My sometimers kicked in today

I forgot the sprayskirt for my creek kayak, 14 miles or skirting class II and III rapids (bluestone river wv), reminded me of my canoe tripping days- using the dry lines, back stroking to raise the bow, and angling and tilting the boat to deflect the waves

the only problem with it was that it wore me competely out and I missed all the good ww! I had to empty the boat 4 or 5 times but mostly i just got tired from all the zigzagging along the shoreline.

The bad thing was there were only three of us, two of my buds decided to swim at the same time, and my ability to assist in the rescue was hampered because I didn’t have a skirt. It worked out okay but still something to think about.

Seems the more I learn, the more stuff I have to bring. I’ve resorted to a checklist. Today I unloaded my boat and gear, locked the car and got ready to launch then realized my skirt wasn’t in my cockpit. At least it was in the car, as well as a couple of sponges I had forgotten to toss in.

I chalk it up to getting back into a routine I haven’t practiced for the past four months.

I tend to have more than I need but it took a long time to get that way. Redundancy isn’t cheap.

I’ve left behind my skirt. I’ve left behind my PFD. I’ve left behind my helmet.
Hell one time, I even left behind my boat!
How can anybody be that dumb you ask? My brother was giving me a lift in his pick-up to the put-in. He threw my boat in the bed and left the tailgate open. We were so busy Bull-Sheeting up front that I never looked back to notice my boat went flying out the back somewhere along the 7 miles to put-in…I panicked, we backtracked, and amazingly we found my road gravel-beaten yak on the side of the road. Remarkably, no one thought to pick it up and take it home with them(Made me glad not everyone enjoys paddling!) I learned to bike lock in place after that, even if the gate’s up…

@tdaniel said:

The bad thing was there were only three of us, two of my buds decided to swim at the same time, and my ability to assist in the rescue was hampered because I didn’t have a skirt. It worked out okay but still something to think about.

That’s why everyone needs to be self-sufficient with good self-rescue skills. I rate myself a class II boater with class III self rescue skills. :wink: