Shira's turn kayaking

Since I took Ben out last week kayaking, it was time take Shira out paddling. She was so excited to finally get to go. We grabbed the last sit in tandem on the dock. We quickly outfitted her with a PFD and gave her the same paddle that Ben used (the one with a smiley face).

I gave her a quick lesson in paddling, and off we went. We headed first to the bait barge, and got to see a nice seal barking away on a buoy. We made our way toward Seaworld, with Shira joyfully commenting on everything she saw. The water show was not preforming yet, so we made our way back toward to the dock. There was a fair amount of boat traffic, so got to enjoy quite a few wakes. Shira loved bouncing through the waves. She kept looking for more wakes to go bouncing over.

We passed the entrance to the basin, and took a look out the channel to explain where the water comes from. We headed back into basin, and slip under the new Lifeguard docks before heading to the Aqua-Adventure docks.

We got out of the kayak with no problems. Shira helped sponge out the kayak from the paddle, while I went and helped to paddlers exit their boats. She loved it. The best part was later when Ben asked me if Shira had a great time paddling. It was very sweet of him.

Ben goes kayaking

Last Sunday, I had a chance to take my son on his first paddling adventure. We rented a double from Aqua Adventures and headed out into Mission Bay. He LOVED it. I thought it was so cool. We did a quick loop through Mariner's Cove, then headed out toward Sea World. We watched part of the show from the water. On the way, a decent wake passed by and I was able to ride it a bit, much to Ben's delight.

Before returning to the dock, I headed into the turning basin, so I could show him the channel to the ocean.

Next time, Shira.

Transparent Canoe

This would be a fun rental in the topics.

Available from clearinflatablekayak.com

Back on the water!

Well last Friday afternoon, I decided to leave work a bit early and hit the water. The elbow seems to have calmed down and I wanted to see how it would handle the stress of paddling. I dusted off my kayak and headed down to Bahia Point. I slipped into the water and felt a warm happy feeling as the water passed under my keel.

I headed south toward Mariner's Cove. The winds were light and the seas calm. I decided to head out the channel just to see how I was doing. I paddling slow than I normal do, and watching my mechanics very closely. I also took a few more breaks, just to be safe. The seas were very calm as I pointed my bow toward the buoy at the end of the channel. After 'talking' with the seals resting on the buoy, I was tempted to head down and around the O.B. pier, but thought I would rather play it safe.

Unfortunately, there was no swell, so the paddle back down the channel was without any assistance from King Neptune. Soon, I was landing on the sand at Bahia Point.

The elbow felt pretty good. I had a little soreness the next day, but by Sunday it seemed to be ok.

So, I'll see you on the water!