I didn't go down with the ship, or in this case, the kayak

(c)2023 Douglas W Davis
@DWDavis (25797)
United States
July 22, 2023 12:01pm CST
This morning, two other members of my camping club and I got up early to go kayaking on the lake. The waterfront opens at 7:30 and we were there and on the water by 7:50. The lake was calm and peaceful. The sky was overcast. The air was the coolest it's been in days. Perfect weather for a nice paddle on the lake. We were enjoying spotting turtles, heron, and dragonflies, admiring the lily pads, greeting other kayakers and canoers enjoying the quiet of the morning when, after nearly an hour on the water, one of my companions noticed one of the air tubes on my inflatable kayak was loosing air. It soon became clear that a prompt return to the landing was in order. Fortunately, because we'd paddled a cove upstream from the landing first and then made our way downstream, getting back didn't take long. I was able to beach the kayak before it started taking on water. I have a tedious repair job ahead of me when we get back from this camping trip. I have to find and patch the leak in the port side (left) tube. Maybe it's time to start looking for a solid hulled kayak. Do you enjoy kayaking or canoeing? Have you ever been on a sinking boat?
9 people like this
9 responses
DE
@DaddyEvil (174590)
• United States
22 Jul 23
Pretty and I used to go canoeing several times every Summer. Sometimes we'd take friends with us. Once, I rented a kayak and discovered I couldn't sit like that for long without my back screaming at me... Luckily, we had gone with a big group of friends so everyone took turns in the kayak so I wasn't crippled by the time we got seven miles down the river. We usually go tubing on Lower Flat Creek once a year but haven't felt like getting out this year. Up until the pandemic, we would go swimming at night on Table Rock Lake... During the pandemic, the lake was closed for any type of water sports. We haven't tried going swimming since the lake was opened back up last year.
2 people like this
DW Davis
@DWDavis (25797)
• United States
23 Jul 23
I've actually rigged up a stadium chair in my kayak and it helps a lot with my back. I hope you get to go swimming in the lake soon. During my time in New Hampshire, I enjoyed swimming in the lakes up there. They were nice and clear.
2 people like this
DE
@DaddyEvil (174590)
• United States
23 Jul 23
@DWDavis When we were at the lake last Fall, the Parks Department hadn't even cleared the brush back from the lake so there was no longer a path to the water. We haven't gone this year so I don't know if they cleared the path this year or not. If they don't clear the path, I know there are snakes through there.
1 person likes this
Judy Evans
@JudyEv (382328)
• Rockingham, Australia
23 Jul 23
That would be a nightmare for me as I can barely swim at all. I think I'd be looking for something a bit less likely to spring a leak.
1 person likes this
DW Davis
@DWDavis (25797)
• United States
23 Jul 23
I have used this kayak several times without problems. Hopefully, I can fix this leak and keep using it for another season or two. Eventually, I will probably by a solid hulled kayak, but that would mean buying a special rack for the camper to transport it.
1 person likes this
DW Davis
@DWDavis (25797)
• United States
24 Jul 23
@JudyEv K hinted that a new kayak was a possibility because I have a birthday coming up soon. That was before she remembered I just bought a new laptop.
1 person likes this
Judy Evans
@JudyEv (382328)
• Rockingham, Australia
23 Jul 23
@DWDavis Each decision can bring its own problems sometimes.
1 person likes this
OceanTiara
@RebeccasFarm (91297)
• United States
23 Jul 23
You did good then DW..I had never kayaked only pontooned when I was a kid and also punting down the River Thames in Oxford. I been on speed boats and fishing boats too.
1 person likes this
OceanTiara
@RebeccasFarm (91297)
• United States
24 Jul 23
@DWDavis Oh I tubed too forgot about that one. lol..yeah I may sink too now
1 person likes this
DW Davis
@DWDavis (25797)
• United States
24 Jul 23
I've canoed, sailed, power boated, tubed, and kayaked on lakes, oceans, rivers, and ponds since I was a kid. This is the first time I had to worry about sinking.
1 person likes this
Lenore Plassman
@sallypup (69204)
• Centralia, Washington
23 Jul 23
One of my brothers talked about over turning his kayak in a stream and almost drowning. I don't think I could get into a canoe now but that glorious moment of living among dragonflies and turtles sounds sweet.
1 person likes this
DW Davis
@DWDavis (25797)
• United States
23 Jul 23
The kayak I use has an open cockpit. I would feel trapped in one that closed over my legs. One of the nicest things about paddling a kayak in calm water is the quiet, serene moments with nature.
Kharla Jolly
@kobesbuddy (78833)
• East Tawas, Michigan
22 Jul 23
No, I've never been in a canoe or a kayak. My cousin Sharon and her husband Don, they enjoy this type of entertainment, also. I'm glad you weren't overtaken by water and didn't sink.
1 person likes this
DW Davis
@DWDavis (25797)
• United States
22 Jul 23
I am, too, as that lake is not one I'd necessarily like to have to swim in. It is fine for paddling on, but not for swimming in.
1 person likes this
Kharla Jolly
@kobesbuddy (78833)
• East Tawas, Michigan
22 Jul 23
@DWDavis Tawas Lake is the same, it's fine for fishing or boating. But, it's basically a shallow pond, trimmed with water lilies, frogs, turtles and a slim coated bottom. People would have to be crazy, considering it for swimming! It's more like a swamp.
1 person likes this
LindaOH
@LindaOHio (222624)
• United States
23 Jul 23
I'm sorry your kayak needs to be repaired. No, I'm not much for kayaking or canoeing. I've never been on a sinking boat but I was on a beached boat. When my husband and I first started dating, we were out on Lake Erie in a small flat-bottomed boat. He let me run the till for a while; and I ran the boat into the beach. He said I was lucky I didn't ruin the motor because we could still be there. Enjoy your day!
1 person likes this
DW Davis
@DWDavis (25797)
• United States
24 Jul 23
I wrote a short story about a boy who got his boat stuck on a mudflat at low tide and had to wait hours in the dark for the high tide to rise enough to lift the boat.
1 person likes this
LindaOH
@LindaOHio (222624)
• United States
25 Jul 23
@DWDavis That would have been us...except we would still be there!
1 person likes this
Amber
@AmbiePam (120949)
• United States
22 Jul 23
The one time I went in a canoe I had a good time. It wasn’t extremely hot, and it was with family, so we all had a good time. I’m glad you made it back without it deflating too much!
1 person likes this
DW Davis
@DWDavis (25797)
• United States
22 Jul 23
We had a canoe for a while. The boys and I would take it to lakes and ponds near the house and fish. We sold it after a couple of years passed without it seeing much use.
1 person likes this
snowy
@snowy22315 (209054)
• United States
22 Jul 23
I do, and just bought an inflatable one not long ago. However, inflating this thing has a gazillion steps and you would have to be an engineer to do it. It isnt just a simple blow up job like a raft. I am going to return it. It is a good thing you got back to shore, not sure if you are on the Swift Creek Resvoir but someone just drown there a couple of weeks ago.
1 person likes this
DW Davis
@DWDavis (25797)
• United States
22 Jul 23
The lake we were on was Swift Creek Lake in Pocahontas State Park. My kayak has 3 separate chambers to inflate: the floor, and each sidewall. There is also an inflatable seat but I use a stadium seat instead as it is more sturdy.
Eva James
@wolfgirl569 (135881)
• Marion, Ohio
22 Jul 23
Never been out on one
1 person likes this
DW Davis
@DWDavis (25797)
• United States
23 Jul 23
I had often been canoeing, but this kayak is my first. I have paddled in it several times. Hopefully, I can fix the leak and be back on the water by our next campout.
1 person likes this