Paddling preparations.

-
Aurora Expeditions have a rigorous safety procedure requirement that we tag on and off the vessel when departing. Each person is allocated a token, red (or yellow in the case of us kayakers) indicates that you are off the vessel and blue (or green for the kayakers) when on board. The ship goes nowhere until all are on board, there are a few friendly but public announcements via the ship’s speaker system to inform those persons who have been remiss in their duty.
The kayaks involve a bit of preparation. We don our dry suits, booties and life vests as well as a skirt to prevent water ingress into the kayak. We load our dry bags with a spare jacket or camera into the hatches and seal them off.  I feel like I am a member of a Star Trek movie in the dry suit, and a bit uncomfortable with the rubber band forming a tight seal on my neck. The suit is very warm, you only need a thin vest on the chest, though we were warned to layer up on the legs to deal with the cold transfer from the water through the seat.
I am with 5 other fellow passengers, which is great for us as it means we can be away quickly.  One of the crew – George – was asked to be prompt next time due to a bit of dallying. We learn it is important to be ready first so that we can utilize the Zodiac for loading, otherwise the other passengers get unloaded on their excursion and we have to wait.
The kayak is passed from the deck down to Al, waiting in a Zodiac raft below,  onto its pontoon and into the sea. You then  need to descend a rope ladder with wooden steps so that you can enter the kayak as soon as it’s in the water.
Al, the kayak operator, has the whole operation down as a well oiled routine and has us trained quickly. He works with us well, providing firm detail without being overbearing, ensuring we have fun safe outings. We are all able to enter the kayak from the raft and leave without any mishap. Today was windy and quite  a challenge so early into our adventures.
It doesn’t take us long to be off and away.
Though it was windy, I’m glad it’s not like our crossing across the Drake passage. The floating ice debris and sea cliffs make the air quite chilly.  There was some inclination to rug up before getting into the dry suits, but Al suggested that we only wear a thin vest on top and few layers on the legs. I had woollen socks, merino long johns and thick lycra ski pants, along with some rubber kitchen gloves and a balaclava + ski goggles for outer protection. I was perfectly happy with this combination and was perhaps a bit too warm with the balaclava and rolled it up into a beanie later in the paddle.

As rough as the ocean seems, mostly we are paddling in quiet bays. The kayaks are quite stable, especially the doubles. The hardest part is getting in and out of them safely. On rough water days with the kayak at times moving out of synch with the Zodiac and the Zodiac out of synch with the ship it takes a bit of timing and practised manoeuvres for entry and exit.  We all manage it albeit at times with less than graceful exit rolls into the deck of the Zodiac. Going up the rope ladder is fun too, you need to scurry up quickly to avoid the raft squashing your leg against the ship on the lower rungs.

Our gear was stored in a heated shipping container so we have nice warm and dry garments each trip.

Blog Indexes:

Comments

Post a Comment