Practice Session
Ten of us met this morning at Kiddie Beach for an 0900 launch in blue bird weather. Actually, it was 10 full boats and two half boats if I am not mistaken. Our goal: to practice what we should do better in THE POND outside of Channel Islands Harbor. It was much nicer than the weather people predicted--the sun was shining, the sky clear and there was but a whisper of a breeze over the water. The surf was light for most of the morning. The only draw back was the icky water and flotsam floating and the foam washing up on the beach. At first the water temperature seemed cold but the more we got wet the less we noticed the temperature.

Once in the Pond we split up into groups of various sizes doing a variety of things all to do with "what to do when the going gets rough." Some of us concentrated on our rolls, others on learning and developing bracing skills in the various surf models that exist along the beach. We practiced our exits and self rescues and assisted rescues. We practiced different methods of rescuing a swimmer and paddling him/her back to shore or to another boat.

Most of us ended up by spending some time in the surf zone doing a little surfing and side surfing and swimming and swimming in with our boats.

All in all we spent over 3 hours doing a lot of things from the very basic to that which probably should be very basic. There was even a new face to join the group. It was a morning well spent with much learned, much relearned and basic skills developed just a little more.

We ended up at Big Daddy-O's for food where our worst fears of the day were realized--HE WAS OUT OF HIS BARBECUED TRI-TIP." While the hamburgers and other food is great his tri-tip is the best.

We regret that we did not see a lot of new faces or more beginners. These practice days are for all skill levels and we will have more of them in the future. These events are a great place to practice what you may have learned in class or from a book but were either afraid of failure and/or embarasement. This is the place to learn and practice without fear of ridicule or laughter at your abilities or lack thereof. Some of us are rather well known, in fiction if not reality, for falling out or our boats or extending ourselves beyond our present skill level for there is no other way to learn. Our objective is to make kayaking as safe as possible for all participants.

    Mike Brown

Submitted on February 24, 2002