I went on my first kayaking experience yesterday. It was fun but the wind kept blowing me away from the area I was trying to stay in. What can I do to control the Pamlico 140 in the wind ?? Thanks for the tips :-) !!
when it’s
windy, I either paddle whitewater or a local tree lined river. The trees block the wind from blowing me across the river, so I fight the wind or have it at my back. Seeing as you list lakes as your places to paddle, keep at it, get stronger and more aggressive with your paddling, Try hugging the shoreline and use buildings, trees whatever as a windbreak. Main thing, keep paddling and develop the strength and cadence neccessary.Good luck and keep paddling 
Don’t fix anything yet!
First thing to do is to paddle without wind in order to determine that you’re actually paddling in a straight line. It’s very possible that a problem with your forward stroke was responsible for your steering problem, instead of/in addition to the wind. It just takes practice. Spend more time without wind or current in order to better develop your forward stroke. Then add corrective strokes, then add edging to the mix. All these combined with differing conditions will help fine tune your technique.
For the first time out, don’t sweat it. Just pay attention to your forward stroke mechanics for now. Paddle on
It’s tough to learn basics in wind
For now, the best thing would be to pick sheltered water on calm days. That way, you can determine things like whether your stroke is uneven. The wind is a huge variable–leave it out for now while you learn the basics.
I was paddling nicely
I was paddling nicely in a straight line until wind blew me away. I’m still trying to get more aggresive with paddling. the wind kinda picked up when we were in water. At one point I the boat wobbled alot but It stoped. Next time I will be going away from shore more to get away from rocks and other obsticles.One rock scrached my Pamlico 140. Minor though
Congratulations
on the maiden voyage, and the first scratch. Before you know it you’ll be paddling like a veteran. Watch the water surface for calm areas to work in. Chop v.s. smooth. If it feels like the wind is blowing you off course keep a landmark on shore in your peripheral vision as a guide. Also, mornings along the Front Range tend to have lots less wind. We had storms blowing in yesterday. Listen to the TV weather and study the weather maps to get an idea when fronts (they usually are windy) are coming through. If you don’t take too many chances while new to it you stand a better chance of keeping dry. Then, when the water warms up this summer, learn some harder stuff.
it’s long…
the scratch is sorta long and deep. Do you have scratches Taj ??
scratches
I have over a thousand on my Tempest and I quit counting even before I bought it (with a bunch of scratches on it already)
Plastic boats scratch. they are not a problem and you should not stress over them.
This particular scratch you will look at differently than all the others as it is your “first”
Paul
Forget about the scratches
At this stage, it is best to stay close to shore. When the water warms up and you have learned and practiced wet exits and re-entries, it will be less risky to go away from shore. Right now, you are asking for trouble; what if the wind blows you far from shore, you capsize, and cannot re-enter to paddle back, and it is too far to swim back?
I am not trying to scare you away from paddling, but this is a potentially dangerous time of year here. Warm, sunny days and hot air temps with cold water and sudden strong winds.
Yesterday it went from a nice sunny 70-something degrees to cloudy, cold, and marble-sized hail, with accompanying gusts. It’s been freezing drizzle all day here.
(IF the scratch resulted from dragging the kayak on land, have someone help you so that you can both carry it instead of dragging.)
thanks for the tips
I am only going to be about 8 feet from shore
Lots of scratches
on both yaks and I enjoyed making every one of them. I try to avoid banging into submerged rocks, but sometimes with the amount of that kind of thing around our lakes it’s almost impossible. Polaroid lenses might make it easer for you to see through the water. They seem to help me.
Welcome to the Newbie club!!
I had a similar episode Thursday before Good Friday. Upground resevoir, first time, lots of wind but a used Sea Kayak - nice 6" to 1 1/2 foot waves on one side of the resevoir, and glass like on the other - - guess which side had the rough water - - yep, next to the parking lot, loading ramp.
I had a blast - - stay tuned for a trip report - and maybe a few “stupid” details
Scratches
Buy a used yak, its already scratched and no worry mon. You ought to see the dings on my car from 14 ft. of platsic getting away from me in the wind. Drop kayak or get hurt. Its a no brainer. The boat will bounce. My back won’t. Try driving off without the straps thats always good for a laugh. My frind did in not me. I got to watch.
Thanks daggermat, ghostship, pikabike,
Taj, brazilbrasil, harbuck, yulester, kheyshunka, and waterdoc.
Thanks for giving this fellow yaker sound advice & genuine concern. When I read the post, I feared i’d see some sarcastic remarks – something all too common on the internet. (I’m guilty myself. I sometimes want to show how witty I am instead of adding something helpful to the thread.)
But what I found was a thread of people trying to help someone. Cool.
Keep paddling
you will get to the point that you enjoy a good windy day, your stroke is in a good rhythm, your working hard and the spray off the bow keeps you cool, and you like he way the bow splits the waves. When your done, your wet, tired, and it’ll take a week of work to get the silly grin off your face!
Our Pamlico 140 is no longer a virgin
Innocense is lost.
He’s growing so fast.