Initially I was just going to attend and cross this item off my bucket list, Paddling. It was going to be a one time thing and then I’d move to the next item and adventure. Little did I know that Nicole would turn out to be an amazing instructor and the other three members (Ben and the two ladies whose names I don’t recall) would be so very welcoming.
I arrived early, cuz that’s the way I roll..and waited. Nicole arrived by way of “Is that a Melissa?” My response was a cheeky...it could be “The Melissa”..that seemed to break the ice. They brought me into the room and told me to grab a pfd and that they’d find me a paddle. I was a little taller than everyone there so I went through a few before Nicole was satisfied. Back on the dock she sat me on the bench and gave me a quick lesson. She said, “It’ll be better on the water”...I started to think , back out now, before you are in the water, it’ll be easier..but then talked myself into sticking to it. She also said listen for the cues, Hut...ready and Ho..switch sides. A fluid moment to keep us in a forward motion. Okey dokey.
We went down to an Outrigger, I had to google this because I had no idea ... a long skinny canoe with two sticks and a buoy. Now, I know how large my ass is and that little teeny slender seat looked daunting. We pushed the Outrigger into the water and everyone climbed in. My immediate thought was, oh hell, I’m going to pee my pants I am so scared next to I’m going to fly over the side and just feckin’ breathe. Next I got my butt onto that skinny seat and knew that I wasn’t going to be going anywhere, I was locked in tight.
Nicole started getting us out on the water, told me to watch the lady sitting in front of pen, blonde ponytail blue jacket. She’d be the one that I needed to watch. And away we went, Nicole corrected my posture and hold on the paddle (of which I had a death grip). Ben was the caller (I am sure he has a special name) and immediately just Ho’d...I panicked and said wait wait, that wasn’t what I just learned. They laughed and agreed that this time, they’d Hut and Ho just for me.
The water was black, I was afraid of splashing, still of falling in and the night sky was clear(ish). I asked the Goddess to help me remain calm and get me back to shore (along with everyone else) safely.
At the halfway point, we had a rest and Ben turned in his seat so that I could see proper frame for paddling, keep the top arm straight (like you are mixing from your chin) and your bottom arm close to the paddle...straight down parallel to the boat (I just kept my focus on Ben and then the lady in front of him..constantly).
We turned around and back we went. Nicole kept saying "Top Arm" and I'd straighten. My concentration was fierce. The sound of the paddles, the Hut Ho'ing from Ben..the feeling that we were going at a pretty good pace and I was doing pretty good. It was awesome.
Closer to the dock the ladies yelled how's she doing and Nicole's response was..she hasn't even had a break. That made me smile and pat myself on the back (in my head that is).
We parked (I don't know how else to say it) and everyone got out. I was pretty pleased that I hadn't gotten that wet. My shoes a little damp because of getting in but little did I know...pulling the Outrigger back up onto the dock I stepped forward a little too far, right into the water. Aaah well.
As we were heading back up so that I could return the pfd and paddle they asked me what I thought. My response. See you next Wednesday!
Pretty proud of myself for totally getting out of my comfort zone.
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