Mixed Use

Me:  wool cap and hood, three layers under my jacket, silk longjohns, and gloves on except when I took a foto.  Then surprise:  a half dozen kayakers paddling south toward the Narrows:  I hope they have drysuits, winter paddling gloves, wool toques, advanced paddling skills, and local knowledge.  Like me the hiker, the paddlers were out for exercise.  Here the lead kayak passes dredger Padre Island and Torm Emilie.

Kayaking was once my obsession;  scroll through this post to see me in my kayak 15 years ago.   Below more of the group paddles past Tavrichesky Bridge and  Kimberly Turecamo.

When I paddled, I was conservative and cautious, yet I did have a capsize that scared me.  Obviously, I survived, but it made me even my conservative in the challenges I undertook.  I still kayak when I can, but not here.  I dismissed the sixth boro as a paddling area.

I’ll bet you’re looking for a kayak in this foto.

There’s no kayak there, but expecting the unexpected–in no matter what activity–is essential.

From today’s NY Times magazine “Lives” section, here’s a cautionary tale of kayakers who under-estimate the challenge and who get rescued by “good samaritans”  with something themselves to hide.  Makes a good five-minute read.

All fotos by Will Van Dorp.

Related:  For fotos taken from one of those kayaks by Vlad, click here.

Unrelated:  Check out Fremont Tugboat Company blog to see how things look in the Pacific Northwest; I especially like the log barges.