Sea Kayaking

This was going to be my first sea kayaking experience so I was a little apprehensive about it given I am not a strong swimmer and that the kayaks are not that stable. Nevertheless this was something I had to accomplish if I was going to do this in Antarctica. I knew that this was going to be the first of many trips to get my ability to a level where I would be confident and capable of safely doing this in the big icy sea. 

Getting ready

 

The sea kayak experience started with learning the basic strokes, such as paddling forward in an efficient manner, stopping, turning, going backwards, going sideways and support strokes to prevent capsizing. I didn’t realise there were so many different types of strokes, and this was just the basics. After learning this, it was onto practising rolling under water and getting out of the skirt whilst upside down. This was something I wasn’t looking forward to and my heart was beating fast. If I was on dry land I would also have felt my sweaty palms. I could feel a certain level of anxiety but knew that this was part of the experience and that it would past.

Support stroke to prevent capsizing

Getting back in assisted

As part of learning to get out of the kayak whilst underwater, we also learnt how to get back in assisted and unassisted. Doing it unassisted is extremely difficult requiring lots of balance and patience, something I haven’t yet learnt. I had seen on Youtube about eskimo rolls where you would right your kayak up whilst still inside unassisted. The instructor said this would normally take about 2 years to learn, time that I didn’t have. By the end of the day I was tired and somewhat seasick but feeling exhilarated and a lot less anxious. It’s amazing how having classes and practice makes such a huge difference.  

After learning all the basics, our first open water paddle was going to be out to Half Moon Bay to where the Cerberus is situated. The Cerberus is a British warship which was scuttled in 1926 to form a breakwater. On the day we did this, we had around half a metre swells and 10 knot winds, equivalent to 18.5km per hour.

This was a paddle where I got to lead the group, even though I had no idea where the sunken ship and various hidden reefs were. I had no idea why they choose me to do this given I have no experience whatever in this - I was hoping that this wouldn't turn out to be a big mistake on their behalf. The planning and leading aspects were very similar to hike trips, where you had to be prepared, such as; making sure you leave details about your trip intentions with others before setting off, checking the weather, ensuring you have the right emergency equipment, determine an appropriate route, look out for various landmarks along the way, check on your companions and be aware of what’s in front of you. 

 

On the way back we practiced how to tie the kayaks together and tow in the event that one of the paddlers was injured and unable to paddle. It was fun being towed, but not so much doing the towing. All up the kayaking was lots of fun and hopefully a forward step to what will be a scary and memorable journey. One of the most exciting thing I learnt was that you could incorporate kayaking with camp trips, but this will have to come later.

Towing