I love camping. But some weekends, you don’t mind going without. At times during last weekends ANUMC’s organised sea kayaking course the rain was so heavy it would have been drier upside down in the kayak. Luckily, we had access to a cute little beach hut chock full of cakes, tea and warm showers.
Sea Kayaking, a sport for all conditions.
During heavy rain kayakers can shelter under their sea kayak
Dave relates one of his shark stomping adventures.
But as they say in the army, “if it ain’t raining, you ain’t training”. There was a lot of rain and we certainly did plenty of training. Of course we covered the basics like rolling, rescues and sailing, but our instructor were keen to show us the lesser practiced skills of sea Kayaking. Among these were Dave Winkowrths karate kid style shark stomp. Andrew Collins explained the best ruder and braces to be used when being towed by a Walrus. An incorrect brace could break your back, it pays to get this right.
Terry demonstrating the high brace. Used when being towed by a Walrus
Knowing the correct sea shanty during sailing is essential for morale.
I certainly had not realized that Walruses posed such a problem to sea kayakers. luckily, we were able to practice non walrus related activities during the weekend. While the seas were intimidating on the Sunday, Saturday provided the course with perfect beach conditions for working on our entering and exiting surf beaches.
Terry shows how long Walrus teeth can grow.
Chris looks to catch a ride to shore
Course participants and instructors.
Despite the weathers determined effort to rain on our sea kayaking parade we were able to leave with some solid skills and look forward to part two of the course in two weeks time. Part two will be camping for real, so less tea and coffee cake. It is unclear how plentiful the Walrus and sharks will be.