Sunday 1 Dec, things were very rough to venture far so I did an hour of surf practice in 20-30 mph winds and 2 3 feet waves very continuous and choppy. Capsized 4 times. Two successful extended rolls, and two successful “sand push” rolls. Some good braces to avoid broaching with direction recovery and final sand landing. Some paddle rudder landings. Just a ball. Temperature 65 ° C and water temp about the same.

On Sunday 8 Dec, made a 12.4 mile solo trip from Coatzacoalcos to El Jicacal nice sea water lagoon (N 18° 12.47´ W94° 36.56´) in a 290° West North West direction. I learned some things that decided to share with some that, as myself, are developing the skills of sea kayaking.

It was the tail of a cold front. Northerly winds had diminished to 10-15 mph and sea swell was 3 5 feet, as announced in the Weather Channel. Took me 2:55 hours of mostly straight line paddling, averaging 3.3 3.4 knots. This is the short cut of a slowly turning to North coast line. Wind and waves were N-NE and swell would often hide the shore line after passing by.

In this context, while paddling my old Performa, with mostly side and eventually back quarter waves, I concluded that:

1. You must have fair braces that work almost automatically. Without them chances of swimming are high. I had two close calls, one on each side, with water above my elbows. Saw no boats, no dolphins, no sharks, just the sea and myself. Only ships and one Oil Rig faraway to my right and the small shore line to my left.

2. Paddling in shaky waters can be done as if paddling in flat water after some practice. Last year in Veracruz I spent more time balancing and less moving forward. This time I made full torso rotation, foot pushing and strong strokes and found it very reliable and exciting. Specially when a wave lifts the stern, then you profit by pulling hard and gaining some momentum.

3. This is possible because body learns to react naturally to keep balance but, another interesting thing is this. If you loose balance in the middle of a stroke it is possible, and becomes a subtle motion, to use the paddle shaft as support to pull or push yourself sideways, by means of small hip rotation to recover balance while still paddling. No need to end the stroke and get the paddle out for a brace.

   It seems to me that it builds naturally on you, and suddenly you realize it in the same manner a baby discovers that the moving foot in front of him is his.

4. Time to stiffening grows with practice. After 2 and half hours the body reactions seemed to be slower. Stiffening should reduce ability to perform. Attention was paid when ready to surf land. No big deal but a tendency was noticed. I guess accidents occur mostly after fatigue takes over, and hip looseness, torso rotation and knee lifting are diminished.

What to do? Get in there, add hours to your log book. Also, play a lot in the surf. It aids to balance and improves reaction speed and automatic bracing, and one can always reach land easily in case of problems.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to Everybody, and wish you a full prosperous paddling year.

    Rafael Mier-Maza
    El cayuco chief

Rafael Mier Maza's Photos - Rafael shares pictures related to his various trip reports.