Kayaking is an activity that forces you to become one with the water in ways that are impossible with larger boats. For one, your seat is often times beneath the surface, which brings you approximately to eye level with most of the seabirds and wildlife you will encounter. You also are given only a double-bladed paddle for propulsion, which gives your arms a chance to really prove their worth and also allows you to move almost noiselessly across the water (making bird and animal-watching a breeze). The water flows by only a couple of feet below your head, letting you see depths and variations that are missed when flying over the surface in a motorized option.
Wandering the Puget Sound on a sea kayak has given me some of my fondest outdoor memories, from sneaking up on a chubby pile of sea lions basking on a raft (only to take a quick picture, then run from their very distinctive odor) to riding the surf in the islands near Vancouver, Canada, to packing every available space with camping gear for an extended trip out to Blake Island.
I highly recommend that people new to the area or new to the outdoors give sea kayaking a try. You don’t need a helmet (that’s whitewater kayaking, which is also very fun but a bit more dangerous), it’s actually difficult to fall over (and we have people who can help you get back in), and the experience will bring you closer to the water and all its inhabitants than you’ve ever been before! The only trick is getting in and out of your boat (a.k.a. second skin that happens to be waterproof and aerodynamic), but we’ll show you the tricks. Here is some photographic campaigning to get you to try on a spray skirt and hop in:
(pardon the photo quality – most of these were taken by my camera phone in an attempt to not lose any more digital cameras to the deep)
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