Canyon Lake on Labor Day Weekend
My camera took a coffee bath when I got rear-ended on the way to work last week so I don’t have any pictures. Hopefully the other driver’s insurance will come through with enough cash to get a nicer one.
We hit the lake early yesterday morning to beat the rush (which never really happened). A few friends from church joined us and we swam and paddled our way through a restful day.
Bill and two of his sons took the kayaks out and had a fun time. I think he might have been bitten by the bug and may soon experience the challenges of building a kayak and keeping the wife happy.
Bill did very well paddling my kayak and didn’t dump it once. His son, Hayden, took to it like most kids and was quickly pushing his mother’s comfort zone. He dumped Hannah’s kayak a few times but managed to self rescue and paddle back to shore. He also took mine out and while he liked the stability, he thought it was too hard to turn.
I practiced carving a turn for a while and managed to sit on an edge long enough to bring the bow around a little. I’m getting a much better feel for the edge of stabilty and only pushed it too far once. I also practiced self rescue using the paddle as an outrigger. I managed to wet exit and get back in the boat in water over my head. By the time the spray skirt was back in place there was about 3-4″ of water in the boat and it was a real challenge to remain upright. A bilge pump would have been handy and the paddle should provide enough stability to use it.