Authors: Bill Myers
As I put the final boat in position, Sarah said, “Good job. Now, put a life-jacket and paddle in each boat.”
While I was doing this, two more ladies arrived. Both looked to be in their mid-fifties.
Sarah introduced me again, “Ladies this is Walker. He's our gopher today. If you need anything involving muscle, ask him.
“If you have questions about kayaking or safety, ask me.
“We're going to start our training in about ten minutes. The training will last about two hours. We'll do about 30 minutes on-shore, then about an hour in the water.
During the water sessions, you're going to get your feet and legs wet. So be sure to wear shoes that you don't mind getting wet.
“There's a bathroom in the pavilion over there. If you need to use it, now is a good time. If you haven't applied sunscreen, do it now. If you didn't bring sunscreen, I've got some in the truck.
“Any questions?”
One of the ladies raised her hand. “Are there sharks or alligators in the water?”
“Nope, no sharks or alligators in these waters.”
Another lady raised her hand. “Should I wear my swim suit?”
Sarah smiled, “The water's a little cool for swimming, but the sun will warm us up later on. So if you brought your swim suit, feel free to wear it.”
The lady who asked the first question raised her hand again, “Why is Walker wearing jeans? Isn't he going to get in the water?”
Sarah laughed, “Walker is wearing jeans because he just arrived in Florida yesterday, and he didn't have sense enough to bring shorts with him.
“And don't worry about him. I'm taking him shopping later today to get some Florida clothes.”
The women laughed.
Sarah continued, “Okay ladies, we'll be starting in ten minutes. If you need to change or use the restrooms, do it now. If you have valuables in your car, put them in the trunk. And lock your cars.”
The women took off toward their cars. And then the pavilion.
Kaye, the woman who had asked about wearing a bathing suit, was the first one back. She had on a skimpy two piece suit which revealed a surprisingly nice body for a woman in her late forties.
The other women returned wearing shorts and t-shirts.
Sarah stood in front of the women and said, “Let's get started.”
For the first ten minutes, Sarah explained the basics of kayaking. Then she showed the features of each boat.
She explained that Florida law required kayakers have a life-jacket, either on or within reach in the boat. And a sound-producing device like a whistle, also in easy reach.
She then showed how to put on and adjust the life jackets found in each boat. She also showed how to use the whistle which was attached by a cord to each jacket.
“Now that we've covered the basics, choose the boat you want to use today. They're all the same except color.”
We'd brought six boats. Enough for everyone in the class, plus one for Sarah and one for me. The women took their time examining each of the boats, trying to find just the right one. Eventually, each settled on their chosen boat.
Sarah had been through this before and gave them time to make their selections. When they were ready, she said, “OK, now that you've chosen your boat, put on the life jacket you'll find in your boat. I'll come around and check each of you to make sure it's on correctly.”
With their life jackets securely on, Sarah continued her training for another twenty minutes. She stood in the water and showed her students how to safely get in and out of a kayak. How to keep from rolling over. How to get back in should they fall out in deep water.
After the safety lessons, she showed how to paddle efficiently, how to keep dry when paddling, and how to hold the paddle to keep from getting blisters.
Then she said, “OK ladies, time for you to get in your boats and paddle out to me. Take your time and do it just like I showed you. Walker will be on shore to help you if you run into problems.”
Each of the ladies got into their boats and with a little effort, were able to launch into the water and paddle out to Sarah.
I got into the remaining boat and joined the class on the water.
Sarah said, “OK, we're going to paddle single file over to the mangroves and stop there. I'll lead the way and Walker will bring up the rear.
“If you have any problems, blow your whistle and I'll come back to assist you.
“Any questions?”
No one spoke up.
“OK, let's head out. Follow me, and try to paddle the way I showed you.
Sarah turned and slowly paddled, staying close to the shore and avoiding the center of the bay where boat traffic was starting to pick up.
Three of her four students followed her closely. But one, the lady in the swim suit lagged back.
I quickly caught up with her, “We need to stay close to the group. Stay up with Sarah.”
“Walker? That's what Sarah said your name was. I'm Kaye.”
“Glad to meet you Kaye. Let's catch up with the rest of the group.”
“Walker, what's your hurry? You can give me private lessons back here.”
Kaye had stopped paddling.
“No, we need to stay with the group. Come on, let's catch up.”
Kaye dropped her paddle in the water. “Oops! Dropped my paddle. I need your help Walker.”
I could see this was going to be a problem.
I paddled over, picked up her paddle and handed it her. She grabbed it, and pulled me and my boat toward her.
As my boat bounced off of hers, Kaye said, “Come on Walker, what are you afraid of?”
As I turned to answer, I heard a whistle, then Sarah called out, “Walker, I need you up here.”
I pushed off Kaye's boat and began paddling toward Sarah at the front of the group. Kaye followed and coasted to a stop near the other boats.
As I got close to Sarah's boat, she said, “A little closer please.”
I paddled until our boats touched, side-by-side.
We were in front of the class, when Sarah said, “Ladies, we're going to see if Walker was paying attention when I showed you how to get back into a kayak while in deep water.”
She then grabbed the side of my kayak and lifted it up, dumping me into the water.
“Okay, Walker, show us what you learned.”
I was in the water, hanging on to my kayak. Wet from head to toe. My jeans dragging me down.
Trying not to embarrass myself, I remembered what Sarah had shown earlier.
First step, roll the kayak over so the cockpit was right side up. That was easy to do.
Then I reached across to the opposite side of the cockpit with one hand, and gripped the near side with my other hand.
Then carefully, on my belly, I pulled myself up onto the boat. When my hips were across the open cockpit, I rolled over, dropping my butt into the seat.
Next I lifted my left leg, heavy with the wet denim, and dropped it into the cockpit.
I did the same with my right leg, and was finally back in.
The women in the group applauded.
Sarah said, “Not bad. But let me ask you something.
“Where's your paddle?”
I looked around. No paddle in sight.
Sarah pointed out into the bay, about forty feet from where I was.
“It's over there. The current's picked it up. You'd be in trouble if we weren't here to retrieve it for you.
She spoke to the class, “An important lesson to learn. Always keep control of your paddle. If you fall out of your boat, be sure to grab your paddle right away and secure it to the boat before you try to get back in.”
“Any questions?”
Kaye, the swimsuit gal, raised her hand, “What about Walker? He's over there soaking wet. Without a paddle. You want me to go help him?”
“Don't worry about Walker. I'll get his paddle, then we're going to head to shore, where we'll practice getting out of the boats without tipping over.”
Sarah power stroked out to my paddle, secured it under the bungee cords on her kayak then made a sharp 180-degree turn and delivered it back to me.
As she got close she murmured, “Seems like you have a new special friend. You and Kaye have something going on?”
She handed me the paddle and said, “See if you can keep up with the rest of us.”
Sarah turned toward her class, “Any other questions?”
One of the women raised her hand. “When can we go on a longer tour? I want to see dolphins.”
“We do longer four hour tours most days of the week. During these tours, we'll paddle out to Stump Pass where we'll stop and have a snack. Then we'll paddle out into the gulf, where we usually see dolphins.
“If you visit our website, you can see photos and sign up for these tours.
“OK, it's time for us to head to shore. Back to where we launched the boats ”
Sarah paddled back to shore, the class following. I brought up the rear.
On shore, Sarah demonstrated how to get out of a kayak without tipping over. She then helped each member of the class get out of their boat.
She didn't bother helping me.
Sarah spoke to the group, “I hope you enjoyed your tour this morning. Are there questions I didn't answer?”
No one had questions, but the women agreed they had a great time. They were happy with what they had learned and confident they could handle a kayak.
Two of the ladies said they'd be signing up for a trip later on in the week.
Swimsuit Kaye asked Sarah if I would be going on the longer trips.
“It depends. Walker hasn't decided how long he's going to be in Florida. After this morning's dunk in the water, he might not want to go back out in a kayak. At least with me.”
The women laughed.
As they began packing and returning to their cars, one of the ladies came up to me and said, “You and Sarah are such a cute couple!”
I laughed, “Sarah and me? No, we just met yesterday.”
She smiled, “Really? Well you've got chemistry. Probably some interesting times ahead for both of you. Take care.”
She walked away just as Sarah called my name. “Walker, you're supposed to be helping me. You need to get these boats loaded onto the trailer.”
60
“Was the water cold?”
We were back in the truck, Sarah was driving.
I was soaking wet. Trying my manly best not to shiver. I said, “How about this. We go back to the bay, and I'll dump you in the water and you can find out yourself whether it is cold or not.”
Sarah laughed, “Don't be that way. I was just trying to save you from swimsuit gal.”
“Yeah right, like I needed saving.”
When she reached the boatyard, I got out without saying anything and unlocked the gate. Sarah pulled into the yard and backed the trailer close to the wash-down station.
Sarah grabbed two sponges, and threw one to me. She picked up the water hose, ready to spray down the boats.
“Walker, you did good out there. You're a natural.”
I said nothing. I just continued to wipe down the boats.
Sarah spoke, “That's good enough. Go in and change into some dry clothes. Meet me back out here in twenty minutes. You can buy me lunch.
“And Walker, be sure to bring your credit card. We're going to buy you the right kind of clothes for Florida.”
Back inside the motorhome, I checked on Bob. He was still asleep. He was good at that.
Remembering the cold shower from this morning, I flipped on the water heater. While waiting for the water to heat up, I stripped out of my clothes and checked my closet.
Five days on the road, and I was running out of clean clothes. I'd need to find a laundromat soon.
I grabbed a dry pair of jeans and a shirt I'd only worn once. They'd have to do.
The hot shower felt good. I was still drying off when Sarah banged on the door.
“Come on Walker. You take longer than a girl to get ready!”
“I'll be out in a minute.”
I pulled on my jeans and shirt. Ran a hand through my hair, grabbed my wallet and keys. No need for the cell phone, so I left it in the charger. On the way out, I locked the door behind me.
Outside, Sarah was hanging wet life jackets onto the top rail of the kayak trailer.
She looked up, “We're ready to go. Got your wallet?”
“Yep.”
Sarah smiled, “You still mad at me for dunking you in the water? You going to pout all day?”
“I'm not pouting. I'm planning my revenge.”
“Oh, I'm in trouble now. Walker is out to get me.”
Then she said, “OK, you can have your revenge later. But right now, lets go get you some Florida clothes. That way it won't be so bad when I dunk you in the water.”
I shook my head, “Don't be so sure it'll be me who gets dunked next time”.
Sarah smiled, “OK, enough of this. We're going shopping and then you're buying me lunch.”