Am I the only one worried?
Not to put a damper on your paddling enthusiasm, but am I the only one worried about you paddling solo after just one class and so little experience? Do you have appropriate safety gear and are you proficient in self rescue?
I don’t know the area where you paddle - perhaps there is sufficient traffic at your paddling destinations that it would be noticed if something untoward happened, or are the conditions always benign?
Enjoy, but be careful.
Don’t Be Worried
She’s old enough to handle herself.
As far as hydration goes don’t use sports drinks. If you need minerals eat them. That comes straight from Forest Service firefighting experience. Also our local ranger stresses that for people hiking the Grand Canyon.
I carry frozen water bottles in insulated sleeves. In the hot sun they seem to melt at the rate I want to drink them. I drink lots of fluids. When hiking I put frozen water in the pockets of my shorts. That works great.
Time not speed or distance determines your day. Know how long it takes to get back and give yourself a buffer. Know your available routes. As conditions change the practicability of your route can change. On Lake Mead strong winds can appear in a matter of seconds. I head towards shore to utilize the terrain as wind breaks.
Carry a dependable bright flashlight with extra batteries. I’ll carry two flashlights.
Always have first-aid on hand.
Bandannas are handy. Dip them in the water to squeeze water over your head. Your head is wear you best control body heat. Splash bombs work great for dipping into water to cool your head. Wear a good hat. Palm straw is my favorite. I have several.
I wear cheap polyester t-shirts for Walmart. Before I strap on my PFD I soak my shirt and PFD in the lake. These days I’m paddling in breezy, dry, 100+ days. Those dehydrate you faster than anything else.
Spot on
about hydration and electrolytes. I carry a hydration pack containing a mix of water and Gatorade or similar brand and hydrate every 30 minutes whether I’m thirsty or not. And that’s paddling in the cool climate of Northern Michigan where high heat and humidity are rare. Regardless, it makes a difference.
BTW, Travel John disposable resealable bags work pretty well, at least in a SINK.
You paddlers dealing with hot, heavy temps have my utmost admiration. I’d wilt.
Cotton baseball hat or floppy hat
When paddling in Baja where it is very warm, I take my hat and dip it in the water and put it back on my head and let it cool by evaporation. I also throw water on myself with the paddle, or tip over on purpose. Does not work as well in very humid climates like Florida but still works. Your head has a huge amount of blood flow, that’s why wearing a hat keeps you warmer, letting it cool you also works too. The best solution to hot days is paddle early in the morning, you can start in darkness and go on a significant paddle before it gets way too warm.
Florida Kayak Report
Thanks for the link. Unfortunately, the only one I found in my local Sarasota Bay area is the Mangrove tunnels off Lido Key, with which I’m very familiar, since that was my first kayak adventure (with a tour). 
I have started a couple of my own kayak trips from that launch point, but headed to other destinations from there. After having gone through the Mangrove tunnels once, it wasn’t really something I would do over and over (except maybe to catch some much needed shade). The tunnels are interesting the first time…
Hydration & Safety
I’ve been taking 2 bottles of water in a cooler for my 2-hour trips. I force myself to drink them, despite the fact that I don’t really like drinking water (I know…it’s weird).
I always wear UPF-rated, long-sleeve shirts and pants (the super-light ones from Columbia Sportswear) because I sunburn easily. I also wear UPF fingerless gloves and a palm-straw hat and carry a small towel that I use to wipe the sweat off my face. Using the towel to squeeze water over my head is a good idea, although saltwater isn’t that comfortable on your face. Soaking my clothes and PFD are also great ideas which I’ll definitely do next time out.
I don’t have a good flashlight or first aid kit in my gear yet. I do wear my PFD with whistle. One good thing about Sarasota Bay is that it is pretty busy and surrounded by houses, boats, and condos near the shore. The mangrove islands, though, aren’t populated and if something unexpected happened in some of the little waterways between islands, it could be a while before somebody saw me. I do carry my cell phone in a dry bag with a neck strap and so far, I’ve had good cell connections in the trips I’ve taken. The bag floats, so if capsized, I could hopefully recover it quickly. Perhaps I should use some type of clip to clip the neck strap to my shirt.
I learned self-rescue after capsizing in my class, but need lots of practice to make sure I can do it when I’m not in an ideal group situation with an instructor standing by.
Your advice regarding time rather than distance is well-taken, thanks.
Yeah - Lucky So Far, But…
…I’m sure someday I’ll go out on what starts out as a clear, windless, glassy-water day and end up paddling against tide, wind, or both. Worst case for weather would be thunder storms. Unfortunately, if you postponed all your kayak trips based on predictions for T-storms, you’d never go out in Florida’s summer. I do plan my trips based on predictions for wind and stay off the water if the probabilities for T-storms are very high. I’ve planned all my trips so far for morning when the wind is usually calm, as is the water.
Thanks for the advice!
Thanks, Willowleaf!
Endurance…
…Don’t know how it translates between downhill skiing and paddling, but when I lived in the Northwest (4 years ago) I skied regularly on Mt. Hood. Some long runs there, and I skied pretty fast, but I know kayaking and skiing probably stress some different muscle groups.
Practical and Straight-forward! 
Thanks for the encouragement, Kayamedic!
That’s a cool suggestion, Willowleaf
Pun intended.
Thanks, Northyak
I appreciate your concern. I, too, am concerned about the fact that I am soloing so early, but it’s the only way I can get that “seat time” everybody is encouraging me to do. My husband is not a water-guy (doesn’t swim) and won’t kayak.
I think I’m being smart in staying relatively near shorelines, staying out of the boat channel/intercoastal waterway as much as possible, and staying mostly shallow water where, if capsized, I could probably stand or get to a shallower area pretty quickly.
One area where I feel most vulnerable is in boat traffic. There are some pretty wide crossings where fast-moving boats can seem to come out of nowhere. With my lack of experience, I’m not always sure how best to make those crossings safely. And since I’m alone, I assume it’s much harder for the boats to see me than if there were 2 or more kayaks crossing together.
All good advice
– Last Updated: Jul-24-15 10:23 PM EST –
I live in south Florida and usually paddle Biscayne bay or out of Chokoloskee Island. Summer heat is a serious issue this time of year. I do bring along my PFD but it is too hot and will zap my energy if wearing it. I am quite experienced with areas I paddle and keep an eye out for storms, if any type of wind comes up, I'll put on my PFD. If you are not familiar with your bay, a comfortable inflatable PFD you can wear all the time is best.
I start my paddles at just before sunrise and come in by 10-11 the latest. This is when the storms usually start.
gatorade
I feel I need to dispute the post that scoffed at Gatorade. I worked many years in heavy electrical construction – I am also one of those folks who does not tolerate heat well (I don’t sweat as much as most people and get flushed and uncomfortable very easily.) I found that the only way I could survive and function humping conduit for 8 to 10 hour days in the hot humid summer was to drink Gatorade. Stuff tastes disgusting but I swear it made me feel 10 degrees cooler and kept me from heat exhaustion.
Drink Water Not Gatorade
I guarantee you Willow your experiences working in heat under strenuous conditions is nothing compared to mine. All women worked besides me in those condition. Try fighting a wildfire outside of Tucson in July.
Your body absorbs water at a faster rate without the minerals Gatorade has. Eat your minerals. Your body absorbs them better that way.
Our bodies haven’t evolved drinking Gatorade. DRINK WATER!!!
That’s why I mix it with water.
Makes it more palatable. Also more convenient than chewing on a Hammer product since my hydration tube is attached to my PFD.
I take comments from that person with a grain of salt as another blanket statement he’s made is that there’s no benefit from torso rotation. That’s quite amusing.
yeah, I’ve noticed
that the rest of us are just delusional ignoramuses, apparently.
The efficacy of Gatorade is not in my imagination:
http://www.vanderbilt.edu/AnS/psychology/health_psychology/gatorade.htm
Electrolyte enhanced drinks contain not just minerals but carbohydrates. Perhaps the purported fire jockey was able to snack during his efforts, but I did not have the option of pausing to nibble on carb and mineral rich tidbits while installing conduit as part of a crew working in skylifts nor pulling cable standing knee deep in water in the bottom of a manhole. Gatorade, in all its cloying and unworldly green ghastliness, was invaluable to my ability to perform my work in high temp conditions (including in areas of power plants that often exceeded 110 degrees). I always carried it in hot weather when I was an outdoor guide, too. Re-animated many a lagging and dehydrated hiker with the stuff.
By the way, one of my trekking buddies in Idaho was a BLM “hotshot” fire crew team leader for many years and swears by Gatorade. To each their own, I suppose. If it’s a delusion, it seems to be a useful one for many of us.
I’m sticking with the green stuff (though the more recent yellowish lemonade version is marginally more palatable.)
There are more than two choices
Water alone does not do the job in high heat. Digesting solid food is not always an option. That’s where electrolyte drinks can help. But it does not have to be Gatorade, which is too sweet for me.
For long bike rides and hikes, I used to combine fruit herbal teas and fruit juice 50/50, with a little Morton Lite salt added. The latter contains sodium choride, potassium chloride, and one other salt whose name escapes me. I never tried it for sea kayaking in heat but am adding it to the grocery list now. It tastes good and helps hydrate better than plain water after sustained exertion in heat,
For when I don’t want sweet drinks, V8 Low Sodium version does the trick. Despite the name, it still has plenty of salt, plus some carbohydrate. Goes well with some peanuts or chips or a sandwich.