I am a kayak kook. I didn't start to kayak until I was about to turn fifty and i decided to learn to kayak in celebration of this big milestone. I had another friend who was turning 60 and she wanted to learn as well. Then there was a third friend who already knew how to kayak and she agreed to teach us. But we laughed at her. We told her that we didn't think she was trained enough to teach us every skill we needed to stay safe and not drown in rapid waves.
"It's so easy, KT told us annoyingly. "All you fucking have to do is get int he damn thing and paddle. There isn't much more than that."
but we would have none of this cavalier attitude about our safety. We wanted a certified, trained instructor to teach us what to do.
We book a trip for a beautiful Saturday afternoon in September. We are going to paddle for two miles down the Brandywine River. We meet our instructor at the endpoint and he drives us up to our start point.
Now, remember, you end where I picked you up. Just stop when you get there and someone will help you out of the kayak. Get in. I'll give you a little shove and you will be on your way," he tells us. He speaks to us with such confidence in our skills that we don't let on that two out of three of us are scared shitless.
"And what about how we paddle?"I asked. "Are there any special techniques we should be using?"
"Oh, yea, just keep paddling and when you want to stop, put your paddle straight down in the water. That should stop you. OK, see you in about two hours". And with that, he got back in his truck and we floated down the river.
