[Paddlewise] Swimming in a kayak

> However, I have yet to master swimming with the kayak. For some reason,
> I have trouble keeping my nostrils above water.
> 
The trick is not to keep you nostrils up all the time, but every
two strokes. I push backwards  (to move forward) two times,
and on the third stroke I push down to get my mouth out of the water
and breath. It is important to keep the rythm if you want to cover
a long distance.

One thing that one has to watch for, though, is that after swimming
several yards, your position in the kayak might not be ideal for
rolling up. Your hips and knees are very likely to move out of their
contact points with the kayak. Some people have swam out of their
kayak while attempting this maneuver.

For starters, I suggest to try the following before swimming.
Extend your arms, and fall on the water with your face down. You
should notice that your body does not go under the kayak, bur rather
you are just floating face down, and the back of you PFD is actually
on the air. Do this with someone close, so that you can grab his/her
kayak's bow, and get up again; relax, you do not want this test to be
a traumatic experience. :-)

Then, do the same thing again, but now try to swim slowly. Pretty
soon you will realize that you can do a downward stroke to get
your head out of the water for 4 of 5 seconds.

- Julio
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