Sea Kayaking

Sea kayaking gets you close to things you might never otherwise approach. It is possible to kayak with killer whales, paddle with penguins or splash along with sea lions. My own favourite moment was when all the bored fur seals on a Namibian beach left in one huge, hairy sealalanche and tumbled into the water only to reappear all around my boat, turning cartwheels and launching themselves clean over the kayak. Well, most of them made it clean over. One landed flat on the deck leaving it and me staring at each other in mutually be-whiskered bewilderment.

You don't have to have the wildlife cameo appearances to appreciate the beauty of sea kayaking, however. The simple pleasure of slicing gently through the waves under your own near-silent power is astonishingly soothing. Kayaks are a lot more stable than they look, and while true mastery takes time, simply getting a grip on the skill of kayaking takes mere minutes, so it is an excellent sport for perfectionists and perfect beginners alike. Be warned, though. If you're not used to paddling as a means of transport then you may find it surprisingly tiring. A couple of hours is usually more than enough for most beginners so don't sign up for that full day outing without trying a shorter jaunt first.

Since sea kayaks usually have more room to manoeuvre in than their fresh-water siblings they don't need to be so manoeuvrable, which means they can be more stable. They tend to be longer, leaner and with a tail rudder operated by foot pedals which rather conveniently means that you press right to turn right, and left to turn left. If you don't happen to have a rudder and pedals then you will need to steer as for any other kayak using the paddle strokes themselves.

Sea kayaks come in a number of flavours including 'sit on' for quick jaunts in relatively flat water, and 'sit in' where you have a moulded bucket seat below the level of the deck. In difficult conditions the sit in versions may also have a full rubberised spray deck which goes around your waist (like a kilt for perverts) and clips onto the kayak. Two-man kayaks make the most efficient use of energy, though a bit like waterborne tandems they can also lead to spectacular domestic rows about who is doing the paddling/how well you steer, whatever. Bear in mind that in two-person canoes without rudders it is generally the person at the back who does the steering (while the person in front paddles for dear life), while those equipped with pedals often have them so that the front paddler steers.

Remember that while there are kayaks designed for flirting with breaking waves (often with a curious flared bow a little like a mini-aircraft carrier) most sea kayaks are not designed to deal with surf, so don't be tempted to follow the surf 'slippers' into the breakers. If you have to launch and land through mild surf then aim straight into it and push on through it as fast as you can.

Some people seem to be able to cruise smoothly all day and others get tired in minutes. Personal fitness aside, a lot of this is down to stroke efficiency so whether you're an improver looking to get faster, or a beginner looking to save energy it pays to paddle straight. Just because you've got a rudder it doesn't mean that you should be using it all the time to correct the imbalance in your stroke. Instead aim to place the paddle as close to the side of the kayak as you can and keep the stroke in line with the centre line of the boat. Movement out to the side will create a greater turning force which you then have to counterbalance, wasting energy in the process. The more you put the paddle in to the water out to the side the greater the turning force. Another way to try and learn good habits is to insist on a shorter paddle. Try it and see how much energy you save from creating less turn in your stroke.


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