Yakety yak..... - Axiom Message Boards

Any Kayakers out there?

I'm just beginning to enjoy kayaking in the non-white water, non-ocean, cruising on the gentle river sorta way. I've only been out 5-6 times, but picked up a new Kayak last night that is much more comfortable than the one I first bought.

Joyce and I went out on the Merrimack this morning, just after dawn, when the it's still cool out and a mist hangs on the water's surface. This section of the Merrimack is extremely slow moving, shallow, and wide. We were gliding past Herons and Mallards, watching for deer on the shores.

Very, very relaxing and stress reducing!

Did you bring the camera? Pictures would be great.

I don't have a camera/lens combo that I can afford to put in the drink if I lose my balance, and I don't think
I'm stable enough in the new kayak to look through a viewfinder and long lens without ending up with exactly that result!

Oh just get a point-and-shoot, you snob!

If you like flatwater kayaking, I highly recommend beyond the breakers sea-kayaking, too. My wife got me into it a few years back. She was an instructor back in California. We did a kayaking / camping trip on one of the Channel Islands (off the coast of SoCal) a couple years back that was wonderful.

Now, we regularly kayak on the Potomac not far from our house.

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Did you bring the camera? Pictures would be great.

Yeah, Mark, we'd definitely like to see pics! Sounds like a wonderful morning. It's probably been a good ten years since I've been out in a kayak. I remember after the first time I did an all day trip I could hardly lift my hands over my head the next day.

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Any Kayakers out there?

You betcha!!
I've been sea kayaking for 11 or 12 years now. There was only 2 or 3 of us in the province back then. In fact, for the first couple of years, I kept getting men in fishing boats motoring up to me and asking if I was an Eskimo. One kind old fellow was convinced I had drifted to far away from the beach in my little 'contraption' and was insisting he take me back in. Now they are on every second car roof that goes by.

I've never grown tired of kayaking. Depending on the day or your mood, you can relax in serene, mirror like, flat water or if you feel adventurous, you can take it surfing out in the waves. Yup, they surf just like a surfboard except you are sitting down. Better yet, you can easily store a few days to a weeks camping gear in a sea kayak and have it stay dry. The volume depends on the size of boat. I have one long, 19' Seaward Quest, fast boat for relaxing and camping expeditions and my wifes boat, 16' Necky Chatham, has little room for gear because of it's flatter profile but is much more fun to play in the waves with.

If you ever travel to the east coast, I'd be extremely happy to take you on a tour around our sandy beaches and our unique red cliffs. Lobster is dirt cheap this time of year too. I usually hide a pot and MSR stove in my boat for lobster, mussels, or digging clams.

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I don't have a camera/lens combo that I can afford to put in the drink if I lose my balance, and I don't think
I'm stable enough in the new kayak to look through a viewfinder and long lens without ending up with exactly that result!

I think you need something from here, Mark