Kayaking? Which one’s that?

For the previous two sports, cycling and swimming, I wrote an extensive review of all the training that I’d done in preparation. The kayaking training section will be far shorter, simply because the training has been almost non-existent.

Back in Dubai, I did a lot of rowing in the gym, whilst not exactly alike, the motion and muscles used is at least similar. This is all the training I did until about a week before I started this trip. A few months back, I visited Go Kayaking in Perth (Scotland), with the intention of scouting out kayaks (and confirming in my mind which one a kayak was, I used to get mixed up with kayaks and canoes). The staff were incredibly helpful, friendly and interested in my trip. We arranged for me to come back into the store when I returned to Scotland to sort out all the equipment I would need. Cam and his staff at Go Kayaking were fantastic, they arranged for me to loan the kayak and several pieces of equipment from them. After an eventful time trying to get the kayak onto the car, we finally got it back to Aberdour and I was ready to do some practising.

In the week before I set off from John O’Groats, I managed four outings in the kayak, this remains the entire extent of my kayaking experience. Getting into the kayak for the first time proved how unprepared I was for this massive challenge, I got one leg in, but simply couldn’t understand how to get the other one in. Any onlookers would’ve found the scene highly amusing, a guy fully kitted out in brand new gear, struggling to get into the kayak in the comfort of Aberdour harbour. I did manage to get in and paddled around a bit, almost crashing into a couple of the boats in the harbour.

My second attempt was similar but a little more successful, while my third attempt was an absolute disaster. This time I tried launching the kayak from the beach, it was quite a windy day and the waves were relatively big. This proved to be too much for my meagre kayaking skills to handle, the first wave turned me sideways, the second wave turned me so I was facing the beach and the third wave filled the kayak with water. One of the hatches (used to store luggage) was open, so the water flooded in and sank the kayak. My dad and I finally managed to haul the kayak back to shore and set about trying to close the hatch. It proved impossible, it was so cold and wet that we simply couldn’t get any purchase on it. Eventually, in a desperate attempt to save face, I gave up and went for a swim instead. Whilst swimming, dad did manage to get the hatch closed, so I gave it another go. After being capsized a few times, I eventually made it out onto the open water. It was a wholly unenjoyable experience, mainly consisting of trying not to fall in. I managed not to and headed back to shore.

My fourth attempt was a resounding success and provided me with enough confidence to take on the Danube. My theory is that I will have plenty of time to practise kayaking and if I fall in, well then I’ll just swim, I’ve certainly done enough practise for that.

So here I sit, Donaueschingen, the start of the Danube, almost 3,000km of river, flowing through 10 countries. Tomorrow, August 1^st 2016, I will attempt to get both legs into my kayak, push off from the bank and begin the final section of my JOG to the Black Sea.