[Paddlewise] Vertigo?

I've been sea kayaking for around 11 years. I paddle on the Pacific Ocean,
and on San Francisco Bay, and I'm accustomed to wind, waves, and surf. About
a year ago I started paddling a surf ski. My surf ski is a Twogood Offshore.
It's about 18 1/2 feet long, and 19 inches wide. I've been paddling it in
the Princeton Harbor (near Half Moon Bay, south of SF) in a variety of
conditions including wind and chop. I'm pretty comfortable on it in the
harbor, and haven't capsized in a long time. However, I have this problem.
When I paddle out of the harbor, as soon as I'm beyond the protective arms
of the breakwater I start getting extremely tense and uncomfortable. As I
get tense I'm less stable on the boat, and therefore become more tense. I
get so tense I just turn around and return to the harbor. Similarly, just
yesterday I paddled the Offshore in its first race. It was a 7-nautical mile
course running north of Coyote Pt. on SF Bay, and back again. The morning
was windless and the water was as flat as a mirror. Piece of cake, right?
Wrong. Looking over the expanse of water softened by haze, with no nearby
landmarks, again I became tense. I did the best I could, focusing my sight
on a nearby paddler. On the way back I asked another paddler if I could
paddle with him, just so I could have someone to look at as we paddled. If I
looked over my left shoulder, and out into the empty flat gray bay, I had a
sensation that could only be compared with looking into a deep elevator
shaft, or over a sheer cliff into infinity. I felt I was loosing my balance.
On a 19-inch boat this is not a welcome feeling.
Has anyone had similar experiences? I'd like to overcome this problem so I
can enjoy paddling my surfski in open water. I think it also colors my
paddling experience in my more stable touring kayak. My husband suggested
hypnotism. Any other ideas about how to get over this?
Thanks for your insights.
Barbara

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Barbara Kossy
Sea Kayak Italy
P.O. Box 434
Moss Beach, CA 94038
650-728-8720
fax: 650-728-8753
bkossy_at_igc.org
www.seakayakitaly.com
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