Took my mate, Mike, kayaking at Lee Bay in Devon on Tuesday. Mike has had only one previous experience of kayaking when I took him to a lake on the Cotswold Water Park, during which he generally got the hang of it, although it was a bit like a mill pond.
The main problem he has with kayaking on the sea is an irrational fear of sharks, as evidenced by his head shake in the initial few seconds of the video below.
We arrived at 8.15, just before high tide; the weather wasn't good and the sea was a tad rough around the edges, making it a baptism of fire for him. I kept having to tell him to leave his legs dangling over the sides to aid stability until he got into deeper water, but he eventually mastered it, despite a ducking or two while trying to embark. He made it into the middle of the bay, but wouldn't risk going round to the next bay because of the swell, which was understandable for a first timer.
Hopefully the galeophobia has been laid to rest. I told him it was a particularly bad day for sharks, as they don't like rain and he might fare better at spotting one next time. I then went on to tell him the totally invented tale of the locale being a Mecca for shark fishermen. He loved Lee Bay and I bequeathed the location to him so he can pass it on to his two boys.
Meanwhile, vast swathes of the population descend on London to do what the British do best - queue. Hay and I are rather doubtful that the Queen is in that coffin that everyone is filing past and it's actually filled with bags of sand. She's probably still in the hands of the Royal Undertakers and there will be a quick swap at a tactical moment before the interment.
2 comments:
It’s funny, I had those very same thoughts.
Tell your mate not to worry as they'll generally spit you out after the first bite...
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