Since we had high wind on Sunday, I went to Philippe Park in Safety Harbor…It was quite beautiful at every view…this shares tide with Tampa Bay instead of the Gulf of Mexico…I pushed off at low tide and got to see the marsh grass;)…it looked far healthier than Dunedin Causeway and had many little critters above and below the soil/sand…
I spoke to Terry at Easy Kayaking…I ordered the books he recommended and find it was well worth the money…both books have been filled with very valuable information…the books stress the importance of Safety Training…I have never rolled my boat and wanted to make sure I knew what to do if it happened…We had several days of high wind and rain with lightening that kept me landlocked, so off I went to find a pool for practice…I also knew it to be important to have a bilge pump now…I got a cool one from Dick’s Sporting goods that looks like a water cannon…those guys find me the coolest gear:)
I was blessed…Dan at Meadow Point 3 gave me some pool time for Friday…okay so the temperature has dropped 20 degrees…I can do this…I started watching videos on YouTube on Kayak safety and the many different instructors who had so much information to share…I even watched the videos on what NOT to do
Friday Morning came…I was so excited, I woke up at 3 am…went through the books and videos just one more time before loading her on the car…I was expecting a small lap pool…OMG…I could paddle around this pool in the Blue Horizon and never bump the side…I felt truly blessed and wanted to cry, but there was work to be done…though it was a cold morning, the water was warm as I took my first roll…it was not as bad as I thought and not as easy as the video made it look…lol…the bilge pump worked well and she floats…the aft bulkhead is cracked…that made training difficult as the stern kept filling with water…Dan was kind enough to offer us use at another time and help me get her on the car
The Blue Horizon is currently in dry dock for the next few days undergoing repair…funny, I feel like a parent with a child in the hospital…she will be better than new…every woman deserves a spa day…lol…
May your waters be blue and flat for smooth sailing...please remember this is all running on donation and everypenny helps:)
D
No comments:
Post a Comment