little bugs and tippy boats

Last night the paddling conditions were absolutely perfect. Well, besides the little bugs, but I'll get to that in a minute. The water was flat, there a little bit of a breeze, it was cooler than it has been, and the boat traffic was down in no small part because of the fact that school has started here.

As a got out on the dock, my former middle school team was just finishing up their practice. I was glad to see it was them, because I needed a couple of their trainers for my students. Plus, I was able to ask one of my former athletes, Trey, to perform the all-important flip drill for my two ladies who would be paddling those boats for the first time last night. This drill is important so that the paddler knows that they have to recover the boat if they flip as quickly as possible after their own safety is ensured. Otherwise, the boat is gone until the next 50-year drought. Not even kidding.

At any rate, the girls and I took off on their first adventure in the trainers.(The little gnats were insane. I can't remember a time that I've had to smack so many of them, or accidentally breathing them in through my nose.) Not cool. Sarah was game, but Charlotte was really nervous. It's really important that I'm able to talk them into keeping the knees together and finding a focal point right from the beginning so that they aren't tempted to look at the paddle or twitch the whole time. These boats are a lot more responsive to uncertainty than the ones they used in the first class. But, these boats are faster, lighter, and much easier to steer, so the majority of the students prefer them. It really is a challenge for the comfort zone at first, however.

We paddled down to the end of the lake on the boathouse side and into a cove. Sarah was doing really great, paddling almost rhythmically with the ease of breathing. Charlotte was still moving in a measured sort of way, wondering if the next stroke she took would be the one that would keep her from keeping the round side down.  Confidence. That's the difference. You are stripped of so many layers out here on the water. You are operating on a basic level. That's not a bad thing, but your weaknesses can be easily exposed. This is where I so often have chats with people about how they are doing something that they NEVER would have imagined doing before. Be proud. You may have just changed your life forever by getting in that little racing boat and propelling it down the lake.

That's kinda big. Funny how when people think about it in those terms, they lean forward a little more, stick that paddle in a bit further up (spear the fish!!) and paddle as they breathe. It's a wonderful thing to watch.

We ended up paddling around toward the venue, just short of the tower. Saw a water skier over there, and I decided that we would save that challenge for the next class. Charlotte's confidence was in a good place, and I didn't want to do anything to hurt that. Besides, I needed to get back and clean all the little bugs off of my boat, and Sarah needed a drink of water to wash down the bug that was stuck in the back of her throat.

It was a good paddle. I know Wednesday's will be even better.

TKM