Two years ago I was having trouble with an arthritic knee that that made it tough for me to kneel in my canoes. It looked like I was going to be sitting more than kneeling, so I decided to get a sea kayak so I could get out on the ocean and enjoy Rhode Island’s beautiful coast. With a lot of help from the folks on this board, I ended up with a 2004 P&H Capella 166 RM.
A little good news/bad news on this story. Good news is that my knee settled down and have been able to continue paddling my canoes – a lot. Bad news is that I haven’t spent much time in the sea kayak. I took a couple of classes and I did a couple of easy trips in the more protected waters of Narragansett Bay, but I haven’t had it out in real open water conditions. My local club was doing a couple of training sessions for newer paddlers, so I decided it was the time for me to step it up.
The first was a rock-play and rescue session . While RI has miles of beautiful beaches, it also has miles of rocky coast that is perfect for rock gardening. I spent some time just sitting in the swells getting used to rocking in the boat, and did some easy rock play. It was a blast, but other than having a good brace, staying loose in the hips and keeping the paddle in the water, there is not much that transfers from whitewater surfing in a canoe. As you folks know, playing in rocks is all about timing.
The second was an open water trip into Rhode Island Sound. Conditions were mild with SW winds 10 to 15 kt with gusts up to 20 kt, waves 2 ft, but it was still a challenge for me. Heading out we were paddling into the wind, but it was fun to ride up and down on the swells. On the return trip we were in a following sea, and riding down the face of a wave for the first time was a blast – especially after someone reminded me to steer with a stern rudder.
Being a whitewater paddler I figured that this sea kayak stuff would be an easy transition - boy was I wrong! Wind, waves, current, rocks, surf, staying with the group – there is a lot going on. It is like starting over, but I am lucky to have a great place to paddle in Narragansett Bay, and a group that is willing to bring newer paddlers along.
Pictures don’t do it justice (in the bigger stuff I need to focus on paddling), but there are a few pictures here:
Rock-play session
https://www.flickr.com/photos/eckilson/albums/72177720319202408/
Open water session
https://www.flickr.com/photos/eckilson/albums/72177720319300955/
