Grabbing a bit of practice on the Gulf Coast

I've had a mostly-lovely couple of days at Dauphin Island.  The warm, muggy, sunny weather is conducive to a whole lot of lazing around.

Yesterday I didn't get in the boat until mid-afternoon.  I felt pretty tired and paddled in Mississippi Sound for less than an hour at moderate intensity.  The weather was calm, but there were plenty of motorboat wakes generated by people here for the holiday weekend.

When I woke up today there was a bit more of a breeze blowing.  The online forecast I checked listed a wind velocity of around 11 miles per hour.  I decided to drive my boat over to the Gulf side of the island and see what kind of downwind action I could find.  There was quite a bit, as it turned out.  With the wind blowing in from the south I had to paddle out from the beach for five minutes or so, ride the surf back in, and repeat.

My intellectual understanding of ocean waves and how to use them in a downwind race is fair, not great.  But the biggest obstacle between me and downwind proficiency is the same one I've encountered in every other paddling discipline I've tried: confidence in my balance.  Fitness and stamina have always been right up my alley, but acrobatic agility has never been a reliable part of my skill set.  It was hard for me even when I was a little kid: I couldn't turn cartwheels or dive off the diving board.  And when I start competing with paddlers who are comfortable with that sort of thing, I run right smack into the ceiling of what I'm able to achieve.

For much of my downwind session this morning, I watched good surfing opportunities slip away because I was sitting on a brace or otherwise off balance when I should have been paddling.  I had my G.P.S. device on board and watched with dismay as my speed plummeted.  Finally, on my last trip in to the beach, I managed to link together some good rides and my velocity got up over 10 miles per hour for a measurable length of time.

I made myself stop after about 40 minutes.  I don't need to be wearing myself out with the Outdoors, Inc., Canoe and Kayak Race coming up this Saturday, and with the beach starting to get crowded, I also didn't want to take some little kid's head off.  But with the Gorge Downwind race less than two months away, it was nice to have hopped on this small practice opportunity.

I plan to head back to Memphis tomorrow.  I hope to do an easy paddle in the sound before I go.


For more information on what this blog is about, click here.