Saturday, January 21, 2006

Kayaking in the Surf


It was another unusually warm day today (in the high 50s!), so why not go in the ocean? The water temperature is still quite cold - about 42F - but that didn't seem to bother a friend of mine (pictured above). He just wore a cotton shirt, shorts, and the obligatory life jacket (apparantly he's not that crazy - thankfully he wears the life jacket). I don't know how he can stand the cold water. I completely bundled up in a cold-water wet suit, thick rubber boots, gloves, a waterproof jacket, etc.



The surf was pretty good - we had lots of fun riding the waves and getting dumped in the water. It's very tiring though. We only stayed on the water for about an hour and a half. By that point our arms were exhausted. The tiring part is mostly the paddle out. To get out far enough to ride a wave back in, you have to paddle head-on into a series of waves that crash over you.

All in all, a very fun time. The one nagging thing is it just seems so wrong for it to be so warm this time of year. It felt more like May than January. I miss the winter weather.