Kayaking 101 on Seattle's Lake Union

The rest of my classmates returning to dock.

Sunday morning I stepped out of my comfort zone and into a kayak. As part of a bucket list of sorts, I ventured down to Seattle’s Lake Union to attend a basic strokes kayaking class held at Northwest Outdoor Center.

I was nervous and equally excited.

This is the first time I’ve done a water activity. There’s no jet skiing, wakeboarding, canoeing, etc. in my repertoire so this was truly a new adventure for me.
After donning a rain skirt (it works as a seal keeping water out of the kayak) and a life jacket one of the instructors picked a kayak for me. He made sure it was the right fit and showed me how to position my legs once inside. Other people arrived for the class and soon we all turned our attention to one of the instructors for an overview of how to get in the kayak, proper paddle position for your hands, and how to do a forward stroke.



Post kayaking class.

Once inside the kayak my first thought was, “Whoa, I’m really doing this!!!” I think it’s safe to say that I was the most excited person there. That could be because they’d already had some experience with kayaking so this wasn’t a novel experience or because of their personalities or because I’m easily enthused. It’s probably a combination of all three.

Unlike a boat, in a kayak you’re sitting right on top of the water which took some getting used to. We paddled away from the dock and gathered somewhat close to the middle of the lake. When it was time to paddle down a bit further I ran into trouble. The wind kept pushing me to the right so I was having trouble paddling straight ahead. My problems continued while the rest of the small group forged ahead seemingly smoothly.

I felt like a fish out of water.

How was I the ONLY one basically treading water?!?! *shakes fist in the air*

Thankfully the second instructor stayed behind while I made my way towards the rest of the group. She was patient, kind, and encouraging. Surely I wasn’t the first person who had trouble their first time out on the water in a long narrow boat. At one point the group seemed so far away I didn’t think I was going to make it but patience, persistence, and guidance paid off.

After reuniting with my classmates the instructors taught us how to paddle backwards, we did some drills like paddling in a figure eight, moving side to side, and water rescues. In between these lessons I took the opportunity to check out my surroundings. It’s so peaceful on the water. A duck and her three ducklings swam by us, several sea planes took off and landed, plus many boats rode by.

After the lessons we headed back towards the dock but paddled past it since there was plenty of time left. This time around I felt like I’d finally gotten my sea legs (YES!). I was comfortable, relaxed, and tried not to give too much thought to how deep the water was. The instructor also pointed out the boat house used in the filming of Sleepless in Seattle (so cool!).

As we made our way back to the dock I thought of a story I covered back in Myrtle Beach, SC for WPDE back in the spring of 2012. At the time Lewis Colam traveled solo in a row boat on the Intracoastal Waterway from Miami to New York City to raise money for Alzheimer’s disease research. When he stopped to talk with me he was at the halfway point of his trip and his body had started breaking down. Lewis came to mind because I now know firsthand just how much effort he put into his venture. With no motor he used his strength, ingenuity, and perseverance to complete his mission. In the end he traveled 1,800 miles and raised $30,000.

I’m so glad I took this class. It was a wonderful experience. I learned a lot, had fun, and experienced something new. I’ll be going back on the water again soon. The Pacific Northwest is a mecca for all things outdoorsy and it's growing on me.

"I learned that the richness of life is found in adventure...It develops self-reliance and independence. Life then teems with excitement. There is stagnation only in security."

-William Orville Douglas