Monday, March 23, 2010
The class has split up for canoe and kayak instruction. Evan and Kate are teaching canoe and Beth and Mark (haven't met him yet) are teaching kayak. Our canoe group is me, Anna, Aaron, Coquette, Erin, Jen, and Kristi. We all went to Barton Cove today but tomorrow we'll check the ACA American Canoe Association site apparently to see where the river levels are at.
We started in class with a lecture and then loaded up the boats, distributed helmets and paddles, and I said I'd like to hitch up the trailer since I flunked it in assessments. I also did the light check but Kate suggested I not bother with the front and just scope out the trailer. . . sigh, this ain't a state inspection. I can be such a dork. Anna had never driven the van with a trailer so took a shot today. I offered to drive tomorrow.
Got to the Cove, untied and portaged down to the water and then ate a quick lunch. I took a quick run into the woods for a bio break but was unable to unzip the optional drop-seat that I spent extra bucks for just so I could be speedy. Thankfully we had only pulled the suits half-way up so I could just pull it down. It does seem to take 2 people to help you get into these things. We have layers underneath for warmth and then the dry suit which has gaskets at arms, ankles, and a choke hold on the neck. The trick seems to be to get both arms in and then grab hold of the neck gasket and just push, pull, and yank the gasket over your head and don't give up. . . unless it's pulling your hair. I tried pulling it on over a hat and it helped some. There were moments of potential panic except that others were cheering me on so I knew I wasn't alone and stuck inside a rubber casing. Then you have to wrestle with the chest zipper. These zippers are like nothing I've seen before. Industrial strength is an understatement. All day at least a few of us would be periodically pulling the gasket away from our throats so we could breathe properly. Getting out of them is as much fun.
I learned more lessons then planned today. We did some review from the strokes we learned in the fall and added on some new ones. It's all so technical and we were taped so we can watch some of what we did and how to correct or applaud ourselves! Then we did the T-rescues again and all took turns in the different roles. When Anna and I were the dunkees, we flipped over the canoe and waited to be rescued. While floating in the water, I suddenly felt a finger of cold tracing down my torso. Oh, no! I had not completely zipped my chest zipper. When I pulled and yanked, it had stopped but apparently I hadn't hit the real stop. It still had about a 1/4" to go but it's difficult to see where the zippers begin and end. So, get more help to dress for success!
Tomorrow we come in half hour early and we'll watch today's video and then head out on a river yet to be determined. Lots of lessons from the Raquette River trip to bring back to the fore.
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