Sea Kayaking 100

The Community Boating Center, Fairhaven

My family wasn't very active or out-doorsy when I was growing up so despite having lived in the Pacific Northwest all my life, I have reached the age of fifty-five with little to no experience of essential activities like camping, hiking, fishing and kayaking. I even got hooked on bicycling late in life. Now I'm trying to make up for lost time.

So this Saturday's bike-ride, about 26 miles round-trip from Ferndale to Fairhaven, led to the Community Boat Center, for a three-hour Intro to Sea Kayaking class.




We were a group of about ten adults, mostly with very little (or no) kayaking experience. Two friendly and knowledgeable instructors, Jen and Mike, gave a brief but thorough demonstration and safety lecture, showing us the two-person boats and various accessories, explaining how to get in and out of the boats, paddle, steer and so forth.

The boat launch

After taking a few photos of the Boat Center, the launch area, and the boats, I put my camera away in a ziploc baggie to concentrate on kayaking.

We paddled underneath Taylor Dock and the boardwalk, zig-zagging around the pilings to practice steering. We stayed pretty close to shore as we passed Boulevard Park, landing on the little beach at the north end of the park. After a ten or twenty minute rest break we re-launched from the beach to head back, making about a two-mile round-trip. This time we got a little further from shore, crossed some boat wakes, and found some choppy water to play in near the dry docks and barges in the Fairhaven shipyards.

The End

It was a pretty brief trip, but my biceps were beginning to get a bit sore by the end. Still, I think kayaking might be a good cross-training antidote to some of the over-use strains or injury associated with bicycling. Sitting with my legs stuck out in front of me turned out be be surprisingly comfortable, considering how tight my hamstrings can be. Plus, I was sitting up with my back straight, mostly holding the paddle at chest-to-shoulder height, which seemed to help unkink my neck and upper spine, and the paddling movement loosened up my shoulders.

I had registered for this class in August, but had to cancel on short notice after I caught the flu. The folks at the Boating Center very kindly let me reschedule for September. Today was the last monthly class of the summer, though they may still have classes in the fall, as long as this perfect, idyllic weather lasts. There are some other events planned, like moonlight paddles, and I would love to do more kayaking as long as I can arrange access to boats, and buddies to paddle with. It's so hard to find people to play with when you're over fifty. Sigh.