Re: [Paddlewise] Unreasonable fear

At 09:26 PM 3/12/00 -0500, Bill wrote:
>I experienced something yesterday that substantially shook the foundations of
>my confidence. Thought it might be interesting to recount here.
>
...
>But recently, I decided to learn kayaking. The first short experiences were
>exhilarating... till yesterday. I finally met fear head on.
>

>Not really being *into* this sport yet, we're renting boats from a local
>dealer. Well, we went with a group of about 15 people for our first serious
>open water outing. The instructor had an earache, was in a bad mood, and
>generally seemed to just want to get this trip over with. I was given a
>smaller (shorter and narrower) boat than I had been in previously... and one
>with a very rounded bottom. And my 6'-5" frame barely squeezed into the
>cockpit. But I figured he knew what he was doing in assigning me this craft.

That was your first mistake.  If you were uncomfortable in the boat that
you were "assigned" you should have said something.   As a customer,  you
should dictate which boat you want to paddle or which you would prefer not
to.   


>The wind was high, the waves were up (in my opinion anyway) but we headed out.
>We weren't 200 yards offshore when I felt something was seriously wrong. The
>kayak was far too tipsy and unstable. I should have ignored the
>"encouragement" voiced across the waves by the instructor that I "would get
>the feel of it soon". I never did. 

Something nobody has mentioned so far is how your fear and the kayak you
were in being tipsy and unstable might be related.   When you sensed that
something was wrong, did you by chance start to feel anxious and tighten up
a bit.   If you did, that probably had as much to do with the "tippiness"
as the design of the hull.   Next time you get ready to paddle a kayak that
you haven't been in before, take a little extra time to loosen up.  Stretch
out your muscles by putting the paddle behind your neck with your hands on
the shaft and strech out side to side.  Swivel your hips back and forth and
rotate your arms to get everything loose.  Then when you get in the boat,
have someone pull along each side of you, and hold your paddle out in front
of you so that it's over the deck of both boats.  Then start rocking the
boat with your hips, keeping your upper body straight up and down.  Really
get those hips loose.

Now, remember to keep them that way when you start to encounter rougher
water.  As long as you keep your hips loose,  you can ride over some pretty
good size waves,   Once you let your fear start to tighten up your body
it'll just make for a rougher ride.  

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