New Kayaks...again

There are times when we make decisions or take actions that, on the surface, may appear to be a bit odd.

We made one such decision recently, but first a little background. Last fall as we prepared to head south for the winter, we decided not to bring our kayaks along. They take up space on the deck and get in the way of some of our regular activities while traveling – particularly the anchoring process. We weren't sure how much we'd actually used them in the Keys, so we decided to leave them in Gloucester for this trip south.

When we didn't return to Gloucester this past summer, we had to decide what to do with them. In the end we moved them to our daughter Jennifer's home with the plan of putting one on the top of the car for the August trip to Vero and pick up the other on our return south after the Christmas car trip north. Getting a rack became the problem – a bit pricey for most, so we opted for the cheap approach with foam and straps. This worked for a day, before the kayak began to move around on the roof. We ended up deciding it wasn't a safe approach and left the kayak with a friend we visited in North Carolina. We made the decision that we'd done our bit with kayaks and we could live without them. It would continue to be nice not to have to deal with them on deck. We could give one to Jenn's husband (Jenn already has a kayak) and try to sell the other one. So far, so good.

Then we got to Vero Beach and found that another boater here had two inflatable kayaks for sale, both at what would probably be the cost of a car rack for one kayak. When not in use, we could store them on deck in their cases or put them in the V-berth. The more we thought about the idea of inflatables, the more the idea became appealing. We also determined that we could transport them by car either in the back or even on the roof in their cases without a great deal of difficulty. So now we actually own four kayaks. Within a short time, we should get the number back down to two. Our previous experience with inflatables was not too positive, but these appear to work well. Maddie even likes to ride on them and is more content than she was on the hard kayaks in the past.

So how have the worked out so far? Well, not bad. We've been out for a couple of rides, and they have helped to remind us why we like kayaking. There are several reasons worth sharing. First, they are quiet. We can hear the osprey screeching as it calls its mate. We can hear the fish jumping in the evening as we paddle along. We find it remarkable how we can be so close to evidence of civilization and yet slide along with the wild things. For birds, we see the osprey, kingfishers, herons, gulls and pelicans. Fish of various sizes jump from the surface. Sometimes we wonder what might be below chasing them. On one of our kayaking trips we were visited by a half dozen dolphins who traveled past, seemingly unphased by our close proximity. As much as we enjoyed the dinghy ride the other night, getting rid of the noise of the outboard brought us that much closer to life around us – really quite special. And to think that so many people live close by in expensive homes and condos, and they never really experience this aspect of life so close by. It reminds us what special opportunities we enjoy as boaters.

I'm confident now that we will continue to enjoy these new purchases in the weeks and months to come.

Captain Bob

Carpe Diem