In 2016, our local U3A introduced a walking for health program and from is members a Ramblers’ program has also emerged.

Then, a month or so ago, one of the walker/ramblers purchased a sit on, single seat kayak to paddle on our local rivers and extend the U3A physical activity programs.

To that end, he is actively encouraging members to purchase a kayak and join him on paddling our rivers and dams.

Sit on kayaks are a fairly recent phenomena and their use in river, estuary and ocean  fishing has spread to recreation paddling. Part of their appeal is the fact that they  don’t require the paddler to possess the same degree of skill  or fitness as those who paddle enclosed kayaks.

Most of the sit ons are of fairly modest dimensions, are light enough to easily lift onto a car, don’t require a rudder, are constructed of plastic and are quite robust and well kitted out for comfort. Perhaps their most appealing  element is their relatively low price right across the extensive range.

She Who Must Be Obeyed and I are both members of the walker/rambler groups and have discussed buying a couple of sit ons and resuming paddling. Prima facie it seemed quite attractive but some doubt remained.

Hence todays heading , ‘To Kayak or Not to Kayak?’

Back in the dream time we were very active sea kayakers and foundation members of the NSW Sea Kayakers Club Inc.

Here is an image of our two single ‘Seafarer’ kayaks and our ‘Seafarer Double.’We nicknamed her, ‘The Queen Mary’, because of hers enormous size.  Our Seafarers were 19 feet long and you can see how they were dwarfed the the Q.M.

The thrills of open water paddling are still fresh in our minds even though more than twenty years have passed since we gave paddling away and  sold our beloved kayaks.

Our longest paddle was of three weeks duration when we set out from Airlie Beach near Bowen in North Queensland and paddled around Gloucester Island, Hayman Island, Whitsunday Island and Shaw Island in the Whitsundays Group of the Great Barrier Reef.

Camping under the stars in this tropical paradise should be on everyones’ bucket list.

Sydney Harbour was a regular location and we often paddled up and down the coast from our base near Cronulla, often overnighting in parks accessible from the ocean.

When out of sight of land, sea kayaking takes on a new and exhilarating  dimension especially when rocketing down the face of white capped waves.

To add to the fun, we equipped our kayaks with sails to take advantage of following winds Battery powered bilge pumps to get rid of water taken on board as a result of capsizes were also installed.

Here are a few images from our collection of our time out on the water. They are all scans from Kodak slide film. I always chose slides as they had a very wide subject brightness range.

As you can imagine, it would be extremely difficult for paddling on our local rivers, creeks and dams, although interesting, to come anywhere near the fun and excitement of sea kayaking.

Accordingly, we have let our intrepid sit on paddler know that we are staying firmly placed on terra firma.

Hoo roo for now.