2. Wearing a life jacket is always a good idea, too.
3. Kayaks are not made to carry dogs.
4. If you do take a dog in a kayak, make sure he's tied to you, and it's not a bad idea to put him in a lifejacket as well.
The reason for the skirt is because even the smallest waves splash water into the boat. Once your kayak gets a couple of inches of water in it, it is surprisingly harder to keep steady. If you were to try to get out of the river in a place that is running fast without any still water near the edges, and you had a paddle and a nervous dog in one hand and were grasping on to a slick rock with the other while the current was pushing the back of your kayak perpendicular to the flow of the river, you would very easily get off balance if you had water in your boat, and you just might flip over.
If that were to happen, I would suggest first going for the dog. Toss him gently onto the river bank and then swim like mad for your kayak. If you knew you were not going to make it, jump on to the bank and run like the wind to catch up to your kayak. It doesn't matter if you have to run through thorny weeds. Kayaks are expensive, and if it belongs to a friend, you will feel especially bad if you lose it. If you dive back into the river and still can't catch it, count your blessings if someone else goes after it in their kayak. Don't forget about your dog. Go back and find him, more than likely shivering and hiding in the weeds. Snuggle him, find your friends and pray that you get everything back safely. When you do get everything and everyone back safely, breath a sigh of relief, share your stories, and laugh.
Yes, I think that is what I would do.
This is by far the safest way to kayak...just in case you didn't catch all of those important lessons.
5 comments:
I'm so jealous Linda! That look so much fun!!
how's Deogee, I see a smile on your face but did the dog survive? By the way, he looked adorable in his tux, check my blog for pictures!
Great advise... I think you'll only ever catch me in a kayak like your last picture though, no matter how many good pointers you offer. :-)
Hey Linda, I think I could have the man of your dreams waiting up here in Teton Valley. He is great with kids and loves all sorts of outdoor stuff. Joanna told me to have him look at your facebook but it will not come up so sent it to me and I will send it to you.
Angie! Good to hear from you. Could the man of my dreams really be in Teton Valley? :p
That's weird that the pictures aren't coming up on my Facebook. Do you want to email me and I can send you pictures? My email is lucyinhawaii@gmail.com
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