yes; also, do you know how to…
brace? That will help a lot to build confidence.
Yoop.
– Last Updated: Jul-14-06 9:03 PM EST –
Remembe to get those 6 Nigel Foster DVDs if you cannot take a hands-on sea kayak course. Pnet has them on sale now.
And check out this lengthy Bradford authored Archived thread carefully, it includes some of my trials and tribulations with the Barracuda, but I have a better grasp on it now (although still would not favor it is heavy chop). Anyhow, this 64 reply post should make for some interesting reading for you, Yoop. Many candid ideas and encouraging words from many pnetters.
http://www.paddling.net/message/showThread.html?fid=advice&tid=430853
Relax…
– Last Updated: Jul-14-06 9:20 PM EST –
is the operative word. But, as others above noted, do not lose contact with the boat (good outfitting helps).
This is really a matter of time and acclimation. If you have access to waves, the more you play in it, the faster you'll get used to it. Do it while, the water temp is nice to play in.
The surf zone is best practice venue for rough water handling skills (short of taking up white water). The beauty is that the challenge can be dialed by picking the "right break", i.e. direct waves or wrap around for smaller. This assumes you spent time getting to know your local breaks and how it reacts to different swell/wave direction.
sing
Yes seat time helps but so does keeping
your mental state positive.
I am a beginning paddler with about 30 hours in seat time. I bought my Romany HV new and have had it for 6 months. After paddling my boat for a while I was beginning to think I made the wrong purchase decision. I started to get negative and think this boat was too much for me at my beginning development level. I got to the point where I was thinking of buying a wider second boat so I could start to enjoy kayaking. Then on a paddle into very strong winds it clicked and I found my way of implementing that “relax” advice the experienced kayakers who paddled with me were giving me. The experienced paddlers knew I was fighting my boat and myself mentally and both were draining my energy and keeping me in a negative mind set. Wow learning to relax let the true quality and pedigree of my boat design come through! I did a mental 180 and now I am pushing myself to look for even more challenging water. While I still have respect for the winds and waves, I don’t fear the winds and waves the way I did before.
I am also reading “The Inner Game of Tennis”. How is it helping me to be a better kayaker? Well this book is about my inner game. It is helping me use the mind/body connection to learn to trust myself in the boat. It is helping me find the state of “relaxed concentration” which allows me to paddle at my best and lets me focus my mind to overcome nervousness and self-doubt. Some may think that may be a bit quirky but it seems to work for me and it maximizes my enjoyment when paddling! 
Not quirky at all.
Everyone is capable of much more than our conscious mind allows us. The principles in the tennis book apply exactly to kayaking.
mental state
I think I know what you mean. This evening I paddled Lake Michigan in 1-2 foot rollers that were just on the brink of breaking. I utilized some of the advice from pnetters on this subject post and also left shore without really thinking too much about the waves. After a good 45 minute of every angle with and against the waves, I was proud of myself and the love of my Sirocco went up another notch. I know I’ll get this right and I plan to read and watch everything about basic paddling/bracing I can, as well as tap some experts who are acqaintances of mine in this Lake Superior/ Lake Michigan area I paddle.
Excellent! NM
Well done!
You may need to add some foam to the cockpit for a good fit. It’s hard to relax if you’re sliding around. If you don’t have a good store or experienced padlers to help you, here are a couple of sites:
http://www.rutabaga.com/page.asp?pgid=90
http://kayakoutfitting.com/mainpage.php
http://www.nrsweb.com/shop/product_list.asp?deptid=1764
And a good general information site:
http://www.atlantickayaktours.com/pages/expertcenter/main-expert-center.shtml
There’s also information in the GuideLines section of this site.