the right in a dark helmet and blue shirt under my PFD and spray skirt.

 That's me, too...

I received an email that said, "Michelle Kvanli, who is our instructor Ben's wife, is the number 3 kayaker in the country right now and our lessons [the BCO group] are going towards helping her get to the Olympics."  Sounds like a good cause to me.

The kayak school also offers a membership that includes kayak and equipment rental for $35 a month and private lessons for an additional $10 an hour. Considering kayak rentals here are $40 a day, that sounds reasonable. I may sign up and see how much I use my membership benefits. San Marcos is only a couple of hours away.  I just need a little time to work up the nerve again.

Bottoms Up

Images from Flickr. These were taken at the same spot I was kayaking today.  There are some photos of me but I don't have them yet.

I made my first attempt at white water kayaking today. BCO arranged a Kayaking 101 class with Olympian Ben Kvanli at Power Olympic Outdoor Center in San Marcos. He's an amazingly patient teacher.

We had to practice what to do if our kayaks tipped before we could head down the river. You're supposed to tuck close to the kayak and knock on the boat to signal someone to come and flip you back up. The first time I kayaked on a lake and had to flip my kayak I had an asthma attack, I think probably because of the sudden change of temperature, so I was extremely nervous. I hoped one of the assistant instructors would help me because I didn't want to look stupid in front of Ben. No such luck.

I think he has asthma! He said he avoids cold places for that reason and suggested I relax and swallow when I first come up instead of immediately taking a breath. It helped! He also only turned my kayak halfway for a short moment the first time so when we did it for real it wouldn't be such a shock. It worked. I flipped my kayak, knocked on the hull, then he flipped me back up and reminded me about the swallowing trick. No asthma attack. So far so good.

Next, we had to practice a wet exit. We were wearing spray skirts which attach to a lip around the opening to the cockpit to seal water out. The first time I tried a wet exit, I couldn't get the skirt off the kayak. I had to knock on the hull to get him to flip me back up. He said, "You realize you are stuck with me this entire trip now? You and I are joined at the hip." That made me feel a little embarrassed but much safer. He showed me how to grasp the grab loop with both hands and pull up while pushing back with your legs and use your entire body to get free, then waited patiently while I practiced a few times upright and psyched myself up to try again.

We headed down the river and practiced a few paddling strokes.  I've paddled kayaks on the lake before, so I think I did pretty well.  Then we got to the rapids.  San Marcos has a waterpark with a series of three man-made waterfalls perfect for kayaking.  The first one looked to me like a scary drop almost straight down.  The two people who went just before me stalled on the rocks and flipped.  I wanted to make sure I didn't stall so I paddled hard to get up some speed when it was my turn.  I went down with no problem.  Ben was at the bottom videotaping and yelling, "That was awesome, Jennifer!  Way to charge that drop!"  Yay!  That was fun.  At this point I wasn't feeling embarrassed any more.

The second rapid required us to leave the calm water of an eddy into fast moving water flowing in the opposite direction, then line ourselves up to go down the center of the small waterfall.  I started out great.  I lined myself up to enter the white water, raised the right side of my kayak with my right knee like we practiced, then my kayak spun backwards.  When I was turning it back around, I didn't lift the correct side of the boat and over I went.  I knocked on the hull and waited for someone to flip me back up.  No one came.  I knocked again.  Still nothing.  I'm sure they'll be here any minute.  I knock and wait some more.  Where is my joined-at-the-hip instructor?  I finally decided enough was enough and performed my wet exit which I am very grateful to have spent so much time practicing.  The darn spray skirt wouldn't come off easily the first time I tried.  I grabbed it a second time and kicked with both feet while yanking with both arms and I was free. 

When I popped back up there were instructors all around me asking if I was okay, chasing my boat and paddle, pointing me towards shore, and telling me how well I handled myself.  I knew I was upside down for a while but I had no idea I had traveled the entire length of the rapids and down the waterfall upside down.  My hero was on the bank shooting video.  I did see on the tape that at least four instructors were right next to me trying to get in position to flip me up.  They said it was rare for someone to be upside down that long and not panic. 

After lunch I decided to call it a day and didn't run the second half of the course.  I'd had enough excitement for one day.  I'll try again another time.  Ben promises to be there immediately if I flip again.  I teased him for not putting down the damn camera and saving me, but it does make a great story.  If I get a copy of the video as promised, I'll try to post it here.